Trained to jump off helicopters and launch early attacks on wildfires with only the tools on their backs, four firefighters took off from the Boggs Mountain Helitack Base in a Super Huey chopper Saturday during the Valley fire’s first explosive moments. Firefighters Niko Matteoli, Richard Reiff, Logan Pridmore and Capt.
- PUB DATE: 9/16/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: the press democrat

The Providence firefighters union has hired a private security firm to protect Mayor Jorge Elorza's house after threatening social media posts against him became the subject of a police investigation. Paul Doughty, president of Local 799 of the International Association of Firefighters, AFL-CIO, said Tuesday the union hired Imperial Security of Johnston to guard the mayor's house at an estimated cost of $500 per day.
- PUB DATE: 9/16/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: providence journal

Cleveland's outgoing fire chief and two supervisors will face internal charges after an audit revealed dozens of missing and erroneous records at the department's training academy. The charges, outlined in letters released by the city Tuesday, make Patrick Kelly the third consecutive chief to leave the embattled fire department under a cloud of controversy.
- PUB DATE: 9/16/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: the plain dealer

Someone makes an angry comment at a city council meeting about a fire response. A blogger creates a cartoon that makes the fire department look incompetent after a recent event. An anonymous person posts inflammatory comments about the fire department online. As fire chief, you will be affected by all of these occurrences.
- PUB DATE: 9/16/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: firerescue1

Wildfires that have raged in California this summer haven't just overwhelmed firefighters — they've also stumped computer models designed to predict the intensity of flames and where they'll burn. "These fires are actually exceeding what our models will even predict," said Ken Pimlott, director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
- PUB DATE: 9/16/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: U.S. News & World Report