Harold B. Hairston, 76, Philadelphia's first African American fire commissioner, died Tuesday, Nov. 1, at his West Mount Airy home. Circumstances of his death were not available late Tuesday. Commissioner Hairston was appointed head of the Fire Department in 1992 by Mayor Ed Rendell and served for 12 years until he retired in 2004.
- PUB DATE: 11/3/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Philadelphia Inquirer

A firefighter was seriously injured Wednesday morning after he fell out of a building during a training exercise. According to Largo Fire Rescue, the firefighter was rappelling out of a second-story window at the department's training grounds at 751 16th Ave. SE when his equipment failed about 9:30 a.
- PUB DATE: 11/3/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Tampa Bay Times

The former treasurer for the Patterson Fire Department has pleaded guilty to federal charges he stole more than $1.1 million from the department to support his personal businesses and live a lavish lifestyle. U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara announced the plea by Albert Melin on Wednesday. Melin's plea concludes a nearly year-long investigation that included Bharara's office, state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli's office, the Internal Revenue Service's criminal investigation division, the FBI and New York State Police.
- PUB DATE: 11/3/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NY Journal News

Teresita Peralta tried to sleep. But there was that chirping. Again and again. “They cried all night,” Peralta said of the baby sparrows that hatched in her bathroom’s exhaust fan. She tried calling her building manager. She was told no help until after the weekend. Two days away? Maddening. Chirp-chirp-chirp! Sanity in the balance, she called the fire department.
- PUB DATE: 11/3/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Miami Herald

Internal accounting errors led to a $1.15 million budget shortfall for the Boulder Rural Fire Protection District in 2015, a gap district officials knew about but didn't understand — or disclose — when they asked voters to approve a $1 million tax increase last year. Those are the findings of a report by financial investigator James Davis, who was retained by the fire district's board of directors to investigate the budget shortfall.
- PUB DATE: 11/3/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Boulder Daily Camera