It pays to be a Los Angeles firefighter — who can earn up to $300,000 a year in overtime — according to study released Tuesday of public employee compensation across California. The top 20 overtime earners by public workers across the state were firefighters for the city of Los Angeles — where overtime payouts rose 18 percent from last year, according to a Nevada-based survey of 246,000 public employees in California.
- PUB DATE: 6/22/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: los angeles daily news

Orange County Fire Rescue (OCFR) Fire Chief Otto Drozd said his department seeks to hire people who serve the community with compassion and that is what led the department to honor one of the victims killed in the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando. OCFR named Cory Connell an honorary firefighter at his funeral on Saturday.
- PUB DATE: 6/22/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: firehouse

Some Memphis City Council members hope to add a referendum on the Nov. 8 ballot that would require new city employees to live in the city limits, as Mayor Jim Strickland warned that tightening residency requirements could hurt public safety. Council member Martavius Jones, who is new to the council and is sponsoring the ordinance, said his research showed that about 60 percent of hires lived outside Memphis after a 2010 referendum allowed them to live anywhere in Shelby County.
- PUB DATE: 6/22/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: the commercial appeal

Butte County Fire Department, Oroville, CA, three tanker tenders. Kenworth T800 cabs and chassis; Cummins ISX15 455-hp engines; UPF Poly 3,000-gallon elliptical tanks.

Two consecutive record-setting years for wildfires in Washington caught the attention of state lawmakers. The budget passed this past spring generated funding for new equipment and hiring and training of new firefighters. Three fire academies across the state are bringing together local, state and federal agencies to train nearly 1,000 new firefighters for the summer wildfire season.
- PUB DATE: 6/21/2016 8:14:41 PM - SOURCE: KREM-TV CBS 2