Firefighters rescued a horse from an icy pond near Lake Tapps Sunday, using a fire hose and tractor to hoist the animal out of the water. The 20-year-old mare had gotten stuck in a drainage pool in the 74000 block of 214th Avenue East, according to an Instagram post by the East Pierce Fire and Rescue firefighters union.
- PUB DATE: 1/4/2016 2:29:17 AM - SOURCE: Tacoma News Tribune

Pittsburgh fire Lt. James O'Toole scooped up the coughing 86-year-old Nannie Felder and passed her through a second-story, front window to firefighters waiting outside on a ladder. Then O'Toole, 51, worried about getting out of the burning house alive. Flames engulfed the staircase that he had planned to use.
- PUB DATE: 1/4/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Firefighters from coast to coast are mourning the death of Michael Mullane, a longtime labor leader remembered as a legendary old-school negotiator who fought for the rights of his front-line constituents. “Mike Mullane was a leader. He was always by my side when I was learning the ropes, and I always looked up to him,” said Rich Paris, president of Boston Firefighters Local 718.
- PUB DATE: 1/4/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: boston herald

A 47-year-old volunteer firefighter trainee died Saturday while participating in a search and rescue training exercise at a fire academy. U.S. Fire Administration reported that Charles Adams Jr., with the Spring Arbor (Mich.) Township Fire Department, became ill and momentarily lost consciousness. Displaying heart-attack-like symptoms, he was transported by ambulance to a hospital.
- PUB DATE: 1/4/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: firerescue1

New leadership, new policies and an increased workload have created a windfall for hundreds of Columbus firefighters, pushing the pay for many of them into six figures last year. The Columbus Fire Division spent nearly $2.5 million more on overtime in 2015 than the average of the previous three years.
- PUB DATE: 1/4/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: the columbus dispatch