An explosion demolished part of a Motel 6 in Bremerton, critically injuring a gas company worker just minutes after the acting hotel manager had evacuated the building because she could smell and hear a gas leak. Two people were unaccounted for out of the hotel's roughly 65 guests, but they may not have been in the building at the time of the blast Tuesday night, Bremerton Fire Chief Al Duke said.
- PUB DATE: 8/19/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Komo News

A group of firefighters taking the recent lieutenants exam dashed off to the bathroom to access the answer key on their cellphones, The Post has learned. The alleged cheats, taking the promotions test at a Queens high school, clicked a link to pull up answers to all 100 multiple-choice questions via a website that states, “We are very confident in this answer key and believe it to be 100% accurate.
- PUB DATE: 8/19/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: new york post

After living almost a year as a paraplegic, a Truckee Meadows firefighter gets his life back thanks to new technology. Bill Winchester is the first American to test out the TEK RMD. It's been used in Europe, but now thousands of paraplegics in the U.S. can live a life that isn't confined to a wheel chair.
- PUB DATE: 8/19/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KOLO-TV ABC 8

The decision by Maplewood paramedics to stop resuscitation efforts on a dying woman Aug. 7 at the request of her husband was at the center of a recent Maplewood police investigation. While officials would not link the case with the city's Monday decision to place six employees of the Maplewood Fire Department on administrative leave, the incident was referenced by Maplewood City Manager Melinda Coleman in an email response to an inquiry about the employment situation.
- PUB DATE: 8/19/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: St. Paul Pioneer Press

In a settlement offer likely to be seen as a provocation by New Orleans firefighters, Mayor Mitch Landrieu proposed Tuesday (Aug. 18) a $42.25 million plan that would resolve years of litigation and impose a painful overhaul of the firefighters' pension system. The plan is contingent on the approval a property tax increase by voters in a March 2016 election.
- PUB DATE: 8/19/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New Orleans Times-Picayune