ST. LOUIS -- When a shoulder injury prevented St. Louis County police officer Steve Park from continuing, the last-bout victory went to St. Louis Fire Department firefighter Chad Vancil and the firefighters claimed a 9-8 team victory in 17 bouts at the 24th Budweiser Guns 'N Hoses Wednesday night at Scottrade Center in St. Louis. All five metro-east boxers lost their ...

TORONTO - Finding ways to cut spending and save money will almost certainly top the to-do list for Toronto’s next mayor. If elected, Councillor Rob Ford has vowed to pursue drastic measures such as reducing the size of city council and shrinking the municipal work force. But it’s a pledge by mayoral candidate George Smitherman that may be the most contentious. ...

ARIZONA - Seven air ambulance companies operating throughout Arizona have agreed to major changes in how pilots will communicate with each other as they approach Flagstaff Medical Center. The changes include well-defined approach paths laid out miles before the hospital and a schedule for radio broadcasts on an assigned frequency intended for other pilots operating in the area to announce their ...

BUFFALO - Officials say the city will reimburse the firefighters union for most expenses related to the funerals of two firefighters who died last year, but it will not put up money for alcohol served at the receptions. "It would be foolish for the city to engage in underwriting alcohol- related expenses," Comptroller Andrew A. SanFilippo said Tuesday. The city has ...

SACRAMENTO — The tires of a JetBlue airplane caught fire yesterday during a hard landing in Sacramento that sent passengers down emergency slides to escape the aircraft and left 15 people with minor injuries. Passenger Michelle McDuffie said people onboard felt a thud when the plane touched down at about 12:50 p.m. after a flight from Long Beach, Calif., but nobody ...

BROOKLYN - A massive five-alarm Brooklyn factory fire, spewing smoke that could been seen for miles, was still burning more than 24 hours after it started. About 200 firefighters fought the flames that first engulfed the Rosewood Inc. kitchen cabinet factory in Bushwick at 6 p.m. Thursday, fire officials said. Dark smoke poured from the Evergreen Ave. warehouse overnight, and intense ...

The National Highway Traffic Safety administration has opened a preliminary investigation of about 3 million 1993-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokees after a petition from safety advocacy group Center for Auto Safety. The CAS alleges in its petition that the placement of the Jeep's plastic gas tank behind the rear axle and below the rear bumper make it a fire risk in a ...

WASHINGTON -- Police and fire officials are still investigating an accident in Southeast Monday morning that left a car engulfed in flames, killing a Washington lobbyist, mother and wife of a senior White House advisor. Ashley Westbrook Turton, director of congressional affairs for Progress Energy, Inc. and mother of three young children, died around 5 a.m. Monday morning outside her home ...

ARLINGTON -- Chief Robin Paulsgrove announced Monday that he'll retire in May after 13 years as Arlington's top firefighter. City leaders credit Paulsgrove's leadership for enhanced firefighter training, emergency preparedness and public education initiatives that have created a safer Arlington for residents and visitors. Paulsgrove has played a key role in public safety planning for Arlington's growing entertainment district, where ...

WEST PHILADELPHIA - An off-duty firefighter was killed after the motorcycle he was on collided with another vehicle, police say. The firefighter has been identified as Odell Pommells, a 7-year veteran of the Philadelphia Fire Department. At 6:27 p.m., Ladder 6, Medic 3 and Medic 34 responded to a motor vehicle accident at the intersection of Lancaster and Wyalusing avenues. There ...

NEW HARMONY, UT - Twelve-year-old Cory Arnett was on a midday drive Monday with a neighbor and three preschoolers when he started feeling nervous about how fast they were traveling on the poorly maintained dirt canyon road. Beth Donnelly, 23, was driving the 2003 Ford Explorer on Pace Canyon Road. In the backseat were her 2-year-old daughter, Berlin, another 2-year-old girl ...

DALLAS - The cash-strapped city of Dallas could owe the federal government $40 million or more if a whistle-blower lawsuit's allegations of fraud involving billing for ambulance services prove true. While the city says the specific amount it may owe the government has not been determined, it acknowledges that it is "fully cooperating" with federal authorities and will "move forward aggressively" ...

VENTURA, Calif. -- Three crew members aboard a Boeing 707 tanker loaded with jet fuel escaped with only minor injuries when the aircraft skidded off the runway and exploded into flames at a Southern California Navy base, officials said. The plane crashed as it was taking off from Naval Base Ventura County Point Mugu at about 5:25 p.m. Wednesday. It slid ...

TWINSBURG, OH - Twinsburg is mourning the loss of one of its firefighters, killed in a hunting accident over the weekend in Jefferson County. Ty Marlin, 46, died when his 15-year-old son accidentally shot him Sunday at the Short Creek Sportsman's Club in Adena. Twinsburg Fire Capt. Steven Bosso remembers the firefighter and paramedic as a person who loved to share ...

NEW YORK CITY - Days after the city blasted him as biased, Robert Morgenthau stepped down Tuesday as the court-appointed master overseeing new procedures for hiring firefighters. The former Manhattan district attorney called the Bloomberg administration's accusations "absurd," but said it was in the court's "best interest" to name someone the city didn't have a "grudge" against. Federal Judge Nicholas Garaufis ...

A 60-year veteran of the Tioga Center Fire Department was killed early this morning. LeRoy Kemp, a firefighter/ambulance driver was en route to a cardiac call when he the ambulance he was traveling in was involved in a multi-vehicle incident on Route 17C in Tioga Center. Kemp was killed on impact. The MCI closed the road down and delayed several schools ...

CENTRALIA, Pa. – Standing before the wreckage of his bulldozed home, John Lokitis Jr. felt sick to his stomach, certain that a terrible mistake had been made. He'd fought for years to stay in the house. It was one of the few left standing in the moonscape of Centralia, a once-proud coal town whose population fled an underground mine fire that ...

HOUSTON - One year ago, a Cy-Fair volunteer firefighter's life was changed forever. Thomas Shuster lost both of his legs at the hands of a suspected drunken driver. And now, he's telling us about the journey he's taken the past year and his hope for the future. Success comes in the small victories for Shuster. "I've realized that my life changed ...

WHATRON, TX - The transgender widow at the center of a court battle focusing on her late firefighter husband's estate apologized Tuesday for her appearance on a tabloid talk show 15 years ago during which she surprised a man who once kissed her with the news that she was born a boy. Nikki Araguz, 35, expressed deep regret for not telling ...

ORLANDO, FL - An announcement regarding an Orlando firefighter who was caught cheating on a promotions test has his department in a frenzy: he's getting a promotion. Two years ago, Orlando Assistant Fire Chief Rudy Johnson said he didn't cheat after listening in on radio transmissions for advanced information on the promotions test. Johnson claims that it was broadcast over open ...