When a winter storm struck in the early 1990s, dumping snow and exasperating the Puget Sound region, a Kitsap County Sheriff's Office repeater tower on Gold Mountain went dark, leaving communities like Kingston, Olalla and Seabeck out of contact. Dean Heistand, now technical system supervisor for Kitsap's 911 service, CenCom, strapped tools and test equipment onto his back, snowshoes on his feet and went trekking up the mountain with a deputy to bring the tower back to life.
- PUB DATE: 9/8/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: firehouse

The Okanogan complex fire, which has injured seven and destroyed or damaged 123 residences to date, has burned 148,780 acres and is 70 percent contained. Some 1,300 firefighters are still battling the fires, which have cost $30.3 million to date, according a Monday report from the fire-incident command.
- PUB DATE: 9/8/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: seattle times

A Bonita Springs Fire District commissioner said he wants firefighters to pack heat. Fred Forbes, the district’s treasurer and secretary, said the department should look into the feasibility of training and outfitting firefighters with body armor and guns to better protect them from being shot. “I think it’s something we need to evaluate,” Forbes told the Daily News.
- PUB DATE: 9/8/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: naples daily news

PHOTO - A Napa County fire engine rolled down an embankment on a winding rural road Saturday morning, destroying the engine and sending two volunteer firefighters to the hospital. The accident occurred on Wooden Valley Road east of Napa around 11:30 a.m. after the two volunteers had been sent to a motorcycle accident in the area, said Capt.
- PUB DATE: 9/8/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: the press democrat

PHOTO - Inside a burning building, the smoke often gets so thick and oppressive that firefighters can't see their hands if they wave them in front of their facemasks. The roiling black clouds obscure everything: staircases, chairs, an unconscious person, even the flames - burning at more than 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit - on the other side of the room.
- PUB DATE: 9/8/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: lowell sun