VIDEO: In the fire service, they call it a “brotherhood.” For the O’Neill family, that’s more than a saying. For 75 years, members of the Northeast Ohio family have answered the call to serve, a tradition that began with John L. “Jack” O’Neill at the Shaker Heights Fire Department and eventually spread to firehouses in several communities.

Four of Jack’s six sons became firefighters. Now, a third generation is carrying on the tradition, and during Firefighter Appreciation Month, the O’Neills’ story is also a reminder of the commitment and sacrifice that come with the job.

Jack O’Neill joined the Shaker Heights Fire Department in December 1951, the same year the city built Fire Station No. 2. He would spend more than three decades with the department before retiring in January 1983.

His son John followed him into the same department in September 1981, giving father and son a little more than a year together on the department. But their schedules rarely aligned. “Dad got hired in ’51, right? December of ’51, retired January of ’83,” John says.

“I got hired in September of ’81, so we crossed. We worked the same department for a little over a year, but only worked one 24-hour shift together because we were at different firehouses, different shifts.”

WKYC-TV NBC 3 Cleveland

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Four rental cars caught fire at the Portland Jetport Tuesday morning, and investigators are working to determine what caused it.

Viewer video shows crews battling large flames and smoke from an overflow lot off District Road, where the Jetport stores rental cars.

Portland Fire says two of the four cars were destroyed. The cause is undetermined but is not considered suspicious. No one was hurt, and the Jetport says operations were not affected.

WGME-TV CBS 13 Portland

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State firefighting resources have been mobilized to help local crews contain the Hatch Grade Fire, which is burning near Touchet in Walla Walla County. The fire started at about 3:51 p.m. Tuesday and had grown to an estimated 5,000 acres as of Tuesday night, according to the Washington State Patrol. It is burning in grass, brush and wheat stubble and threatening homes, crops and power infrastructure.

Level 1, 2 and 3 evacuation orders are in effect. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Washington State Patrol Chief John Batiste authorized the state response at 8:15 p.m. Tuesday at the request of Assistant Fire Chief Casey Sewell of Walla Walla County Fire District 6.

The State Emergency Operations Center at Camp Murray has been activated at Level 1, its highest level, to coordinate assistance. The state’s Fire Protection Bureau has ordered three wildland strike teams to support containment efforts, while State Fire Marshal’s Office personnel work to coordinate additional resources.

KOMO-TV ABC 4 Seattle

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PHOTOS: A woman died Tuesday morning in a fire at the Tiki Lodge in Spokane, according to the Spokane Fire Department. Firefighters responded to a reported room fire at the hotel, located at 1420 W. Second Ave., at 11:03 a.m. Upon arriving firefighters observed smoke coming from a second-floor room.

Crews entered the room and extinguished a burning bed, where they discovered an adult female victim. She was removed from the building and pronounced deceased at the scene.

Additional firefighting crews inspected the attic and adjacent units to ensure the fire did not spread. Investigators confirmed the fire remained contained to the original room. The Spokane Fire Department and the City of Spokane Police Department are continuing their investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.

KXLY-TV ABC 4 Spokane

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Travel on the eastbound lanes of Interstate 90 near Snoqualmie Pass were delayed for some time as emergency personnel cleaned up a semi-truck crash and investigate the incident.

At about 12:15 p.m. on September 29, Upper Kittitas County firefighters and paramedics responded to a reported crash on Interstate 90 near the Snoqualmie Pass summit. First responders arrived to find a semi-truck had crashed off the highway in the eastbound lanes and a fire had started.

Emergency personnel worked to put out the fire and clean up the crash. Officials said traffic had been reduced to one lane, and delays were expected. Officials said one person was treated for minor injuries.

Apple Valley News Now

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