As fires erupted throughout Sacramento in recent weeks, journalists, politicians and the public flocked to the Sacramento Fire Department’s Twitter page. The Internet allows anyone with a smartphone to become a broadcaster, and the Fire Department is taking full advantage. Gone are the days when the agency’s public information officer would sit around waiting for calls from reporters.
- PUB DATE: 8/17/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: sacramento bee

Former fire Chief Kevin Farrell has appealed his firing by Town Manager Steve Bartha, setting the stage for a process in which Farrell could try to win his old job back. So far, the town has not said why the veteran firefighter was fired other than a statement on Monday that read, in part, “it was brought on by Mr.
- PUB DATE: 8/17/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Salem News

A video of a firefighter completing a firefighting training exercise is going viral. KPLCtv reported that Sonny Coffey is a volunteer firefighter in Iowa, La., and towers at about 6 feet 3 inches and weighs 325 pounds. On Wednesday, he and his colleagues were demonstrating a specific firefighting training exercise with a ladder.
- PUB DATE: 8/17/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: firerescue1

An FDNY deputy chief had to reject more than $35,000 raised for his family after department brass sent him a letter warning that accepting the funds might be a “conflict of interest.” Paul Mannix, who founded anti-quota group Merit Matters, was docked 50 days’ pay for allegedly leaking info to reporters.
- PUB DATE: 8/17/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: new york post

The Philadelphia medic noticed smoke rising from the engine just as he steered his ambulance off I-95. He and his partner were on their way to a medical emergency when their ambulance began to smoke. Then, a bang - a "loud explosion," the medic remembered. They pulled over and scrambled from their seats as the smoke grew heavy and thick.
- PUB DATE: 8/17/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: philadelphia inquirer