Augusta Fire Marshal Jason Beard has been indicted on extortion charges. According to the federal indictment returned by a grand jury Thurs­day, Beard is accused of extorting money from nightclub owners and managers with threats of economic harm. The indictment, which contains six counts of extortion and one count of attempted extortion, accuses Beard of making threats to enforce overcrowding regulations and ignoring such violations if owners did pay, which allowed the clubs to operate in an overcrowded and dangerous manner.
- PUB DATE: 10/12/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: augusta chronicle

On March 7, twin babies and a 3-year-old boy died after a fire erupted in their home in Truxtun. The community, near the intersection of Portsmouth Boulevard and Deep Creek Boulevard, does not have a fire station. Without a station in Truxtun, according to a recent report from fire officials to City Manager Lydia Pettis Patton, the department cannot meet "minimum response times for fire and emergency medical calls" there.
- PUB DATE: 10/12/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: hampton roads

A Los Angeles firefighter was injured Saturday after falling through a roof of a paint supply business while battling a fire in Sylmar, authorities said. The firefighter fell between 10 and 20 feet through the roof of the one-story commercial building at 15513 Cobalt St, said LAFD spokesman Erik Scott in written statements.
- PUB DATE: 10/12/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Los Angeles Daily News

A Queens EMT who was dispatched to Brooklyn for a sick toddler used a pay phone to call 911 with a fake emergency closer to his post in a pathetic attempt to avoid the cross-borough schlep, officials said on Friday. William Medina, 27, had just dropped off a patient at a hospital on Aug. 19 when he got the call for the ill child, according to the Department of Investigation.
- PUB DATE: 10/12/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: new york post

Candidates for a Clallam County Fire District No. 3 commission seat clashed on district staffing during a forum. Sean Ryan, 53, of Port Angeles — who is challenging appointee G. Michael Gawley, 72, of Sequim for the Position 1 seat in the Nov. 3 general election — believes the district needs more full-time employees and fewer administrators.
- PUB DATE: 10/11/2015 12:42:55 AM - SOURCE: Port Angeles Peninsula Daily News