When Platte Fire Chief Rick Gustad arrived on the scene of a fire that killed six people Thursday in Platte, the one-and-a-half-story house was almost completely destroyed. "It's not a real common occurrence to have a fully engulfed structure fire on arrival," Gustad said. "The house was pretty well destroyed when we arrived on the scene.
- PUB DATE: 9/18/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: INFORUM-Fargo

Mayor Kasim Reed is vowing to fire any city employee who had a role in an embarrassing photo scandal in which an Atlanta fire station was used as a backdrop for escort advertisements. “We’re going to fully investigate it, get to the bottom of it, and fire the people involved,” Reed said on Thursday.
- PUB DATE: 9/18/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Brainerd is considering restructuring its fire department, saving almost $266,000 a year by eliminating full-time firefighter positions stationed in its fire hall. The department currently has five full-time equipment operators who work over three shifts to staff the fire hall 24 hours per day. There is also 38 paid on-call firefighters.
- PUB DATE: 9/18/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Bemidji Pioneer

Sheriff Steve Loftis said a driver who ran over a Greenville County deputy, hit and killed a motorcyclist after deputies ended a "wild high speed chase" Thursday on US 25 north of Travelers Rest. Lieutenant Ty Miller said deputies responded to investigate a possible stolen vehicle at TD's gas station on SC 253.
- PUB DATE: 9/18/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: fox carolina

Just days before a series of deadly, record-setting wildfires began exploding across Washington, the acting chief pilot for the state’s wildfire-attack helicopters wrote a letter to his superiors. Unfilled pilot positions were grounding some helicopters, John Adolphson wrote to senior staff at the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
- PUB DATE: 9/17/2015 8:39:25 PM - SOURCE: Seattle Times - metered site