Neighbors woke to the screams of children early Monday when a house fire that killed four children and injured two people in Springfield. The fire started at about 3 a.m. at 809 Poplar Ave. Ricardo Morales said his wife woke up hearing the screams. He said they called 911 and he rushed out with his sons and nephews.
- PUB DATE: 12/12/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Tennessean

The disastrous Ghost Ship fire has intensified long-simmering tensions between Oakland Fire Chief Teresa Deloach Reed and the city’s firefighters union, which for years has been lobbying behind the scenes to get her fired. At the same time, however, African American community leaders are coming to the chief’s defense, complaining that Mayor Libby Schaaf’s administration may be setting her up to take the blame for the deadly fire.
- PUB DATE: 12/12/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle

The city is set to pay a group of African-American women $3.8 million as part of a settlement of a long-running federal lawsuit claiming that Chicago Fire Department tests were discriminatory. The City Council Finance Committee will consider the payment Monday. It's the latest payout from the city because of allegations of racial or gender bias in hiring practices at the Fire Department in lawsuits that have gone back decades and already have cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars.
- PUB DATE: 12/12/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Chicago Tribune

Where’s the fire? EMS workers are in such a rush to get out of the ambulance and into the firehouse that nearly 50% of them signed up to take the city firefighter test next week — forcing the FDNY to call for mandatory overtime to cover all its 911 medical shifts. The entrance exam will be administered from Monday to Dec.
- PUB DATE: 12/12/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Daily News

Tucson’s oldest firehouse has become an example of how long-delayed capital projects can cost more than a spreadsheet can list. And in this case, officials say, it might be an actual pound of flesh. Fire Station No. 3 near Campbell Avenue and Broadway dates to the 1950s and has been retrofitted repeatedly in an attempt to extend its useful life.
- PUB DATE: 12/12/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Tucson.com