Derick Almena, the manager of the Oakland, California warehouse that went up in flames during a weekend party and killed at least 36 people, defended his role as landlord for the building which was used as a residential artist community. “I’m only here to say one thing: I’m incredibly sorry and that everything that I did was to make this a stronger and more beautiful community and to bring people together,” he said Tuesday on TODAY during an emotional interview.
- PUB DATE: 12/6/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Today.com

A hatch on the side of the single-engine Pilatus plane opened, exposing the flag-draped casket to the small crowd of family, friends and officials huddled in the biting wind outside Missoula’s smokejumper hangar Sunday afternoon. Four honor guards, two full-dressed representatives each from the Bureau of Land Management and the U.
- PUB DATE: 12/6/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Missoulian

Schriever Fire Chief Ken Pitre remembers when a truckload of about 1,500 butane bottles caught fire, causing U.S. 90 to shut down. "We watched the fireworks," he said. "All these bottles started exploding. It really caught me off guard in a way. It was in the middle of the night, and I remember coming out the door and all I heard was 'boom.
- PUB DATE: 12/6/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Thibodaux Daily Comet

Manuel Jimenez was four miles short of finishing a charity marathon in Memphis, Tennessee, on Saturday when a doctor pulled him from the race after noticing the paramedic firefighter from Northport was struggling to stay on his feet. No one could fault Jimenez for being fatigued -- he'd just run 22 miles wearing his full, 60-pound set of firefighting gear in an effort to raise money for St.
- PUB DATE: 12/6/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Firehouse

Ride the Ducks International has agreed to pay up to $1 million in civil penalties under a consent order reached with federal transportation officials. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Tuesday the Branson, Missouri-based manufacturer of amphibious vehicles violated motor vehicle safety laws when it failed to report a defect in a front axle or initiate a full safety recall.
- PUB DATE: 12/6/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KOMO-TV ABC 4 and Radio 1000