A $2.2 million grant will enable Central Pierce Fire & Rescue to hire 10 firefighters and return staffing to what it once was. The department plans to hire another five firefighters. “We’re trying to get back to where we once were,” Assistant Chief Guy Overby said. Years ago, Central Pierce had 250 uniformed personnel.
- PUB DATE: 10/31/2016 1:51:19 AM - SOURCE: Tacoma News Tribune

The Cimarron Hills Fire Department announced the sudden passing of one of their own Sunday. Officials say 31-year-old Jermaine Frye was found in cardiac arrest at his home early Saturday afternoon. Lifesaving efforts to revive him were unsuccessful. Frye’s cause of death has yet to be determined. An autopsy is scheduled for Monday.
- PUB DATE: 10/31/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FOX21News.com

The St. Paul Fire Department is struggling to respond to fires and medical emergencies quickly, and the fire chief said they do not have the money to add enough staff to keep up with an increased demand for services. Meanwhile, fire district and deputy chiefs are among the highest paid employees in the city.
- PUB DATE: 10/31/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune

As a firefighter prepared to enter a burning home in Modesto's airport neighborhood, flames burst through the window he stood next to. A flash of white fire hit him and embers whirled around his face. The firefighter didn't know at the time what caused the surge, but when he returned, uninjured, to the station after the incident, he reviewed the video from his helmet camera.
- PUB DATE: 10/31/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Firehouse

When Paul Pokorski was diagnosed with leukemia in 2008, his wife couldn’t help but wonder if the 34 years he spent working as a firefighter might have led to it. “I’m a nurse and I kind of knew it was a possibility,” Ann Pokorski said. “But even the oncologists were iffy as to whether it had anything to do with it.
- PUB DATE: 10/31/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Virginian-Pilot