Mike Burnett thinks his fire department is well-positioned to fight wildfires this summer. The chief of Chelan County Fire District 1 has made some upper-level staffing changes, gotten the fire district’s helicopter up and flying earlier than last year, and has fire district employees out canvassing neighborhoods next to wild lands so they can tell homeowners how to make their homes more fire resistant.
- PUB DATE: 6/29/2016 3:34:57 AM - SOURCE: Wenatchee World - metered site

A member of the Dakota City Fire Department has died after suffering a heart attack while in the line of duty. Capt. Eric Speck, 38, died Monday after suffering from a heart attack on Thursday after responding to a medical call. Dakota City Fire Chief Clint Rasmussen said Speck had been complaining of chest pains during the call and traveled to the hospital afterward, where it was found he had suffered a heart attack.
- PUB DATE: 6/29/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: sioux city journal

Akron will no longer use a test for fire department promotions. The city will instead rely on education and seniority. A three-year contract recently approved by the fire union includes a new promotional process that is aimed at avoiding a repeat of years of legal challenges over promotional tests that caused a depletion of the department’s ranks.
- PUB DATE: 6/29/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: akron beacon journal

Six firefighters were transported to the hospital after deploying their fire shelters while battling the Cedar Fire near Show Low on Tuesday. There was a sudden and unexpected change in the fire, according to Candy Lupe with the Bureau of Indian Affairs Fire Management. A group of fire crews had to deploy their fire shelters.
- PUB DATE: 6/29/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KASW-CW6 & KTVK-3TV

The absence of volunteers at the Colonial Volunteer Fire Co. has led to fire apparatus being unable to respond to emergency calls during the evening and overnight hours recently, officials say and documents show. The turnout has been so low in the past few months that the company's volunteer fire chief, Joseph Scharnitz Jr.
- PUB DATE: 6/29/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Trenton Times