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

The Oregon sheriff whose county is at the heart of an anti-government call-to-arms said Sunday the group occupying a national wildlife refuge came to town under false pretenses. Sheriff David Ward said protesters came to Harney County, in southeastern Oregon, "claiming to be part of militia groups supporting local ranchers.
- PUB DATE: 1/4/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: usa today