Podcasts about state fire marshal

The latest TikTok challenge has prompted urgent warnings from school districts and law enforcement agencies in multiple states including here in Connecticut. Several districts have already had chromebooks messed with prompting evacuations and letters sent home to families. We spoke with Lauri Volkert, State Fire Marshal, about the dangerous trend and why you need to talk about this with your kids as young as kindergarten. Image Credit: Getty Images

State Fire Marshal Daniel Berlant talks about preparing for wildfire season. A new report looks at the needs of wildfire victims. Finally, Broadway Sacramento's new musical “Parade” explores antisemitism and racism in the South. State Fire Marshal Daniel Berlant

Thirty years ago, Keith Bryant was a firefighter in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma when the Alfred P. Murrah building was blown up. Today, he serves as the State Fire Marshal in Oklahoma but not before service as the US Fire Administrator. Comments or suggestions? Contact us at: Email - FirehouseLogbook@gmail.comTwitter - @FDLogbookInstagram - @FDLogbookPodcastFacebook - www.facebook.com/FDLogbookPodcastWebsite - www.firehouselogbook.captivate.fm Music: "Tired traveler on the way to go home", Andrew Codeman via Freemusicarchive.com

This is the second part of our series looking at how fire and life safety codes are being delayed, erased, and watered down across the United States. On this episode, we talk to Ohio State Fire Marshal Kevin Reardon about some of the challenges he's facing in his state, strategies to counter misguided legislative efforts, and why the fire service needs to get more involved if we are to reverse this dangerous trend (1:36).  Then, NFPA Southeast Regional Director Robby Dawson chats with building code officials from Texas and Iowa about their local code enforcement experiences, the broader challenges facing building officials, and how NFPA can help (32:11).  LINKS: Read, "The Assault on Safety," the cover story of the Spring 2025 issue of NFPA Journal.

Throw another dollar in the Clay was right again tip jar!   JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - The state's top fire inspector says Thalia Mara Hall can't safely reopen, following a walkthrough of the facility one day before it was slated to reopen. On Thursday, the State Fire Marshal conducted a follow-up walkthrough of the 2,000-seat auditorium, months after it initially found 22 violations at the facility. “While some fire safety issues have been fixed other issues are still being addressed. For example, fire curtains have not been installed; maintenance and inspection paperwork was not available for the elevator and escalators; the fire alarm system is showing trouble and there's no timeline on when it may be fixed; the sprinkler system needs to be inspected and tested; and fire suppression tools need to be properly tagged,” the office wrote.   “When the City of Jackson (COJ) has addressed these safety concerns another walkthrough will be scheduled. The State Fire Marshal's Office is committed to working with City of Jackson officials to protect the health and safety of the public and important cultural structures like Thalia Mara Hall.”   The hall closed in August after microbial growth was found in the facility. Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said Thalia Mara was slated to reopen on Friday.   However, officials with Marshal Mike Chaney's office say the report means the opening will be delayed again.   Jackson officials say they had not read the fire marshal's report but will provide a statement once they review it and get feedback from contractors.

This week on Breaking Battlegrounds, we're first joined by Ilya Shapiro, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and author of Lawless: The Miseducation of America's Elites, to explore the radical shifts in law school culture and it's impact on our legal system. Next, Florida's Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis shares insights on his congressional campaign, Florida's fiscal success, and his vision for a leaner federal budget. Finally, Congressman Greg Steube of Florida's 17th District highlights the bipartisan passage of his Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, emphasizing fairness and safety in athletics. Stay tuned for Kiley's Corner, where she discusses the tragic case out of Utah involving a teenage girl who was shot and killed while taking a ride around town with her friend. Kiley also provides an update on the Brian Koberger pretrial. Stream these thought-provoking conversations and much more, only on Breaking Battlegrounds!www.breakingbattlegrounds.voteTwitter: www.twitter.com/Breaking_BattleFacebook: www.facebook.com/breakingbattlegroundsInstagram: www.instagram.com/breakingbattlegroundsLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/breakingbattlegroundsTruth Social: https://truthsocial.com/@breakingbattlegroundsShow sponsors:Invest YrefyYrefy offers a secure, collateralized portfolio with a strong, fixed rate of return - up to a 10.25%. There is no attack on your principal if you ever need your money back. You can let your investment compound daily, or take your income whenever you choose. Make sure you tell them Sam and Chuck sent you!Learn more at investyrefy.com4Freedom MobileExperience true freedom with 4Freedom Mobile, the exclusive provider offering nationwide coverage on all three major US networks (Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile) with just one SIM card. Our service not only connects you but also shields you from data collection by network operators, social media platforms, government agencies, and more.Use code ‘Battleground' to get your first month for $9 and save $10 a month every month after.Learn more at: 4FreedomMobile.comDot VoteWith a .VOTE website, you ensure your political campaign stands out among the competition while simplifying how you reach voters.Learn more at: dotvote.voteAbout our guests:Ilya Shapiro is a senior fellow and director of constitutional studies at the Manhattan Institute and Author of Lawless: The Miseducation of America's Elites. Follow him on X @ishapiro. -Jimmy Patronis serves the citizens of Florida as the state's Chief Financial Officer, State Fire Marshal, and a member of the Florida Cabinet. Now, he's taking the next step in his public service journey by running for Congress in Florida's 1st District. Follow him on X @JimmyPatronis. -Congressman Greg Steube represents Florida's 17th district. In Congress, he serves on the House Committee on Ways and Means and House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. You can follow him on X @RepGregSteube. Get full access to Breaking Battlegrounds at breakingbattlegrounds.substack.com/subscribe

In this podcast episode ... She's Connecticut's first female state fire marshal. We talk with Lauri Volkert about her new role, her firefighting history as well as the challenges and opportunities she sees for her office in 2025 Plus we take a look at other stories from around the region.

Program helps eligible participants residing in high-risk wildfire zones offset costs up to $250.

Join us on our with our special guest, 37 year veteran, retired Miami Dade Fire Chief, Dave Downey. Tune in as we take you through his career that began when he joined the fire explorer program with the City of Lauderhill many years ago. He was hired in August of 1982 as a Firefighter with the City of Sunrise and just grew from there.Certified as a paramedic - Became a Haz May Technician - Certified as a Driver Operator - Met my future wife. She had 1 year seniority on me. Married in 1986 - January 1988 – Hired by Metro Dade (now Miami-Dade Fire Rescue) as a Firefighter/Paramedic -Assigned to Station 11 in Carol City (now Miami Gardens). - May 1991 Promoted to Lieutenant - One of the original members of FL-TF1 (USAR Task Force) - Deployed to various Hurricanes, earthquakes, and the AA plane crash in Columbia - Worked at Station 11 during Hurricane Andrew (1992) - Assigned to Station 7 as well as working relief on Air Rescue. - Developed Flashover Training programs in Palm Beach, Coral Springs and the Broward Fire Academy - Taught various technical rescue training programs - November 1999 promoted to Captain - Assigned to Special Operations- Tasked with implementing a second full-time Air Rescue operation - Became the US&R Bureau OIC - Deployed as part of FL-TF1 to the WTC post-September 11th - May 2002 promoted to Battalion Chief - August 2003 appointed Division Chief, North Operations, Responsible for 4 Battalions in the northeast part of the County - August 2004 assigned as Chief of EMS - April 2005 assigned as Chief of Training and Safety (My dream job!) - Deployed to New Orleans post Hurricane Katrina - No training facility but tasked with an aggressive hiring program. Trained 400 firefighters in 18 months - Responsible for the final design and oversaw construction of the $25M Training Facility - March 2010 appointed Assistant Chief and assigned Technical Services Fire Prevention, Communications, Logistics, and Training - Deployed to Hait Earthquake - May 2011 appointed Chief of Operations - February 2013 appointed as the 12th Chief of Department - Challenging first couple of years with budget. Faced with laying off 59 firefighters in my first year. - Retired June 2019 - Hired by State Fire Marshal to coordinate disaster response - Deployed to Surfside building collapse. Coordinated US&R operations for 19 days.We look forward to hearing his journey. Join us at the Kitchen Table on the BEST FIREFIGHTER PODCAST ON THE INTERNET! You can also Listen to our podcast ...we are on all the players #lovethisjob #GiveBackMoreThanYouTake #Oldschool #miamidadefirerescueBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/gettin-salty-experience-firefighter-podcast--4218265/support.

Listen in as Mike Bell talks about how he last 16 years as Fire Chief for Toledo Fire and Rescue and how it prepared him for State Fire Marshal and City of Toledo Mayor.

Wildfires spreading throughout the state have caused multiple road closures and prompted evacuations. The Durkee Fire, which is burning in Malheur and Baker counties, is so hot it created its own weather. Record dry conditions combined with lightning strikes and human activity have set off over 60 fires across Oregon and Washington already this season. The U.S. Forest Service is bringing in resources from across the country to aid in fighting these blazes. Mariana Ruiz Temple, Oregon’s State Fire Marshal, joins us to share more. We’ll also hear from Jacque Buchanan, U.S. Forest Service regional forester for the Pacific Northwest.

What's going on with the fire alarms at FT Precision?: https://www.knoxpages.com/2024/05/06/open-source-whats-going-on-with-the-fire-alarms-at-ft-precision/  Today – Andy Ellinger, the public information officer for the State Fire Marshal's Office, has verified two of the recent fires at FT Precision as cases of arson, and investigations are currently active.Support the show: https://richlandsource.com/membersSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tuesday's program featured Miss New Hampshire Volunteer 2024 Eliza Fisher. Eliza won the competition in September of 2023 and is preparing for the Miss Volunteer America pageant in June.In our monthly visit with the New Hampshire Department of Safety we visited with Amy McLaughlin, the Community Risk Reduction Specialist and Public Information Officer from the office of the State Fire Marshal. Amy provided tips on home fire safety including smoke and carbon monoxide detectors as well as regulations for grilling safety. More information at www.nh.gov/firemarshal

Show Notes: We partner with Ashley Rodrigue, the Public Affairs Director for the State Fire Marshal's Office, to share life-saving fire safety tips. Learn about Louisiana's new carbon monoxide law, the Operation Save-A-Life program, and crucial measures to ensure your home and family are safe. In our Mental Health Moment, we discuss tips for prioritizing mental health and using tools such as those found at Mental Health America. Then, we honor hero Daniel Rees.

In the first half of this episode, Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler is joined by Colonel William Davis and special guest Erik Robey, HCSO's Director of Legislative and Community Affairs.  Together, they discuss your rights under the 2nd Amendment and the efforts that some legislators have undertaken to restrict them. On May 9, 2019, at 2:28 a.m., a third-floor occupant, Ernest Lee, called 911 to report a fire at his townhome in Edgewood, Maryland.  The fire would ultimately result in a tragic outcome, injuring two residents and claiming the lives of Mr. Lee and two others.  Among the devastating aftermath, the Office of the State Fire Marshal found suspicious evidence related to the fire which prompted the Harford County Sheriff's Office to investigate the incident as an intentional act of arson. In the second half of the podcast, Sheriff Gahler is joined by Corporal Tammy Burns as she recounts her experience working on this tragic case and the arrest of a particular individual in an effort to bring some justice to the victims and their families.

00:00 Show Open / Anita Metheny, Fire Prevention Bureau Chief of the State Fire Marshal's Office. 24:00 Rose Eldadah, a Palestinian-American living in Columbus who has lost six family members in the war between Israel and Hamas. 40:00 Kyle Kondik, Managing Editor of Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia, discusses Ohio's diminishing role in determining the outcome of presidential elections. 48:00 Sarah McQuaide, Manager of Communications and Media Relations for the Columbus Regional Airport Authority

In this episode, we wrap up the series that we presented during National Fire Prevention Month, focusing on not just an individual with multiple experiences in emergency services but, this time, a focus on multiple services under a single umbrella. Host Dr. I. David Daniels will speak with Chris Connealy, Senior Director of Emergency Services for Williamson County, Texas Department of Emergency Services. Director Connealy has been in public safety for 45 years. He started with the Houston Fire Department (HFD) in 1978 and was promoted through the ranks to fire chief over a 26-year career before retiring. He was appointed fire chief of the Cedar Park Fire Department in 2004 and served eight years. In 2012, Chris was appointed as the State Fire Marshal of Texas 2012 and served six years. In July 2018, he was appointed Senior Director of Emergency Services in Williamson County. Sources of stress for emergency responders may include witnessing human suffering, risk of personal harm, intense workloads, life-and-death decisions, and separation from family. Stress prevention and management is critical for responders to stay well and to continue to help in the situation. Respondents must be feeling well and thinking clearly to take care of others. There are essential steps responders should take before, during, and after an event, and we have a great guest to talk about that and other aspects of an emergency service organization. Based on his many decades in emergency services, Director Connealy has worked with the leadership of Willaimson County to initiate and fortify several innovative measures to help workers deal with the stress associated with their essential functions.

This show aired on Friday, October 6th, 2023 on 107.9 and 980 The WAAV in Wilmington, NC. Guests include Mike Causey and Rod Bell. Disingenuous Local Media, State Fire Marshal information, and more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Illinois Fighting Illini football team loses to Penn State, the Illinois Office of the State Fire Marshal is offering a grant to help ambulances and fire departments purchase equipment, and the Eastern Illinois Foodbank takes action to fight hunger.Hosted by Laszlo Richard Toth.Stories by Ashley Gilbert, Kaitlyn Devitt, and Laszlo Richard Toth.Music by Boxout.

Steve and Vince talk to Juan Gonzales, 8 year member of the Chicago Fire Department and Army Veteran. Juan received the States Fire Marshal Medal of Honor for his actions at a fire on February 21st 2022. Juan also own Ape-x universe gym in Elmwood Park IL.

In this episode of What's What BR, we meet Ashley Rodrigue, Public Affairs Director w/ the State Fire Marshal's office. Ashley discusses the importance of smoke detectors in the home as well as generator safety during this year's hurricane season.

The fire service is having to adapt to the realities of today's challenges. In this podcast we hear from one of the national leaders in the fire service. To give you the depth and breadth of his experience I'm including much, but not all, of his biography. How do you measure up when it comes to experience and education? In May 2016, Mayor James Kenney appointed Adam Thiel to serve as the 20th Fire Commissioner for the City of Philadelphia. Commissioner Thiel is responsible for leading the Philadelphia Fire Department's 3,000+ members in every facet of protecting our Nation's 6th-largest city from fires and emergencies arising from all hazards. Adam also served as Director of the Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management from 2019-2022. From 2014-2016, he was a Deputy Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security for the Commonwealth of Virginia. In that role, Adam helped provide strategic direction, policy advice, management oversight, and operational coordination for eleven agencies with an overall budget of more than $3.1B and 30,000 employees. Deputy Secretary Thiel was directly responsible for the Departments of: Emergency Management, Fire Programs (including the State Fire Marshal's Office), Military Affairs (Virginia Army/Air National Guard), and State Police, along with the state's Homeland Security and Resilience portfolios. Commissioner Thiel is currently enrolled in the Organizational Dynamics graduate program at the University of Pennsylvania and he has also completed: doctoral coursework in Public Administration and Public Policy at Arizona State University (ABD) and George Mason University, respectively; a MSc. in Cities from the London School of Economics; his M.P.A. degree from George Mason University; a B.S. in Fire Science from the University of Maryland University College; his B.A. in History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government; the Naval Postgraduate School's Center for Homeland Defense and Security Executive Leaders Program; the Army War College Commandant's National Security Program; and the Virginia Executive Institute at Virginia Commonwealth University. Merit is a first-of-its-kind, all-hazards, digital credentialing platform that equips emergency responders with innovative tools to securely manage their personnel on-site, no matter the situation. Merit's platform is relied on in mission-critical situations such as the Surfside building collapse and at secure Health and Human Service facilities and is trusted by a growing network of thousands of partners. Eric Holdeman is a professional emergency manager who is passionate about providing information that can help families, businesses & governments become better prepared for disasters of all types. Hear first hand expert insights from Eric on his Podcast, Blog & EricHoldeman.com.

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In this episode, we are joined by Steve Hawks, who has dedicated over three decades to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE). Steve's impressive career began as a firefighter and eventually led him to serve as the Assistant Deputy Director of CAL FIRE's Office of the State Fire Marshal's Community Wildfire Preparedness and Mitigation and Fire Engineering and Investigations Divisions. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Forest Resource Management from Humboldt State University and has served on various CAL FIRE Incident Management Teams for 13 years. After retiring in December 2022, Steve returned to the CAL FIRE – Office of the State Fire Marshal's Community Wildfire Preparedness and Mitigation Division and has also taken on the role of Director of Wildfire Policy for the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) team. During our conversation, Steve shares his insights on community wildfire preparedness and mitigation strategies, including defensible space home hardening, fuel reduction projects, grant funding, and other programs implemented by CAL FIRE's Community Wildfire Preparedness and Mitigation Division. He also provides a detailed analysis of the impacts of Assembly Bill 38 on homeowners living in high fire hazard zones, which mandates defensible space compliance inspections and proof of passing. Join us as we dive deep into the world of wildfire preparedness and mitigation with Steve Hawks. You can listen to the episode on our website, or on your favorite podcast platform, such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Google Podcasts. And don't forget to subscribe to our show and follow us on social media to stay up to date on all things wildfire. Thank you for your time and I hope you enjoy this episode.

This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I'm here with your update for Thursday, December 29.It will be a bit like early spring weather Thursday, with drizzle, fog, and warm air. According to the National Weather Service it will be cloudy with a high near 45 degrees in the Cedar Rapids area on Thursday. There will be areas of fog throughout the day, and a chance for drizzle, primarily after 5 p.m. On Thursday night there will be a 20 percent chance of rain, with a low around 29 degrees.A person was found dead late Tuesday inside a North Liberty mobile home where crews were called to fight a fire.According to the North Liberty Fire Department, crews were dispatched shortly after 10 p.m. Tuesday to 95 Golf View Court. A police officer who was first to arrive saw flames at the front door and at a back window. Fire crews found a fire in the living room, which they quickly extinguished.An occupant and three dogs were found inside, all dead, authorities said. The name of the occupant has not yet been released. The Johnson County Medical Examiner and the State Fire Marshal's Office were called to the scene.A cause for the fire has not yet been determined.Two years ago, University of Iowa Health Care co-led a study researching the benefits of new COVID-19 vaccines.But a lot has changed since that study's publication — with individual immunity waning, COVID variants mutating and boosters arriving — prompting UIHC this month to announce it's working with UCLA on a second version of the “Preventing Emerging Infections through Vaccine Effectiveness Testing” study, called “PREVENT.”The PREVENT II research — co-led by UI's Carver College of Medicine and University of California, Los Angeles, with a $13.6 million grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — aims primarily to evaluate the ongoing effectiveness of vaccines and specifically boosters.On the COVID-19 front, Iowa on Wednesday reported 2,148 new COVID-19 cases in the past week, a 39 percent decrease from last week's 3,493 cases.This is the first significant drop of recent weeks, which had been featuring increasing numbers each week. Whether or not this is another peak for the latest spike in cases will likely have to wait until the results of holiday travel bear out over the next few weeks into the return of school.The nation's largest e-cigarette maker, Juul Labs Inc., will revamp its advertising and retail practices in Iowa and pay $5 million over a four-year period in order to resolve potential violations of state law.Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller announced the settlement Wednesday to resolve potential violations of Iowa's Deceptive Trade Practices Act.Miller alleges that Iowa youth under the age of 21 were targeted by the company's products and became users in violation of state law.As part of the agreement, Juul will send $1.25 million each year to the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services. The funding will be used to provide resources and education to Iowa youth under the age of 21 targeted by the company's products who became users, including assistance in quitting e-cigarette use.The company, for its part, still officially denies any wrongdoing.

State Fire Marshal Kevin Reardon talks about the challenges that are facing the volunteer fire service in Ohio. In this podcast there is discussion on: What The Task Force on Volunteer Fire Service is What the goals and objectives of the task force is Reasons why volunteers are declining Importance of volunteer fire departments Ideas to start the conversation of change Finances and Budget Important links: Main webpage that has fact sheets, meeting minutes, raoundable recordings, and announcements can be found at https://com.ohio.gov/divisions-and-programs/state-fire-marshal/about-state-fire-marshal/task-force-volunteer-fire-service To see many related articles and research please visit the National Volunteer Fire Council's website at https://www.nvfc.org/press-room/

This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I'm here with your update for Tuesday, December 14th.You can briefly end your hibernation on Wednesday. According to the National Weather Service there will be rain in the very beginning of the day in the Cedar Rapids area, but this will eventually give way to sunny skies and a high of 48 degrees. On Wednesday night it will be mostly cloudy, with a low of around 28 degrees.Former University of Iowa President Willard “Sandy” Boyd died Tuesday at the age of 95.Boyd was widely loved on campus and was instrumental in the university becoming what it is today. During Boyd's tenure as the UI's 15th president from 1969 to 1981, undergraduate enrollment exploded threefold from 8,400 to 25,100. Buildings that either opened or were planned on his watch nearly doubled the campus' size — including Carver-Hawkeye Arena, the Dental Science Building, College of Nursing, Bowen Science Building, Lindquist Center and Hardin Library for Health Sciences, according to the UI Office of Strategic Communication.The UI Hospitals and Clinics saw its footprint swell under Boyd, who collaborated with then-UIHC Director John Colloton on a then $500,000 plan to upgrade the facility.He also had a formative impact on Iowa athletics, along with the athletic directors he hired: Bump Elliott and Christine Grant. Coaches hired under his tenure include Dan Gable, Hayden Fry and Lute Olson. He was also part of the renaming of Iowa Stadium to Kinnick Stadium, initially suggesting the name Kinnick-Slater Stadium.The sprinkler system, smoke detectors and fire hydrants at a Marengo recycling facility were not working or had been disabled before an explosion and fire last week that injured about 15 people, authorities said.The State Fire Marshal and local law enforcement are interviewing people who worked at C-6 Zero to learn what sparked the fire that took more than 200 firefighters to extinguish as the neighborhood around the plant was evacuated.One of the questions officials are asking: Why weren't the sprinklers working?“I can confirm there were two fire hydrants on site that were not functioning,” Marengo Police Chief Ben Gray said. “There was no activation of indoor fire suppression system and I will confirm we are investigating that.”Iowa Administrative Code requires all “life safety equipment” including alarm and sprinkler systems to be “in operable condition at all times” for structures where they are required. Failure to do this can result in criminal charges, said Ron Humphrey, special agent in charge of the State Fire Marshal's Office.A Cedar Rapids woman convicted of a lesser charge in the fatal stabbing of her boyfriend in 2020 will not serve any additional prison time because she already served 891 days — almost 2 1/2 years — leading up to her trial.Sixth Judicial District Judge Kevin McKeever on Tuesday sentenced Jacqueline Holmes, 38, who originally was charged with first-degree murder, to up to five years in prison for involuntary manslaughter. However, he said that based on the law she had served enough time before her September trial, and he was discharging her.Holmes, following more than five days of testimony and a day and half of deliberations, was found guilty of unintentionally causing the death of boyfriend Tremaine Williams, 35, on March 4, 2020 after stabbing him in the shoulder.A retired Illinois law and psychology professor, who consults and testifies in cases involving domestic violence, said during the

Episode 9 - AB662 - A discussion with Chief Alex Hamilton (Oxnard Fire) On this episode, we interview Chief Alex Hamilton to discuss the recently singed legislation (AB662) which added sections to the Current Health & Safety Code (1797.119 & 13159.6) which requires the State Fire Marshal to establish additional training standards that include the criteria for curriculum content recommended by the Statewide Training and Education Advisory Committee involving Peer to Peer Suicide Prevention Programming.

This is John McGlothlen with The Gazette digital news desk and I'm here with your update for Monday, November 21st.According to the National Weather Service, it will be sunny today in the Cedar Rapids area, with a high near 37. Winds from the southwest 5 to 10 mph coming from the northwest in the afternoon. Then tonight, partly cloudy, with a low around 19. The Jones County Sheriff's Office has released the name of a girl killed in a house fire in Onslow Friday. 10-year-old Geniyah Morgan was found by firefighters in an upstairs bedroom on Summit Street. Fire crews had made multiple attempts to reach her but were unsuccessful due to the intensity of the fire and heat on both floors of the residence. Her body was taken to the Iowa State Medical Examiner's Office in Ankeny, pending an autopsy. Geniyah was a fifth-grade student in the Midland School District. Her mother and four children, ages 1 to 8, were able to escape through a bedroom window on the main floor of the home. All were taken to the Jones Regional Medical Center in Anamosa with smoke and heat-related injuries. A one-year-old girl was then taken by ambulance to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City, and released Friday night. A preliminary investigation by the State Fire Marshal's Office and Jones County Sheriff's Office determined the fire to be accidental, starting in the kitchen. Geniyah's death was the seventh Iowa house fire fatality this past week.Caitlin Clark scored a season-high 33 points and Iowa pulled away late to defeat Belmont 73-62 on Sunday. Besides Clark, no other Iowa player scored in double figures. Clark was listed as day-to-day after suffering an ankle injury on the final play of Thursday's 84-83 loss at Kansas State. But she played almost 31 minutes Sunday.–

00:00 Show Open / Columbus City Council President Shannon Hardin discusses issues the city is dealing with as he attends the annual summit held by the National League of Cities. 12:00 Kimberly Schwind, Director of Public Affairs for AAA Ohio Auto Club, discusses Thanksgiving travel. 22:30 Courtesy of our sister station, WBNS 10-TV, Tracy Townsend recaps the election, with comments from some of the winners of statewide office races; the impact of Ohio's two statewide issues passing; and some local school leaders react to seeing funding issues get approved in their districts. 45:30 Ken Klouda, Chief of the Fire Prevention Bureau at the Division of State Fire Marshal.

Welcome to the weekend!This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I'm here with your update for Saturday, November 19 and Sunday, November 20.This may be the first forecast in awhile where they've brought out the word blustery. According to the National Weather Service, there will be a slight chance for flurries Saturday morning, but besides that it will be sunny most of the day. But it will also be cold, with a high of 22 degrees dropping down to a windchill of 0 degrees with blustery 15 to 25 winds. On Saturday night it will be mostly clear, with the winds calming a bit, and a low of 10 degrees. On Sunday the temperatures will get up to 35 degrees, again with sunny skies, and again with wind that will probably make it feel a lot colder. On Sunday night it will be mostly clear, with a low of around 26 degrees.Iowa will still have one statewide Democrat in office after Republican state auditor candidate Todd Halbur conceded the race Friday to Democratic incumbent Auditor Rob Sand.Halbur said he was dropping his request for a recount because he did not have sufficient resources to file the requests in all 99 counties, and he claimed the Republican Party of Iowa would not help support a statewide recount.Sand led the race by 2,893 votes out of nearly 1.2 million cast in the election — a margin of just 0.24 percent — according to the latest unofficial results reported by the Iowa Secretary of State's office.Because the victory margin is less than 1 percent, Halbur by state law could request a recount without being required to post a bond, with Iowa counties picking up the cost.Halbur, though, would still have to physically file paperwork with each county auditor in the state within three days after the county canvass and recruit designees in all 99 counties to serve on recount boards.“They have to have the flexibility to do a hand count for days and be flexible for 18 total days to get the recount done,” Halbur said in a statement provided to The Gazette. “My campaign does not have the staff or infrastructure to get that coordinated on a statewide basis in that short amount of time.In less than three days this week, seven people — five of them children — have died in Iowa house fires, a fatality rate not seen in the state in at least 16 years, data shows.Four children died Wednesday in a fire in Mason City. A retired couple died Thursday in a fire in northeast Cedar Rapids. And a fire early Friday in Onslow claimed another child.The Mason City fire was blamed on a faulty power strip. The cause of the Cedar Rapids and Onslow fires remained under investigation, though officials believe the Onslow fire started in the kitchen.Structure fires do tend to pick up this time of year, said Ron Humphrey, the special agent in charge for the Iowa Fire Marshal's Office, because as the temperature drops, people start using different kinds of heat-generating appliances that can sometimes become fire hazards — like space heaters, furnaces and fireplaces.“I can't say that that's any of the causes for these recent fires, but fires in general this time of year, we seem to get more because … people are starting to turn on their furnaces,” Humphrey said.Data compiled by the State Fire Marshal's Office dating to 2006 shows there has never been such a high fire fatality rate in such a short period of time in those 16 years. In December 2017 — four days before Christmas — two fires on the same day claimed six people, including a family of five in...

Bonus Episode - Fire Prevention Week Jonathan Jones - SC's TOP FIREFIGHTER Jonathan Jones has 22 years of experience in emergency response training and operations. He has spent the last 15 years with the Clarendon County Fire Department, and has served as the Deputy Chief of Operations for the Clarendon County Fire Department since 2014. A former president of the S.C. State Firefighters Association, Jones has spent his career serving South Carolina in fire and emergency response. He is a member of the S.C. Firefighters' Hall of Fame and a recipient of the S.C. Fire Service Educator of the Year award and the Meritorious Action Award. Jones is a graduate of the University of South Carolina-Aiken where he graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1999 with a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration.

The wife of Evansville firefighter Robert Doerr is now charged with his murder... The investigation into last week's fatal house explosion is now in the hands of the State Fire Marshal... The Evansville Parks and Recreation Department is looking for public input as it works to develop a five year plan...  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

During the weekend, a 40-year-old mother was arrested for allegedly stabbing her children while her house was on fire. Paulding County emergency services received a call about a domestic disturbance and fire at 776 Woodwind Drive in Rockmart on June 24 at 9:19 p.m. A "female who was inside the home attempted to stab its occupants," said the Paulding County Sheriff's Office. Several law enforcement agencies assisted, including the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the State Fire Marshal, Paulding County Fire Investigators, and Paulding County Detectives, in extinguishing the fire and rescuing the occupants. Seven juveniles were found inside the home, and two of them - a 3-year-old and a 9-month-old - were pronounced dead. According to reports, they suffered apparent stab wounds. The hospital also treated three other children, ages 5, 9, and 11. A 14-year-old and a 16-year-old did not appear to be injured, according to the Paulding County Sheriff's Office. The 5-year-old died as a result of injuries, according to the statement. Nine-year-old is in critical but stable condition. Darlene Brister, the children's mother, was arrested and charged with malice murder. There are likely to be additional charges, according to WAGA-TV. The Paulding County Jail records indicate Brister is being held without bond. If you like TRUE CRIME TODAY - Be sure to search and subscribe wherever you download podcasts! Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-a-true-crime-podcast/id1504280230?uo=4 Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/0GYshi6nJCf3O0aKEBTOPs Stitcher http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/real-ghost-stories-online-2/dark-side-of-wikipedia-true-crime-disturbing-stories iHeart https://www.iheart.com/podcast/270-Dark-Side-of-Wikipedia-Tru-60800715 Amazon https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/565dc51b-d214-4fab-b38b-ae7c723cb79a/Dark-Side-of-Wikipedia-True-Crime-Dark-History Google Podcasts https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hdWRpb2Jvb20uY29tL2NoYW5uZWxzLzUwMDEyNjAucnNz Or Search "True Crime Today" for the best in True Crime ANYWHERE you get podcasts! Support the show at http://www.patreon.com/truecrimetoday

June 28, 2022 ~ The State Fire Marshal talks to Paul about Michigan's fireworks laws and he asks everyone to be safe throughout the 4th of July weekend.

On this episode of Concrete Credentials, Gregg is joined by Chief Butch Browning, State Fire Marshal of Louisiana since 2008. Chief Browning has spent the last 34 years of his career in fire safety and has been an instrumental leader in modernizing Louisiana's fire safety systems and training programs. During their conversation, Gregg and Chief Browning discuss Chief Browning's career, his concerns for Louisiana as it relates to fire safety, the importance of building codes and standards in minimizing fire hazards, and the need to construct resilient buildings with non-combustible materials to protect against fires in the future.

Dr. Dave Lambert is a retired Lieutenant from the Massachusetts State Police.  He is now the Associate Dean for the Justice System Training and Research Institute (JTSRI) at Roger Williams University, School of Justice Studies.  JSTRI provides training, and technical assistance,  collaborating on research projects.  The Command Series focuses on first-line supervisors, mid-managers, and executives from police, corrections, and probation agencies throughout New England.  While with the MSP, Dave served with the State Fire Marshal's Office, the Commonwealth Fusion Center, and in planning and research at MSP HQ.   We talked about the wide range of issues and positive developments with projects created by police agencies to improve services and collaborative community action to address social issues.  

There's a lot of advice floating around that explains what a firefighter needs to do to get promoted to an officer position. And there's quite a bit about leadership and what to do once you ARE promoted. On this edition of the show, we're going to look at a couple of different sides of the promotion equation: How to prepare yourself for a promotion…and what impact on the department promotions may have. Both are important, and both are often overlooked. My guest to discuss these topics is Paul Watlington. He's the battalion chief of training for the Burlington, North Carolina Fire Department. Paul is also a member of the Yanceyville Volunteer Fire Department. He is a 22-year veteran of the fire service and has many certifications from the National Fire Academy and the North Carolina Office of the State Fire Marshal.

PREVENTING TRAGEDY: In the wake of several deadly fires, we speak with Ashley Rodrigue of the Louisiana Office of State Fire Marshal about ways to keep you and your family safe.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/local-news-live-daily/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Episode 34 of the OMAG All Access podcast hosted by OMAG Executive Director, Suzie Paulson features Oklahoma State Fire Marshal, Keith Bryant. This discussion is regarding the role and duties of the State Fire Marshal's Office.The State Fire Marshal's Office is responsible for enforcing the State Fire Code and the permitting processing prior to construction of many types of buildings anywhere in the State unless the City has provided the State Fire Marshal's Office with approved documentation. Fire Marshal Bryant also discusses some of the ongoing issues with medical marijuana grow facilities and other construction projects and provides some contact information if you have questions about the Fire Marshal's permitting and inspection process.

In this episode of the Side Alpha Podcast, Chief Marc Bashoor speaks with Chief Dave Downey about one of the biggest stories of the year — the structural collapse in Surfside, Florida.  As the deputy coordinator for Florida's Statewide Emergency Response Plan (SERP), Chief Downey was asked to represent the State Fire Marshal's Office at the incident to coordinate the state USAR response. Downey offers a unique perspective on the incident, having been so closely involved in the rescue and recovery efforts.  Read more from Chief Downey: The Surfside condo collapse: An operational play-by-play, from deployment to AAR

This is our first bonus episode of Over the Lege - we're calling the series "Under The Lege" and we're going to do some deep dives into moments of Texas State Legislature Lore that come up during our Over The Lege Podcast episodes. In the second podcast episode of this season with legislative guest Andy Cates on October 29th, we briefly mentioned that there had been a fire in the Lt. Governor's apartment back in the 1980s. So Stephanie Chiarello decided to do some research on the fire and report her findings back to you. Enjoy!The official story can be found at these links:https://www.nytimes.com/1983/02/07/us/around-the-nation-fire-kills-a-guest-in-the-texas-capitol.htmlhttps://www.kut.org/austin/2015-02-04/wayback-wednesday-the-capitol-fire-of-1983https://tspb.texas.gov/prop/tc/tc-history/restoration/index.htmlThe "Only Murders in the Building" version of the story was found at the blog: "Babylon On The Colorado" - Posted on the blog, Texas Mostly, on May 6, 2019Every fifteen minutes of the day a tour begins on the first floor of the Capitol. The guides are mostly fresh-scrubbed college students, young women in identical skirts and white blouses, and the young men in button-down shirts with conservative striped ties. They begin at the south foyer offering visitors a view of the flags carved in the marble floor representing the six countries that have, at one time or another, ruled Texas. It's the original granite-faced big house, completed in 1888, by prison labor and Scottish stonemasons, paid for by a swap of 3,000,000 acres of public land in West Texas – an area twice the size of Delaware – that remains the soul of the state.            From the rotunda, the guide leads the way to the Senate floor. When the Legislature is not in session, tourists oooh and aaah over the paintings of heroes and ask more questions. Except for the velour ropes and portraits of dead white men on the walls the Senate chamber has the feel of a bordello parlour. The tour leaders were previously warned by the Preservation Board, responsible for the Capitol's maintenance, “Do not add material or stories to your tour that are not in your packet. If someone asks you a question that you don't have information on, tell them to stop by our office after the tour and we will try to answer it." Nowadays a little adlibbing is permitted. Invariably it's in the back of the mind of any Texan of a certain age that a fire took place on the Senate side – a very destructive fire in which someone died. The occasional tourist may even know that the fire led to the renovation of the capital and eventually, in a sense, to the creation of the extension. “Wasn't it something about an apartment?” visitors may ask, referring to the origin of the blaze. It was so long ago that details only buzz vaguely in the back of minds, as a sense more than a concrete knowing.            If the visitor asks how the fire started the official story is that a television set shorted out in what was then the Lieutenant Governor's apartment behind the Senate floor. Specifically, it was a Zenith TV although that's not mentioned. The set originally cost $425 and had a “self-extinguishing cabinet,” which isn't mentioned either, yet it spontaneously melted down and almost took the soul of Texas with it.            That's the official story.            It has survived three decades, but in recent years old evidence that was obscured has come to light – and a key witness spoke a few words before dying. Both contradicted the official explanation. The official story of the Capitol fire now appears to be exactly what it is, a complete fabrication told to protect a very powerful political family – a family that has included a governor and lieutenant governor and once defined the Texas establishment the way the Bushes now do.Actually, two people died in the fire. One of the victims of the Capitol fire was a 23-year-old horse trainer from a barn in New Caney, outside Houston, who succumbed to smoke inhalation on February 6, 1983, in a bedroom of the then-Lieutenant Governor Hobbyr's then-apartment, behind the Senate chamber. The other was a Capitol policeman who breathed his last breath after a minor car accident in Guanajuato, down on Mexico's central plateau, a year later.Those are the latest two victims of the Texas myth – or in this case the Texas lie. February 5, 1983: The 68th session of the Legislature had just begun and Lt. Gov William P. Hobby was in town, staying at a duplex he shared with his wife a few blocks from the Capitol, as was the Hobbys' custom. There were two apartments in the Capitol then, dating from the days when the legislative leadership only came to Austin for the legislative session, every two years. The Hobbys preferred to use their state quarters (consisting of four bedrooms, a kitchen, dining room, a den, and four baths) as a guesthouse for out-of-town visitors. (The other apartment is on the second floor on the west side and belongs to the Speaker.) Kate Pettus Hobby, a high school senior at St. John's in Houston, and a couple named Waterman, owners of the stable where Miss Hobby was a rider, and Mathew Hansen, her instructor, were all in town that day for the Texas Riding and Hunting Association banquet at the Driskill Hotel where Miss Hobby was to receive an award. She and her party stayed in the Capitol apartment. A dance followed the awards banquet and Kate Hobby and Matt Hansen left at two in the morning, driven the few blocks from the hotel by an older Hobby sibling, Andrew, who did not stay. In the apartment the Watermans, who were in their mid-30s, were already asleep. Kate Hobby poured a glass of juice for herself and a coke for Matt Hansen, she recalled in her official statement, and the two sat eating Fritos on the couch in the den where the fire started. Kate stayed with Matt Hansen a few minutes, she said to investigators the next day, and then went to bed. When last seen alive by Kate Hobby, Matt Hansen – who had been drinking all night – was stretched out on the couch, smoking cigarettes and watching Music TV.Two hours later Kate and the Watermans were awakened by smoke and noise, according to the official account, as glass and wood cracked in the flames. Heat detectors designed to sound an alarm in the security office on the Capitol's first floor summoned police. Officer Joel Quintanilla had been on patrol on the grounds outside and was called in, raced upstairs, and heard Hansen beating on the walls of the apartment but the smoke was too much to penetrate. Quintanilla was burned on his hands, arms, and face, as his lungs filled with soot. The Watermans and Kate Hobby escaped but firemen found the riding instructor dressed only in pants and socks, lying between the twin beds in a guest room. That's the official line. “This particular [television] set, we can prove that it was defective and that it caught fire and damaged the Capitol,” Attorney General Jim Mattox said following a legal settlement under which Zenith agreed to pay $600,000 to the Hansen family, $300,000 to Quintanilla's survivors and $1.3 million to the State of Texas for repairs to the then 95-year-old red granite building.“We got ninety or ninety-five percent of what we wanted,” Mattox told the press.From the beginning, there were doubts about this account of events, related to both the progression of the fire and its cause. First, the timing did not make sense. Capitol security officers clocked the smoke detectors' alarm at 5:25 in the morning and the fire department was alerted at 5:33. Yet every physical indication was that the blaze had begun much earlier with Officer Quintanilla testifying that he had been called in from patrol on a report of smoke at 5 a.m. Acting Chief Brady Pool who led firefighters that morning was the first to hint that something was not right.“Anybody who was in the business, any professional,” he said later in an interview, “could tell that the fire had been burning for a while before we got there. It hadn't just started five minutes before [the alarm] was turned in.” He cited as an example a hot-water heater, normally in position in one of the false ceilings above the den. The first firemen to enter the apartment found the heater on the floor – the whole ceiling had already burned away. Chief Pool first thought the cause was electrical, sparks from a short circuit – the usual house-fire kind of thing—just on a bigger scale. At first the trauma of the fire itself trumped the search for a cause. It was a mind boggling scene that dawn at the north end of Congress Avenue downtown. Mark White, sworn in as governor the month before, walked over from the Mansion and was put to work dragging water hoses. The first firemen to arrive called in a second alarm and a third was turned in almost an hour later. At one point the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, mayor and city manager were all on the scene together with 100 firemen and at the height of the fire Chief Pool informed Governor White that he needed to be prepared to give the order to abandon the building. Almost a century earlier the first Texas Capitol also burned down – no one could believe it was happening again.Eventually, the flames were “knocked down,” as firefighters like to say, before reaching the Senate chamber. In addition to Mathew Hansen who was already dead when he was dragged from the apartment, three Capitol police officers and eight firefighters were also injured.Early that same morning, not long after the first alarm, city fire investigators were already on their way to the scene. As they drove along Festival Beach Road looking north they saw smoke a mile away, rising from the most prominent building in Texas, including the Alamo. The State Fire Marshal's people began arriving too. The city and state investigators had joint jurisdiction – or so they thought. Because of the nature of the damage, the origin of the fire was quickly narrowed down to the den of Governor Hobby's apartment. Malcolm Light, the city's chief arson investigator, focused first on the two likeliest causes. “In this fire, like most where damage is particularly severe,” he wrote in his notes, showing particular literary care in what was likely to be a highly scrutinized investigation, “determination of the exact point of origin is extremely difficult.“Barring any unexpected event in the investigation, there appear to be only two possibilities regarding fire cause. Either a fault or shorting occurred in an electrical conductor in the vicinity of the northwest corner [of the lieutenant governor's den] resulting in the fire, or the fire was initiated by a carelessly discarded cigarette or smoking materials.”In the northwest corner of the den there was a television on a shelf, near bookcases, and an easy chair. “During excavation operations in the room of origin,” Chief Light wrote, “remains of a television were recovered from the northwest quadrant of the room along with remnants of electrical conductors. What appeared to be the operating cord to the television was recovered intact with no evidence of faults or melting.” A piece of unidentified electrical wire was found nearby with blisters indicating a short. A short can cause a fire – but a fire can also cause a short.   Officer Quintanilla was interviewed in Brackenridge Hospital where he was in intensive care. He had joined two other Capitol policemen on the first floor of the east wing that unhappy morning when he came in from patrol, and from his hospital bed Officer Quintanilla told Chief Light, “The three of us ran to the elevator. As soon as we got off the elevator, we looked down and we could see smoke coming from the door leading to the den.” They entered the apartment, and down the hall Quintanilla could hear someone shouting, “Help me, get me out.” Quintanilla moved toward the den where the door was still closed. Seen from another perspective, one of the other officers explained how Joel Quintanilla made a fatal mistake. “Officer Spinks told [Officer Quintanilla] that the fire and smoke were too bad and for him not to open the door; however, at that minute, Quintanilla kicked the door and the door exploded open onto Officer Quintanilla. The hallway was immediately filled with smoke and fire, all the lights went out and we were unable to see anything.”In that half-second peek inside the den, which he would eventually pay for with his life, Joel Quintanilla said he saw fire to the left ("Fire, man," he said specifically, in his formal interview, after being asked what he saw, "and lots of smoke") in the northwest corner near the television, and also straight ahead, to the east, on the sofa.Subsequent examination would determine odd burn patterns on the sofa itself.In a house in North Austin an old man sat two decades later with his wife and reminisced. This former public official held two major positions in his life, both related to the detection and prevention of fire. For the last fifteen years of his professional career Ernest Emerson was Fire Marshal of Texas.On the morning of February 9, three days after the Capitol fire, Marshal Emerson was on a “walk-through” of the ruins of the east end of the building with other state officials, he said, including Attorney General Jim Mattox. The cleanup had already begun and Chief Light and Emerson's investigators were trying to determine a cause. As the tour ended Mattox asked the Fire Marshal to stay for a moment. “I accompanied Mr. Mattox and his group on the tour and remained behind, at Mr. Mattox's request,” Emerson included in his notes written at the time, which can be found in state archives, “for a short discussion concerning the matter of overlapping jurisdiction and the need to coordinate investigative efforts.”“He told me,” Emerson recalled two decades later, at home in his living room, “that he was taking over the investigation of the fire.”Chief Emerson knew Attorney General Mattox from Dallas. Before coming to the capital city a few years earlier, Ernest Emerson had ended a 31-year career in the Big D – rising from firefighter to chief arson investigator to fire marshal, while Mattox was there too as an assistant district attorney, before winning a seat in Congress.Did Marshal Emerson object to General Mattox taking over the investigation? “He was the attorney general,” Emerson said years later at home. He showed discomfort, as investigators do when confronted with interference by powerful interests, but he was outranked. Of what happened later, Emerson added, “I believe he [Mattox] was trying to protect some people.” When Jim Mattox took over the Capitol case he hired an outside consultant to solve it. General Mattox had in effect removed both the city and state fire marshals from the case, yet the attorney general is not in the fire-detection business and needed expertise. Mattox named a private consultant to head the investigation, named Leland Priest, who had preceded Malcolm Light as the City of Austin's fire marshal. While not satisfied with the Attorney General assuming authority for the investigation, Emerson was reassured because he knew Priest on a professional level and knew “he was a good man.” A few days later Ernest Emerson got a call from Priest, who had discouraging news. Although never made public at the time, a “confidential supplemental report” can be found in the State Fire Marshal's records in the William P. Hobby State Office Building, in downtown Austin today, reflecting that the Capitol fire had taken a dangerous turn. The report is one paragraph written by Emerson and dated February 18, twelve days after the big burn: “I met with Leland M. Priest, who had been retained by the Attorney General as a fire cause consultant. He said that he had been dismissed by the Attorney General on Tuesday, February 15th. He said that he had in his possession fire debris samples taken Friday, February 11th, from the den (fire scene) at the Capitol. He said the sample of carpet taken from the northwest corner of the den near the TV was hot.”“Hot,” Emerson explained in his home during the later interview, “is what investigators say for evidence pointing to the cause of a fire.” Without referring to his notes, the 80-year-old former State Fire Marshal Emerson recalled certain details of what was found among the ashes of the East Wing. The Attorney General had fired Priest, a strategic decision, but doing so he made a tactical error – General Mattox had not recovered the evidence that Leland Priest collected in the Capitol apartment. Specifically, Priest had discovered suspicious burn patterns in the carpet of the room. “Priest called me and said Mattox had let him go. He said Mattox wanted the cause of the fire to be one thing and not another,” Emerson recalled twenty years after the fact.“Priest said he trusted me and he would only turn over the evidence to me, and only with a subpoena. I drew up a subpoena and went to see him.”Without telling anyone – and even though he had been taken off the investigation – Ernest Emerson collected the evidence and assigned one of his men to drive to the Metroplex, to the private Armstrong Forensic Laboratory outside Dallas.“The purpose of this trip was to deliver and submit five (5) fire debris samples for complete laboratory testing and analysis,” Emerson's man, who made the trip north, wrote in his own “confidential supplemental report,” dated Feb. 22, 1983. “These five debris samples were those recovered from the fire scene by Leland M. Priest, Fire Cause Consultant. …”“It was requested of Dr. Armstrong that all testing and analysis of the debris samples be aimed at determining any presence of flammable hydrocarbon or other substances in the samples, and, if possible, to identify such substances.” The firemen had already guessed what they were looking for. Among the ruins of the den were unidentified fragments of green glass, as well as a small silvery instrument, melted beyond recognition. Three years earlier comedian Richard Pryor had put “freebasing” in the dictionary after he burned himself while preparing a potent form of cocaine for smoking. Today's fashion is crack but at that time freebasing – essentially home-cooking your own crack – was the thang to do.To freebase requires “washing” cocaine in a strong solvent, a hydrocarbon like ether, to remove impurities and prepare the drug which is then placed in a pipe. Freebased coke is almost instantaneously absorbed by the lungs. The narcotic effect is fast, ecstatic and short-lived. The preparation, mixing hydrocarbons with fire, is also very dangerous as Pryor discovered to his horror and, later, bitter humor.The suspicion among the firemen was that someone had learned the same lesson in the Lite Governor's apartment.While he waited for the results of the lab tests, Marshal Emerson kept busy. His official duty assigned by General Mattox was to investigate any possibility that the building had been intentionally torched which no one believed from the beginning but which was presumably intended to keep the fire marshal's people occupied. In practice it meant talking to a lot of crazies.Emerson said that, surreptitiously, “I still had people looking at things.”One avenue of inquiry was to see if the party at the Driskill Hotel, a few blocks down Congress Avenue, had carried over into the Capitol. To find out if the awards banquet spread beyond the ballroom, one of Emerson's men spent a week trying to track down a musician named Mark Stuart, leader of Dash Rip Rock and the Dragons, the band that had played Top 40 for the equestrian crowd at the Driskill that night.Emerson's agent finally contacted Mr. Stuart by phone at his home in the Big D. The results were disappointing – slightly comical – but remain part of the record in the fire marshal's “report.” “Mr. Stuart stated that he had talked further with all members of his band about remarks they may have heard at the dance on this particular night, and none of them remembered any comments or remarks about anyone going to another party or a meeting of any kind at any other location. He stated that after a period of time playing in a band, most musicians don't pay much attention to talk or actions in the attending crowd unless something out of the ordinary occurs.” Emerson's investigator had just been introduced to after-hours life in the Live Music Capital of the World. Dash Rip Rock and the Dragons were crossed off the list.In the meantime, the results had come back from the lab.Leland Priest was right.The carpeting from the den was hot.The fourth sample, debris taken in front of the bookcase where the TV was located, “had a strong odor of aromatic components,” the chemist Dr. Armstrong reported. To chemists, aromatic does not mean a good smell like perfume – instead, that the source is petroleum-based and volatile, meaning it catches fire. Further testing identified the remains in the carpet as a methyl-ether compound with “strong solvent capabilities.” Because solvents necessary for freebasing can be created from household products, Emerson'soffice quietly contacted the Capitol Police, to determine if any supplies of the same ingredients might have been stored in the apartment den. The answer, recorded in another “confidential supplemental report” was that “No materials of this kind were kept or stored in the den at any time.”Marshal Emerson said he talked with Armstrong by phone, to confirm his findings.“It was our belief that,” the former State Fire Marshal said, those years later, of events leading to Texas' big burn, “they were freebasing.” By “they” Emerson said he means a person or persons unknown, but presumably Matt Hansen and perhaps someone else as well. The lab report was ordered sent to Attorney General Mattox. When it became clear what Emerson had done – ordering tests without permission of the AG – Emerson said that he incurred the displeasure of certain high-ranking state officials. As to why no cocaine was found if drugs were being cooked, former Fire Marshal Emerson suggested a possibility: “That room was pretty well burned-up.” Any cocaine could have been destroyed, just as the presumed pipe. Attorney General Mattox, meanwhile, as part of his investigation, had decided to consult that National Aeronautics and Space Administration on the origins of the fire – for reasons that to this day remain unclear. NASA has wonderful scientists but they aren't known for their fire forensics work. It looked good, however, NASA, oh wow. In the end the state of Texas sued Zenith Radio Corporation and Mattox said he had found evidence of other fires in similar products. Mattox's trump card was that the State of Texas was prepared to introduce the testimony of Governor Hobby's servant, responsible for care of the apartment, who would testify that on a previous occasion the TV had blacked out and made a “popping” noise. During the civil suit, which never went to trial, Zenith' lawyers (Fulbright & Jaworski) tried to get their hands on Emerson's notes, a collection which came to be known popularly as “the State Fire Marshal's Report.” Although the report is really a series of memoranda written by Marshal Emerson and his men for their files, in the days following the Capitol fire, as the search for a cause developed into intrigue. Once a much sought-after document, not made public before now, these famous slips of paper can actually be viewed in state archives, in the Hobby Building.Tipped to the fire marshal's covert activities Zenith's lawyers asked for Emerson's papers at the time. The request was refused by the state's lawyer, Jim Mattox. The appeals court refused to force the document's release. Zenith's lawyers said privately that even had they won in court, the case would be a public relations nightmare for the company. A frustrated lawyer for Fulbright & Jaworski asked privately, after the settlement was reached, “One question you need to look at is, did the television set the fire, or did it burn up in the fire?”A year later Officer Quintanilla remained on complete disability. He was seeing the old homestead in Mexico when he was involved in a minor traffic accident in Guanajuato. While hospitalized his lungs failed. He received a posthumous Carnegie Medal in recognition of his heroism that morning. Leland Priest, who broke the case, died in a freak accident a few years later.Ernest Emerson died a year after he gave his final interview and was the last real witness – not to the fire but to the intrigue. Emerson spent 12 years of his later life on the national board that sets fire-code standards, he said that the men who maintained the integrity of the investigation are not the heroes of this fire or of any blaze – but the firefighters themselves who, on the morning of February 6, 1983, knocked down the flames before they reached the Texas Senate chamber. It would be dramatic to say that the Capitol fire haunted Chief Emerson through the decades until he spoke out but that's simply not true. The fire that haunted him took place almost thirty years earlier – at the Golden Pheasant restaurant in Dallas. It was seven alarms and the legend is that every firefighter in Dallas worked that night. Four of them died. At least, Chief Emerson said, he got the Capitol blaze down on paper and out of his head. All those false ceilings and dead spaces created through a century of makeshift engineering and quick fixes—after the Scottish masons and prison laborers finished work—were removed. The entire Capitol is now fitted with a sprinkler system. Looking back what was most intriguing about the Capitol fire is that the official story was almost contradicted from the very beginning. When Joel Quintanilla first opened his eyes after kicking in the door of the den, he was in the lobby-floor Capitol security office having been carried down by his comrades, and the first person he saw was Kate Hobby seated across from him with a policeman's raincoat over her shoulders. What really happened in the apartment might have been discovered then and there if investigators were able to sit down with her, another official lamented long after the fact. Miss Hobby was allowed to leave and gave a brief statement hours later at her father's townhouse, a few blocks away, signing her name the girlish Katie, which she's still called by some today. She would later testify in a deposition, “There were no drugs or anything in my presence at any time.” Kate Hobby now leads a presumably quiet life doing good deeds in Houston, married to a man who was a pallbearer at the funeral of her grandmother Oveta, the first secretary of the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare. “It is a complete fabrication,” she said once of any idea that drug use led to the fire. And, as her patrician backbone stiffened, “You will hear from my lawyer.” She didn't reveal if she still rides. Only days after the embers had cooled people were already whispering that something wasn't right about the story that the state Democratic Party was trying to feed the public. Some of the rumors could be attributed to Richard Pryor's sensationally unhappy experience – the sort of innuendo you might have heard after any suspicious blaze at the time. But in the case of this tragedy, some of the rumbling could be traced to investigators themselves who thought the fix was in. Even the initial excavation of the fire scene had suggested that someone was not telling the truth. The apartment's “panic button” installed to enable the lieutenant governor to alert security in case of an emergency was found in the on position. Someone had tried to summon help. The switch was known to be properly functioning because it had, by coincidence, been inspected the night before the fire. The Capitol Police officer who checked wrote in his log that the apartment was strewn with beer cans.In your mind's eye, you can almost see Kate Hobby, young, horsey, rich, with a powerful father and a place to crash in Austin for an early Spring Break. Kate like her matriarch grandmother – the owner of the Houston Post, Oveta – and the Hobby men, mostly named William or Bill, who mostly went into politics, were part of a family that meant a great deal in this state. The Hobbys have rendered considerable service to Texas—although they've also tended to run a little wild, especially in their last generations in power. It's unlikely that the Watermans or Matt Hansen, first-time visitors to the apartment, would have known of the panic button's existence. The Watermans were described by rescuers as half-asleep and dazed when pulled from their rooms. Kate Hobby would have known, though. She said she was in her bedroom the whole time and was only awakened by the arrival of Capitol police. She came out the door into their arms. That's what she's always said. That's part of the official story too.A few hours after the last flames were extinguished, a search began of the bedroom where Mathew Hansen's body was found. “This investigator noted that a leather jacket was located on the foot of the west twin bed,” an investigator from the Fire Marshal's office wrote in his report that morning as he surveyed the ash and ruin. “This leather jacket appeared to be the size of one that belonged to a male subject. A maroon and white athletic type jacket was found on the middle portion of the east twin bed. This was a small jacket which appeared to possibly be one belonging to a female.“Several other articles of clothing were found on the floor next to the victim and upon the east twin bed. All of this clothing appeared to be of male design with the exception of one shirt. This light blue and white shirt actually appeared to be a blouse.” A search of the bathroom found a toothbrush, a Lady Shick razor, and a tube of muscle ointment. The ashtray on the vanity between the beds contained two cigarette butts of different brands.The victim's travel bag held “a small ‘shot glass' type container containing a clear liquid. The container was clear in color with the opening covered by ‘masking' tape.'” Attorney General Mattox's office would later describe the contents of the shot glass as horse liniment. Burn patterns on the bedroom door indicated the door had been closed after the fire began. That meant Hansen was probably not in the bedroom at the time the blaze started and may have taken refuge there. “This investigator noted a very unusual circumstance within the bedroom,” the officer recorded that morning in the bedroom. “Neither of the twin beds had been slept in. All of the linens and bedspreads were still in a ‘made-up' position.“Additionally, the general appearance of the bedspreads indicated that neither bed had been laid upon prior to the fire. Considering the time frame involved, this investigator considered this circumstance very unusual.”             It was.

Aaron Adams is the president of Fire Facilities and Tactical Training Systems Inc. He draws on his experience and industry knowledge from both public sector service and private business leadership.  Starting his public service career in the Chicago area he joined the police department in Skokie, IL as a police officer and worked as a scout/sniper on the Tactical Intervention Unit and a field training officer.  He moved over to the fire service in Palatine, IL and retired after working as a firefighter paramedic, arson investigator, rescue diver, also serving as the dive training coordinator and President of IAFF Local 4588.  He moved into private business in the construction manufacturing industry and concurrently accepted a Governor and State Fire Marshal's appointment to serve as a fire service representative on a safety committee for the state of Illinois for the past decade.  Aaron understands the value of the safe, consistent, quality training evolutions firefighters need to build skills and stay sharp. 

Jimmy Patronis serves the citizens of the state of Florida as the state's Chief Financial Officer, State Fire Marshal, and member of the Florida Cabinet. Jimmy oversees the Department of Financial Services. CFO Patronis works each day to fight insurance fraud, support Florida's firefighters, and ensure the state's finances are stable to support economic growth in the state. TOPIC: Biden's Clumsy Political Warfare Now Risking Lives!! Dr. G. Keith Smith is a board certified anesthesiologist in private practice since 1990. In 1997, he co-founded The Surgery Center of Oklahoma, an outpatient surgery center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, owned by over 90 of the top physicians and surgeons in central Oklahoma. Dr. Smith serves as the medical director, CEO and managing partner while maintaining an active anesthesia practice. He has made appearances on the John Stossel Show, CNBC, Huffington Post, The O'Reilly Factor, Capital Account, The Ron Paul Channel, NBC Nightly News and has been featured by Reason Magazine's TV division. The New York Times, Time Magazine, ABC news, Forbes and many others have written articles featuring Dr. Smith's revolutionary approach to the pricing of health care and uncompromising free market principles. TOPIC: Medicare for Y'all!!

Choctaw County Sheriff Scott Lolley has filed a lawsuit against the Choctaw County Commission over the condition of the jail, which is closed, and to attempt to force the county to construct a new one. Part of the filing reads, “this case involves the willful refusal of the commission to follow their statutory mandates to build and construct a county jail.” The jail, near the courthouse in Butler, has been closed since July 19, 2019 when the State Fire Marshal ordered it closed because of numerous structural and safety issues. The jail had previously been closed for violations. Issues include...Article Link

This is John McGlothlen with the Gazette digital news desk and I'm here with your update for Monday, June 28th. Showers and thunderstorms are likely today, mainly between 7am and 11am in the Cedar Rapids area. The high will be near 79 and chance of precipitation is 60%. We're expecting new rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts are possible in thunderstorms. Tonight we have a 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms with a low around 68. Hundreds of people gathered in downtown Cedar Rapids on Saturday for the return of the Freedom Festival parade. Umbrellas were perched above many in the crowd. Others wore raincoats and ponchos as light rain misted over the parade. The rain picked up occasionally, but several spectators said it didn't ruin the experience. Fireworks sales boomed last Fourth of July in the pandemic and some vendors say sales this year might be even better — despite several local governments reminding consumers they face hefty fines for setting them off in those cities. The State Fire Marshal's Office reports it has granted more licenses — 583 this year compared with 553 in 2020 — for sales of fireworks from stores, tents and stands in Iowa. In some areas of Iowa, including Coralville, that means consumer fireworks are sold at retailers including Hy-Vee, Target, Walmart and Thiesen's in addition to temporary tents. But some communities — including Cedar Rapids and Iowa City — limit where in the cities the explosives can be sold. According to a list kept by the State Fire Marshal's Office, only three fireworks vendors in Cedar Rapids and none in Iowa City have state licenses. In Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, the use of fireworks is not permitted and violators can face fines — up to $855 in Cedar Rapids and $520 in Iowa City. Support this podcast

This is John McGlothlen with the Gazette digital news desk and I'm here with your update for Monday, May 24th. Today we'll have a 20% chance of showers and thunderstorms. It will be mostly cloudy, with a high near 82. Winds from the southwest 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Tonight, there is a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1 a.m. The low should be around 66. Hospitalizations for COVID-19 in Iowa reached their lowest level since last June, and the seven-day case average continued to decline as more Iowans get vaccinated. Nearly 48%, or 1.27 million, of all Iowans eligible for a COVID vaccine — ages 12 and older — are fully vaccinated as of 1:30 p.m. Sunday, according to Iowa Department of Public Health data. Of the entire state population, more than 40 percent of Iowans are vaccinated. COVID hospitalizations dropped to 131 as of 11 a.m. Sunday, the lowest since June 29 of last year. And the seven-day average declined for the 11th consecutive day to 180, the lowest since April 18, 2020. The state is acting on “credible intelligence” that Anamosa inmates planned a bomb. According to the Iowa Department of Corrections, the State Fire Marshal's Office is analyzing a “household substance” that could be used to make a bomb after an investigation led to its discovery last week in an inmate's cell at the Anamosa State Penitentiary. The seizure comes nearly two months after two inmates attempting to escape from the same prison used hammers to bludgeon to death nurse Lorena Schulte and Corrections Officer Robert McFarland. The murders have prompted multiple investigations and brought sharp criticism from a public union representing workers in Iowa penitentiaries that the state has allowed staffing levels to dip to dangerous levels. Authorities with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation on Friday went to the Anamosa prison “to begin interviews of inmates suspected of planning to use an explosive device,” according to Corrections Department spokesman Cord Overton. 

Serving in several high-profile roles during his career, the foundation of Mike Bell's leadership approach has always emphasized helping others and making things better. During this episode Mike talks about growing-up in Louisiana and Toledo Ohio, people who influenced him early on, playing college football and being a basketball cheerleader, why he became a firefighter, dealing with bias and discrimination, the rewards and challenges of being an urban city mayor, handling criticism, the importance of leaders being themselves, and riding in “The Beast” with President Obama. 

This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I'm here with your update for Tuesday, April 6. We had our three days of sun. Now it's time for three days of rain. According to the National Weather Service, it will still be warm Tuesday in the Cedar Rapids area, with a high of 77 degrees, but the chance of rain will steadily increase as the day goes along. There will be a 20 percent chance for rain in the morning and then a 50 percent chance in the afternoon and evening, with showers possible. This raininess will increase, and the temperature will drop, going into Wednesday. The Linn County Sheriff's Office has identified the woman killed when a field fire spread out of control Sunday afternoon. The sheriff's office said 79-year-old Carol J. Woodson, of Marion, was https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/woman-dies-in-linn-county-field-fire-20210404 (tending a ditch fire) in the 3000 block of Gillmore Road when the fire grew out of control. Woodson was fatally injured by the fire and pronounced dead at the scene. The fatal fire remains under investigation by the sheriff's office and the State Fire Marshal's Office. Two men are in custody following a fatal stabbing in a Cedar Rapids hotel room. According to Cedar Rapids police, officers were called to the Residence Inn, 1900 Dodge St. NE, just after midnight Monday for a report of a stabbing. Police and first responders found a 33-year-old man there suffering from a stab wound to his upper torso. First responders tried unsuccessfully to provide care to the man and he was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said several people were in the room at the time of the stabbing. An argument between the victim and another man, 39-year-old Victoriano Dias-Barrera, broke out before the stabbing. DIas-Barrera and the victim knew each other, police said. Dias-Barrera was arrested on charges of first-degree murder, going armed with intent and assault with a dangerous weapon. Police said another man at the scene, 29-year-old Anthony Diaz, was wanted for murder in Texas. He also was arrested. Diaz and Dias-Barrera are in custody at the Linn County Jail. Given https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/education/university-iowa-athletics-hawkeyes-75-million-deficit-coronavirus-20200915 (tens of millions in losses) the University of Iowa Department of Athletics is absorbing from COVID-19's devastating impact, outgoing UI President Bruce Harreld has agreed to permanently end an earlier https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/education/higher-education/iowa-hawkeye-athletics-to-give-more-money-to-the-wider-university-mission-20170824 (deal requiring athletics to contribute $2 million a year) in direct support to the main campus. Additionally, the University of Iowa's main campus — facing budget cuts and tens of millions in pandemic-propelled losses of its own — is nonetheless shipping $50 million to the typically self-sustaining athletics department this budget year. That money, according to UI spokeswoman Anne Bassett, will come from the university's cash reserves and come “in the form of an internal loan that will be repaid over the next 10 to 15 years.” Eco Lips has purchased Columbus Junction-based Simply Soothing, the manufacturer of the Bug Soother bug repellent. Eco Lips, manufacturer of organic lip balm, will grow Bug Soother's distribution following the acquisition, Eco Lips founder and owner Steve Shriver said. Eco Lips is in the process of moving from https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/business/eco-lips-lip-balm-iowa-cedar-rapids-marion-steve-shriver-20201218 (Marion to a larger facility in Cedar Rapids), which Shriver expects to be completed by late May. Bug Soother's operations eventually will move from Columbus Junction to the Cedar Rapids facility, Shriver said. He's in “no rush” to make the move, though. This briefing is sponsored in part by Corridor Careers. Are you looking for a job? https://www.corridorcareers.com/ (CorridorCareers.com) is a...

This is John McGlothlen with the Gazette digital news desk and I'm here with your update for Monday, December 21st. The weather today will be mostly sunny, with a high near 40. Also breezy, with a northwest wind 15 to 25 mph, with gusts as high as 40 mph. Tonight will be mostly cloudy during the early evening, then becoming clear, with a low around 22. After not confirming any additional COVID-19 deaths over the last two days, the state Sunday morning verified 138 more, bringing the total number of people in Iowa whose deaths have been attributed to the respiratory disease to 3,589. https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/health/iowa-coronavirus-cases-deaths-daily-update-december-20-20201220 (Of the newly confirmed COVID-19 deaths), 82 were of people over the age of 80; 48 were between the ages of 61 and 80; seven were between the ages of 41 and 60 and one was between the ages of 18 and 40. Authorities Sunday identified a man found dead after a fire damaged a six-unit apartment building and displaced tenants. The Linn County Sheriff's Office said the fire was reported just after 10 p.m. Friday in https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/public-safety/fairfax-man-killed-in-apartment-fire-20201220 (the 300 block of Vanderbilt Street in Fairfax). Smoke and flames were visible as crews arrived. The sheriff's office said the man was found in an upstairs unit and pronounced dead. He was identified as Ronald D. Weston, who records show turned 44 earlier this year. The cause of the fire remained under investigation and the State Fire Marshal's Office was assisting. For the first time in Iowa State history, the Cyclones are headed to a New Year's Six bowl. No. 10 Iowa State will play Pac 12 Champion No. 25 Oregon on Jan. 2 https://www.thegazette.com/subject/sports/iowa-state-cyclones/iowa-state-to-play-oregon-in-programs-first-ever-new-years-six-bowl-20201220 (in the Fiesta Bowl). The Cyclones have had arguably the best season in school history, going 8-1 in the Big 12 and making the conference championship game for the first time in school history. Kirk Ferentz will coach virtually this week, after his positive COVID-19 test, as the Iowa Hawkeyes prepare for the Music City Bowl. Missouri (5-5) will be the opponent Dec. 30 at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., home of the NFL's Tennessee Titans. ESPN will have the telecast. Tickets will be available to the general public for the game, which kicks at 3 p.m., through https://www.eventticketscenter.com/transperfect-music-city-bowl-iowa-hawkeyes-vs-tbd-nashville-12-30-2020/4558855/t (Ticketmaster), with a seating capacity of around 14,000 fans.

Following recent devastating fires in Gardiner and Corvallis, we wanted to know more about how fires are investigated and the techniques used to determine the cause. In this Spotlight Montana, hear from State Fire Marshal Dick Swingley. He shares with us the latest information on the investigations of the fires in Gardiner and Corvallis, what telltale signs they look for to determine the cause and much more. Swingley's career in fire investigating spans 50 years. He discussed some of the new changes he's seeing in structure fires. You can find Spotlight Montana at nbcmontana.com, our Facebook page, Spotify and iTunes.

Give us about ten minutes a day and we will give you all the local news, local sports, local weather, and local events you can handle.   SPONSOR: Many thanks to Solar Energy Services for sponsoring this podcast. If you think solar is in your future, please give Rick Peters and his team a call at 410-923-6090.  Today...Anne Arundel County Police are investigating a spate of shooting all across the county. State Fire Marshal warns about a fake fireworks "order" circulating on social media. The Annapolis Rotary Crab Feast is on. And AMFM has done wondrous things for local musicians! It's Thursday, which means the Annapolis Makerspace Minutes with Trevor. He's back with great ideas to work out your mind and skills as the are begins to re-open. And of course, George  from DMV Weather  is here with your local weather forecast! Please download their APP so you can keep on top of the local weather scene! The Eye On Annapolis Daily News Brief is produced every Monday through Friday and available wherever you get your podcasts and also on our  YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter feeds, and of course at Eye On Annapolis.

Don’t miss this special message from Michigan State Fire Marshal Kevin Sehlmeyer offering insights into training, resources from the Bureau of Fire Services and the CDC as well as his insights into PPE for firefighters.Guest: Michigan State Fire Marshal Kevin Sehlmeyer

I am Hodgen Mainda and I serve as the Commissioner of the Department of Commerce and Insurance and Tennessee State Fire Marshal. Given all the recent events, I want to give your listeners an overview of our Departments actions in response to the Middle Tennessee tornadoes and the global pandemic outbreak of COVID-19.TORNADO:  After the devastating tornadoes in Middle Tennessee, I surveyed damage across with Tennessee leadership, local, state and Federal partners, visited with families and heard survivors concerns and it was completely heartbreaking.  Governor Bill Lee's request for an expedited Federal Disaster Declaration for relief was granted by FEMA for three counties which are Davidson, Wilson and Putnam Counties in Individual Assistance and Public Assistance. Individuals with damage should register now for individual assistance at www.disasterassistance.gov. Additionally, Governor Lee's request for federal assistance from the Small Business Administration was also approved and will provide $1 Million in loans and can be found here https://www.sba.gov/offices/disaster/dfoce/resources/1658375. I want to encourage your listeners that Tennesseans are resilient, and there has been an outpouring of volunteerism and giving. Together, Tennessee will recover.  From an insurance perspective, I have been in touch with a variety of insurance companies and made them aware of our insurance needs. They are on the frontlines, as they have sent out insurance adjusters and helped with a multitude of survivor's claims. Directly after the storm, our team also set up three mobile claims in Nashville, Lebanon and Cookeville, TN where carriers were on-hand to help the process of insurance claims and our Department continuing to assist by answering questions and providing support. A few tips to keep in mind as a consumer are:File your claim as soon as possible if you haven't already. Call your insurance company or agent with your policy number and other relevant information. Your policy may require that you make the notification within a certain time frame.Be certain to give your insurance company all the information they request. Giving partial information will only cause a delay your claim or lead to incomplete processing.If your home is damaged to the extent that you cannot live there, ask your insurance company if you have coverage for additional living expenses.Document the disaster by taking photographs or video of any damage.Save all receipts, including those from the temporary repairs covered by your policy.I also want to discuss something very important with you all during this difficult time. Unfortunately, there are bad actors in this world that seek greed and prey on those most vulnerable. Those are, scammers. Here at Commerce & Insurance, we have zero tolerance for this behavior and because this is a prevalent time for them, I want to give you all a few tips to avoid being scammed and combat their evil tricks.  First, if someone comes up to you offering you something that is too good to be true, often it is. Be sure to head to Verify.TN.Gov to check that this person is licensed to do work in Tennessee before agreeing to allow them to help you or do any contracting for you.  If a contractor promises you something, get it in writing.Keep a record of your property damage and any repairs made to your property.Avoid high pressure sales tactics urging you to act quickly before signing a contract. Take time to make a good decision.Be wary of contractors selling repairs door-to-door, especially when they ask to receive payment upfront or offer deep discounts.Generally, do not pay more than 1/3 of the cost upfront and make sure you have the terms of the payments to be made in writing.If you feel pressured by a contractor or if someone claiming to be a contractor or an insurance adjuster approaches you and asks you for personal information or banking information, walk away. Contact law enforcement immediately.For additional resources, please visit our disaster website at www.tn.gov/commerce/disasters and those that want to volunteer should contact a known volunteer organization so that resources can be effectively organized amount the communities impacted.  COVID-19:Now I'd like to transition to another issue that we are all combating in Tennessee and around the world, the global pandemic, COVID-19.  The first action we took at the Department was to send out a bulletin to all our medical insurance carriers and asked for their cooperation in covering COVID-19 testing. I am proud to say that all nine of the medical carriers have been completely on board and offer free testing to those who have symptoms outlined by the CDC, have traveled internationally and who have been exposed from others with COVID-19.  We have now also issued guidance to all of our stakeholders such as the professions on regulatory boards and others on how to best protect themselves and consumers. I also want to mention scammers during this pandemic as folks are also vulnerable during this process. If you have concerns about your retirement accounts or investments, talk to your financial professional and avoid making decisions based on panic or fear. Consumers who suspect they might be a victim of securities or insurance fraud should contact the Tennessee Securities Division – Financial Services Investigations Unit at (615) 741-5900.  I now would like to make clear how much I appreciate Governor Lee throughout this pandemic and want to highlight his actions thus far in creating a Coronavirus Taskforce, his Executive Orders No. 15, No. 16 and No.17 and for his request to the Small Business Administration who is now providing loans to support small businesses in Tennessee that are facing economic downturn in response to the pandemic. At the Department we have received phone calls and inquiries from small business owners who are uncertain about what they should or shouldn't do about operating their shops when it comes to COVID-19. We want to urge everyone to remember to follow the guidelines of your local municipality when it comes to operating your business. We urge everyone to follow all the CDC guidelines to help save lives and stop the spread.The Executive Orders from Governor Lee cover items such as quickly boosting our health care capacity, continuing important consumer protections and providing enhanced customer service to our citizens during this pandemic.  Specifically, for Executive Order No. 15 there were many items that are in within our jurisdiction. For example, it directs our division of insurance and the Tennessee Department of Health to urge health insurance carriers in Tennessee to identify and remove any burdens to responding to COVID-19 and improve access to treatment options and medically necessary screening and testing for the virus. It also directs the Department to urge carriers to provide coverage for the delivery of clinically appropriate, medically necessary covered services via telemedicine.  Further, Governor Lee's Executive Order urges carriers to not impose prior authorization requirements on medically necessary treatment related to COVID-19 delivered by in-network providers via telemedicine.  From the Tennessee State Marshal's Office, it gives all plan reviews and building code requirements suspension and gives me discretion to reasonably extend the deadlines for completion. From a regulatory boards perspective, the initial issuance and renewal of licenses, permits and certifications issued through the Division of Regulatory Boards and through our divisions is NOW suspended in order to give myself and the boards and commissions discretion to reasonably extend the deadline for obtaining required education, continuing education, and in-service credits necessary to achieve licensure.Thank you for your time today, please remember to continue to follow CDC guidelines and keep up with us on social media for the latest TDCI related response to COVID-19.  Going forward, my hope is that Tennesseans continue to support each other, provide hope to one another, and listen to their local and state officials because we are indeed, Tennessee strong.  Learn more:  https://www.tn.gov/commerce

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ request for a law implementing federal the E-Verify system for all new hires is running into some trouble in Tallahassee. Also, in today’s Sunrise: — There’s also trouble brewing at the Florida State University College of Medicine after being slapped with a warning from the group responsible for the accreditation of medical schools in the U.S. and Canada. The dean of the FSU College of Medicine hopes to have things straightened about before the accreditation team returns in the spring. — Budget wonks in The Capitol say a new proposal to cut the state commercial rental sales tax by 10 percent will cost the state quite a bit — more than $800 million over the next five years. — State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis issues a holiday safety warning in a most unusual way, by setting a Christmas tree on fire. With it comes a lengthy list of do’s and don’ts for your tree. — A Florida Woman tells the 911 operator that she had no intention of stopping for two deputies because they had guns, and she didn’t want to get shot. Spoiler alert: They shot her anyway.

 Tim rents his home as a short-term rental on summer weekends. Why is this so scary to everyone else?  We discuss eleven fears about short-term rentals, one of which is legitimate. Fear not, we have a non-governmental solution for that one. All others will be #ASSUAGED!!!  11 Fears About Short Term Home Rentals Fear #1 - Home rentals hurt a town's "character" Fear #2 - Home rentals make housing less affordable Fear #3 - Home rentals are unsafe Fear #4 - Home rentals are not in compliance with building codes Fear #5 - Home rentals are not licensed and inspected as lodging places Fear #6 - Home rentals are preparing and serving food without a license Fear #7 - Home rentals are not ADA / FHA compliant for accessibility for people with disabilities Fear #8 - Home rentals do not have adequate insurance Fear #9 - Home rentals are not paying taxes Fear #10 - Home rentals are unfair competition to hotels Fear #11 - Home rentals are creating nuisances Use hashtag #ana027 to reference this episode in a tweet, post, or comment View full show notes at http://anarchitecturepodcast.com/ana027.----more----Intro   Tim rents his home as a short-term rental on summer weekends. Why is this so scary to everyone else?   We discuss eleven fears about short-term rentals, one of which is legitimate. Fear not, we have a non-governmental solution for that one.   Discussion   Tim's experiences renting his primary residence as a short-term rental on Airbnb Initial setup Moving out every weekend Strangers in your house Reputations on AirBNB Piercings, tattoos, and hardcore music Faith in humanity - people tend to be respectful of other people and of their property Airbnb facilitates peer-to-peer exchanges Fully utilize real capital assets Much more personal experience Short-term rental is nothing new, but it has become much easier Setting up a listing Airbnb bans Transient occupancy - less than 30 days ADUs and STRs Accessory dwelling units - a loophole to allow affordable forms of housing in restrictive single-family residence zones Presenting 20 minutes of deeply researched content in three minutes 11 Fears About Short Term Home Rentals Fear #1 - Home rentals hurt a town's "character" Fear #2 - Home rentals make housing less affordable Fear #3 - Home rentals are unsafe Fear #4 - Home rentals are not in compliance with building codes Fear #5 - Home rentals are not licensed and inspected as lodging places Fear #6 - Home rentals are preparing and serving food without a license Fear #7 - Home rentals are not ADA / FHA compliant for accessibility for people with disabilities Fear #8 - Home rentals do not have adequate insurance Fear #9 - Home rentals are not paying taxes Fear #10 - Home rentals are unfair competition to hotels Fear #11 - Home rentals are creating nuisances Fear #1 - Home rentals hurt a town's "character" Character - "The main or essential nature, especially as strongly marked or serving to distinguish" Joe is now a NIMBY "Character" is the free space in the middle of the board in NIMBY Bingo Apart from a potential increase in nuisances (discussed later), is a short-term rental use of a single-family home substantially different from long-term occupancy? Vacation rentals are out of character in... Vacationland...? Maine was built around vacationers 15% of homes in Maine are vacation homes. This is the highest percentage of vacation homes in the United States, and five times the national average of about 3%. This has been true every decade as far back as 1940 when 10% of homes in Maine were vacation homes. There were 3,700 AirBNB listings in Maine in 2016, which is less than 1% of homes and less than 5% of vacation homes. As long as there have been vacation homes, there has been short-term rental of vacation homes Homes used to be used in more flexible ways The ability to rent one's home on a short-term basis is a long-established property right. Removing this right should be considered a form of regulatory taking Visitors reinforce many of the things that are essential to maintaining a town's character Fear #2 - Short-term rentals make housing less affordable Maine - Less than 1% of homes are on Airbnb, less than 5% of vacation homes 2018 Study in Santa Monica CA - Short-term rental ban has had no significant impact on long-term rental prices 2015 NYC study AirDNA - problems with data Zillow - reliable data? Statistical analysis, not direct comparison Built-in bias - Investors may tend to buy properties for short-term rentals in areas that are already appreciating In NYC, short-term rentals have taken 5,000+ units off the rental market in a city of 3 million housing units with 25,000 housing starts a year, resulting in an increase of a whopping 0.5% per year in rent. Researcher was cherry-picked to get the same results he got in Canada by NYC's powerful hotel union who funded the study These results are not transferable outside of NYC Primary residences rented short-term, rooms in a primary residence rented short-term, and vacation homes rented short term would not come back on to the housing market if STRs are banned Kea Wilson at Strong Towns - renting one unit short-term allows her to keep her other units affordable. Short-term rentals optimize inefficiencies and vacancies in the housing market How Airbnb got started - subsidizing the founders' rent Tim covers 60-70% of his annual mortgage by renting during the summer season Tim's town could change one number in the zoning ordinance to double the potential capacity for housing to be built incrementally, yet they think short-term rentals are causing housing unaffordability? Fear #3 - Short-term rentals are unsafe Safety of homes vs. hotels There are approximately 91 million single-family dwellings in the US and about 2,200 deaths from fire each year. That’s one fire death per 41,000 single family dwellings. Hotels are relatively safer, with only 15 fire deaths out of about 4.8 million hotel rooms in the US. That’s 1 fire death per 320,000 hotel rooms. There are also 48 deaths from carbon monoxide from heating appliances in US homes, which is 1 death in 2.8 million homes annually. Hotels, even brand name chains, have had carbon monoxide poisonings as well. A 2012 USA Today investigation found eight carbon monoxide deaths in hotels over a three-year period. This averages to 1 carbon monoxide death in 1.8 million hotel rooms per year, which is more risky than the rate of 1 carbon monoxide death in 2.8 million homes. Short-term rentals have a different risk profile than single-family homes:  Smoking is one of the leading causes of deadly residential fires, and most home rental hosts probably don’t allow smoking. Home rentals owners are also more likely to have smoke detectors. Only about 67% of single-family homes have smoke detectors, while a recent study showed that at least 80% of AirBNB hosts reported having smoke detectors (there may be more who have them but didn’t report it). While this is not perfect, it is more comparable to multi-family housing in which 88% of units have smoke detectors. AirBNB hosts can advertise smoke detectors and other safety features on their listing. AirBNB provides free smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to its hosts. In Maine, most short-term rentals probably happen in the summer when people aren’t using heating equipment or making fires in the fireplace. In Maine, Title 22 2501 requires one-family rental hosts to post signage in every bedroom notifying renters that the unit is not inspected by the DHHS, so the renters should be aware that the risks are commensurate with a single-family home, not a licensed lodging facility. Insurers issuing policies for short-term home rental units may require safety features like smoke detectors. The primary concern with a transient occupancy is unfamiliarity with the building and egress paths. Most single-family dwellings have fairly simple layouts with obvious egress paths. Deaths in short-term rentals? One death in Taiwan from CO poisoning Family of four died in gas leak in Mexico One death in an Airbnb in the USA - from a rope swing If we conservatively assume that rope swings may claim the lives of one AirBNB guest per year, that’s one death per 550,000 AirBNB listings in America. That is almost twice as safe as the 1 fire death per 320,000 hotel rooms. Of course these numbers are too small to justify these types of comparisons. The reality is that hotels are generally very safe, and so are short-term home rentals. Making your short-term rental safe Maintain smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, provide fire extinguishers, provide emergency contact information, and provide first aid kits. Fear #4 - Home rentals are not in compliance with building codes The Maine State Fire Marshal has the following statement on their “Bed & Breakfast Life Safety Requirements” page on their website at https://www.maine.gov/dps/fmo/plans/bed_breakfast.html: “You are allowed to rent to 3 outsiders without needing State approval. At 2 people per bed, that equals 1 bedroom (the 2nd rental bedroom might include a 4th person).” This appears to suggest that any short-term rental unit with more than one bedroom should be classified as a Lodging or Rooming House occupancy, requiring sprinklers, a fire alarm system, fire-rated stairways, etc., as well as a change of use permit from the State Fire Marshal. Tim believes this is an incorrect interpretation of both the NFPA 101 Life Safety Code and the Maine Uniform Building and Energy Code. Number of Occupants - NFPA 101 Life Safety Code defines a one-family dwelling as occupied by members of a single family with not more than three outsiders. The most conservative interpretation of this is four people, not three. Depending on the size of the family, and definition of “family,” there could be many more than four people and it could still be considered a one-family dwelling. Number of Occupants per Bedroom - A limit on the number of occupants does not mean a limit on the number of bedrooms. It would have been easy for the NFPA to define a one-family dwelling by the number of bedrooms, but they chose not to do that for good reason. There are many instances in the code where the use classification of a building depends on the use and number of occupants rather than the spatial configuration (Assembly >50 occupants, Healthcare with >4 people incapable of self-preservation). It is an oversimplification to say that two bedrooms equals four occupants. Short-Term vs. Long-Term Occupancy - These distinctions in the code between lodging houses and one-family dwellings apply to both transient occupancy of the unit (meaning short-term rental less than 30 days per NFPA) as well as permanent occupancy of the unit (meaning long-term rental or owner-occupancy). There is no distinction, in either the NFPA or the Maine Building Code, between short-term and long-term occupancy of one-family dwelling units. This last point means that if their Office requires two-bedroom homes used as short-term rentals to comply with the requirements for transient Lodging Houses, they would have to require every single house in the State of Maine with two or more bedrooms to apply for a change of use permit as a permanent Rooming House, and to install a sprinkler system, fire alarm system, fire-rated exit stairs, etc. Clearly this is not the intent of the NFPA.  The State Fire Marshal has a more nuanced (and correct) understanding of the code than what their website statement implies. Concern is that towns will incorporate this incorrect interpretation into their land use ordinances There is some reasonable limit on the number of occupants in a single-family residence - a "family" plus three outsiders - but not a specific number "Family" is sometimes defined as "a single housekeeping unit." It does not mean relation by blood or marriage. Towns should stick to the language of NFPA 101 if trying to incorporate this requirement into their ordinance Fear #5 - Short-term rentals are not licensed and inspected as lodging places Laws and regulations are a hot mess of contradictions and confusion Departmental "Rules" are what get enforced, and bypass democratic checks and balances Innkeepers, lodging houses, victualers, campgrounds, lodging places, cottages, vacation rentals, hotels, inns, private homes, guest homes - which one are short-term home rentals? How to write a departmental rule - cut and paste the law, then change it to say whatever the hell you want it to say In Maine, private homes shall not be considered a lodging place and subject to a license where not more than three (or five?) rooms are let Fear #6 - Home rentals are preparing and serving food without a license Stop the victualization of short-term rental guests This is already covered in licensing laws and land use ordinances. Next. Fear #7 - Home rentals are not ADA / FHA compliant for accessibility for people with disabilities ADA physical access requirements generally don't apply to single family homes FHA physical access requirements generally don't apply to building with less than 3 dwelling units, or existing building unless substantially altered We don't give legal advice. Better call Saul. Are short-term rentals "public accommodations?" Probably not - more like a private lease agreement Even if ADA did apply, units might not be required to be modified to retrofit physical access features unless undergoing substantial alterations Airbnb allows people to search for accessibility features, creating a market incentive to provide them Fear #8 - Home rentals do not have adequate insurance Many owner-occupied homeowner’s policies may exclude coverage for short-term rental, and there may be some home rental hosts who are not properly insured, whether they know it or not. However there are policies available that provide coverage for the homeowner as a principal residence while also allowing a certain number of short-term rental days during the year. Our Liberty Mutual policy covering up to 180 days of short-term rentals costs us about $1000 more than a typical homeowner’s policy. AirBNB provides liability insurance for all of its hosts, however hosts should review the adequacy of this coverage with their insurance provider. If a home rental host does not have adequate coverage, they are taking a huge financial risk upon themselves and may lose their home if they lose a lawsuit. However, this is a financial decision each host needs to make, and I don’t see a role for a Planning Board or Town Council in prescribing what types of financial products a homeowner should or should not buy. Fear #9 - Home rentals are not paying taxes Income tax - Airbnb makes it easier to document rental income, and possibly to audit it. Sales / Lodging Tax - In Maine and several other states, AirBNB automatically collects and remits the 9% lodging tax to the State. This has improved compliance and income for the state. Taxation without representation Property tax - Short-term home rental owners who are not permanent residents pay property taxes without burdening the school system and other services as residents do. Fear #10 - Home rentals are unfair competition to hotels Maine Innkeepers Association - a nice sounding name for the hotel industry lobbying group Tim's town has an 80 room hotel being built... Why would they build this if short-term rentals are driving hotels out of business? Hotels and inns who choose to rent more rooms to more people for more money present greater potential risks to their occupants than home rentals, with respect to fire and life safety, health and sanitation, food service, and security.  In exchange for a greater opportunity for profit, hotels creating these risks subject themselves to the State’s licensing requirements, licensing fees, inspections, and building code requirements for sprinklers, fire alarms, protected stairways, etc.  Home rentals do create competition for hotels, but there is nothing unfair about them. Hosts of single-family homes are not breaking any laws or building codes, are not avoiding licensure or taxes, and are not putting their guests in harm’s way.  STRs are competing, fair and square. We offer a better product at a better price in better locations than hotels can. A hotel is where you go while you are waiting to experience a place. A home rental IS the experience of a place. Fear #11 - Home rentals are creating nuisances Nuisances are a legitimate concern, and the only legitimate fear on this list. Nuisances are property rights violations according to libertarian theory Noise Regulations Subjective, difficult to measure and enforce This aggression will not stand Dependent on content and context, not just volume, frequency, and duration Existing limitations - Code / Family plus three outsiders, Licensure / up to three bedrooms (in Maine) House rules - no parties, limit number of occupants Parking This is a public space management problem Tim's town has very detailed regulations in place Parking violations are easy to enforce Short-term rental guests are allowed to park on public streets unless there is a parking restriction in place One more reason to destatalize Tim's solution: Home Rental Mediation service Neighbors file anonymous complaints Mediation service contacts rental host and negotiate ways to mitigate nuisances that are acceptable to the neighbors Communications between hosts and neighbors remain anonymous (if desired) Better than calling the cops Home rental hosts may be the best candidates to provide mediation services Fears ASSUAGED!!!   Links/Resources   Maine 15% of homes are vacation homes, 10% in 1940: https://www.census.gov/hhes/www/housing/census/historic/vacation.html 3,700 AirBNB hosts in Maine in 2016: https://www.pressherald.com/2017/02/22/maine-airbnb-hosts-earned-26-million-in-2016/ The Effects of Short-Term Rental Regulations: Evidence From the City of Santa Monica, by Cayrua Chaves Fonseca: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3328485“Using a dataset of Airbnb listings in the area surrounding the city of Los Angeles, I find that the ordinance has reduced the number of entire homes listed on Airbnb in Santa Monica by approximately 61%. I also study the impacts of this regulation on the long-term rental market and I find no evidence of a significant effect of the ordinance on residential rents in Santa Monica. “ CityLab article on 2018 NYC Short-Term Rental study by David Wachsmuth: https://www.citylab.com/equity/2018/03/what-airbnb-did-to-new-york-city/552749/ 91,241,000 single family homes in USA in 2009: https://www.answers.com/Q/How_many_single_family_homes_are_there_in_the_United_States 2,165 average annual fire deaths in single-family homes (2014-2016) = 80.2% of 2,700 deaths in all residential occupancies: https://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/statistics/v19i1.pdf 4.8 million hotel rooms in USA: https://www.quora.com/How-many-hotel-rooms-are-there-in-the-US 15 average annual fire deaths in hotels / motels (2014-2016): https://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/statistics/v19i4.pdf 48 average annual carbon monoxide deaths from heating appliances in USA homes (2002 - 2012). Other CO deaths from tools, generators, etc. are assumed not to be relevant to this discussion: https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/pdfs/2012NonFireCODeaths.pdf 8 hotel carbon monoxide deaths over 3 years in USA (2012): https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/hotels/2012/11/15/hotels-carbon-monoxide/1707789/ 67% of fires in one- and two-family homes had smoke detectors present (Table 13). 88% of apartments have smoke detectors (Table 16): https://www.nfpa.org/-/media/Files/News-and-Research/Fire-statistics-and-reports/Detection-and-signaling/ossmokealarmstables.pdf At least 80% of a sample of AirBNB hosts report having smoke detectors: https://injuryprevention.bmj.com/content/early/2018/05/28/injuryprev-2018-042740 AirBNB free smoke / carbon monoxide detectors: https://www.airbnb.com/trust - click the Home Safety menu item. AirBNB rope swing death: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/a-death-at-an-airbnb-rental-puts-the-tech-company-in-the-hot-seat_us_5640db66e4b0b24aee4b18f7 550,000 AirBNB listings in the USA in 2015: https://www.airdna.co/blog/2015-in-review-airbnb-data-for-the-usa Maine State Fire Marshal “Bed & Breakfast Life Safety Requirements” webpage: https://www.maine.gov/dps/fmo/plans/bed_breakfast.html“You are allowed to rent to 3 outsiders without needing State approval. At 2 people per bed, that equals 1 bedroom (the 2nd rental bedroom might include a 4th person).” NFPA 101 2009 24.1.1.1 One- and Two-Family Dwellings are defined as: “Those buildings containing not more than two dwelling units in which each dwelling unit is occupied by members of a single family with not more than three outsiders, if any, accommodated in rented rooms"The commentary in Appendix A gives examples illustrating that this “family” can be a family renting the unit from a landlord (not just the homeowner’s family), along with up to three additional outsiders:“An individual or a couple (two people) who rent a house from a landlord and then sublease space for up to three individuals should be considered a family renting to a maximum of three outsiders, and the house should be regulated as a single-family dwelling in accordance with Chapter 24. (NFPA 101 2009 A6.1.8.1.1(1))” Maine Rules Relating to Lodging Establishments: https://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/rules/10/144/144c206.doc “Private homes shall not be deemed or considered lodging places and subject to a license where not more than 3 rooms are let. (2003 10-144 Ch. 206 1-B.18, exception noted after definition 32)” Referenced law Maine MRSA Title 22 2501: http://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/22/title22sec2501.html "Private homes are not deemed or considered lodging places and subject to a license when not more than 5 rooms are let;" ADA / FHA Case Law: http://www.bhgrlaw.com/blog/housing-provider-obligations-under-the-fha-and-ada-do-i-need-to-allow-service-assistance-animals-in-my-short-term-vacation-rental/“   The FHA applies broadly to housing, whether or not federal assistance is required. More specifically, the FHA applies to “dwellings,” which are occupied as, or designed or intended for occupancy as, a residence. See, 42 U.S.C. § 3602(b). While the term “residence” is not defined in the FHA, courts have interpreted it to mean “a temporary or permanent dwelling place, abode or habitation to which one intends to return as distinguished from the place of temporary sojourn or transient visit.” See e.g., United States v. Hughes Memorial Home, 396 F.Supp. 544 (W.D. Va. 1975). Thus, while a temporary residence may fall under the FHA, a mere “transient visit” does not. Courts have found a number of temporary residences to be dwellings under the FHA including, without limitation, homeless shelters, timeshare units, summer bungalows to which one regularly returns, migrant farm worker cabins, a womens’ shelter, and a drug and alcohol treatment facility. See e.g., Telesca v. Kings Creek Condo. Ass’n, 390 Fed. Appx. 877 (11th Cir. 2010); Home Quest Mortg. LLC v. Am. Family Mut. Ins. Co., 340 F.Supp. 2d 1177 (D. Kansas 2004); Connecticut Hosp. v. City of New London, 129 F.Supp.2d 123, 133 (D. Conn. 2001); Schwarz v. City of Treasure Island, 544 F.3d 1201, 1214 (11th Cir. 2008).”“...     Individually-owned residential condominiums units are generally not considered “public accommodations” subject to the ADA Champlin v. Sovereign Residential Servs., 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 115274 (M.D. Fla). However, a condominium building may be considered a public accommodation if it is “virtually indistinguishable from a hotel.” Id. The Court in Champlin discussed Access 4 All, Inc. v. Atlantic Hotel Condominium Association, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 41600 (S.D. Fla.), in which a condominium building was in fact considered a public accommodation. In that case, there was no governing condominium association board, certain units were operated as hotel units, the governing documents defined the hotel units, a separate entity was retained to manage room reservations, and every unit owner had the option to include his or her unit in the rental program."An individually-owned condominium unit that is rented out as a short-term vacation rental of 30 days or less arguably does not fall under the ADA if the condominium building is not operated like a hotel.” AirBNB host protection liability insurance: https://www.airbnb.com/host-protection-insurance Maine Innkeepers Association testimony to the State legislature, raising every one of these unfounded fears in order to seek monopolizing governmental protections for their industry’s special interests: http://legislature.maine.gov/bills/getTestimonyDoc.asp?id=26701“...The spread of unlicensed lodging places needs to be stopped, at least the spread in high risk applications and we believe that overnight lodging is where this danger starts.” AirBNB Neighbor Complaints: https://www.airbnb.com/neighbors“After you fill out the form, you’ll get a confirmation email with a case number and a copy of your responses. Our team will review your complaint. If we match it with an active Airbnb listing, we’ll send your message to the host when possible.  

The Oklahoma Department of Health and the State Fire Marshal inspect local jails every year. Oklahoma law requires local jails to pass state inspections, but the inspections are only as effective as the rules they’re based on. Just because a jail passes inspection -- doesn’t mean it’s completely safe.  

This week: Governor Walz’s budget, high school sports converge in St. Paul, public address announcer Dick Jonkowski talks about his new book, State Fire Marshal on fire hydrant safety in winter

On today's show: Extra enforcement will be out patrolling Mississippi highways this holiday weekend. Find out what they're doing to keep you safe. Then, a tool designed to help veterans get the most out of their relationship with the VA. Plus, planning a cookout this rainy Memorial Day weekend? We'll have some advice from the State Fire Marshal. Guests include: Capt. Johnny Poulos - Mississippi Highway Patrol Dr. David Walker - G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery V.A. Medical Center, Jackson Skip Solomon - National Cemetery, Natchez Mike Chaney - State Fire Marshal, Mississippi

Southern Sense is conservative talk with Annie "The Radio Chick" UbelisShannon Sloane, a former “Miss San Diego Supreme Beauty,” did radio and TV ads at nine. In high school, she co-hosted a radio program on a Christian radio network. As Director of a Crisis Pregnancy Center, she counseled, developing a unique insight and love for troubled young women. She was the “Dove Girl” for the Dove Awards, produced by the Gospel Music Association in Nashville, Tennessee. She holds a B.S. in Communications and Journalism and a Master’s Degree in Biblical Counseling.Lainie Sloane a Los Angeles runway model, owned a modeling and charm school, conducting manners and etiquette courses for school girls for department stores. She has been a pageant coach and a judge at beauty and talent pageants across the nation for little princesses and young ladies. Lainie was the executive assistant at Sony Music Publishing, the Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Animation. She assisted in the development and start-up of a retro record label with Dick Clark Productions. Manners & Etiquette for a Heart of VirtueDr Laurie Roth is known for her unique and bold combination of passion, guts, humor, compassion and intelligence when covering the issues. In 2010 Dr. Laurie Roth was nominated for the Ronald Reagan Award by CPAC for breaking a huge national story in 2008 connecting Obama with William Ayers. Dr. Roth is known as the "Annie Oakley of the Airwaves".Dedication: Deputy Chief Fire Marshal Sander Benjamin Cohen, Maryland Office of the State Fire Marshal, End of Watch Fri., Dec. 8, 2017

Southern Sense is conservative talk with Annie "The Radio Chick" UbelisShannon Sloane, a former “Miss San Diego Supreme Beauty,” did radio and TV ads at nine. In high school, she co-hosted a radio program on a Christian radio network.  As Director of a Crisis Pregnancy Center, she counseled, developing a unique insight and love for troubled young women.  She was the “Dove Girl” for the Dove Awards, produced by the Gospel Music Association in Nashville, Tennessee.  She holds a B.S. in Communications and Journalism and a Master’s Degree in Biblical Counseling.Lainie Sloane a Los Angeles runway model, owned a modeling and charm school, conducting manners and etiquette courses for school girls for department stores. She has been a pageant coach and a judge at beauty and talent pageants across the nation for little princesses and young ladies.  Lainie was the executive assistant at Sony Music Publishing, the Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Animation. She assisted in the development and start-up of a retro record label with Dick Clark Productions. Manners & Etiquette for a Heart of VirtueDr Laurie Roth is known for her unique and bold combination of passion, guts, humor, compassion and intelligence when covering the issues. In 2010 Dr. Laurie Roth was nominated for the Ronald Reagan Award by CPAC for breaking a huge national story in 2008 connecting Obama with William Ayers. Dr. Roth is known as the "Annie Oakley of the Airwaves".Dedication: Deputy Chief Fire Marshal Sander Benjamin Cohen, Maryland Office of the State Fire Marshal, End of Watch Fri., Dec. 8, 2017

Southern Sense is conservative talk with Annie "The Radio Chick" UbelisShannon Sloane, a former “Miss San Diego Supreme Beauty,” did radio and TV ads at nine. In high school, she co-hosted a radio program on a Christian radio network. As Director of a Crisis Pregnancy Center, she counseled, developing a unique insight and love for troubled young women. She was the “Dove Girl” for the Dove Awards, produced by the Gospel Music Association in Nashville, Tennessee. She holds a B.S. in Communications and Journalism and a Master’s Degree in Biblical Counseling.Lainie Sloane a Los Angeles runway model, owned a modeling and charm school, conducting manners and etiquette courses for school girls for department stores. She has been a pageant coach and a judge at beauty and talent pageants across the nation for little princesses and young ladies. Lainie was the executive assistant at Sony Music Publishing, the Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Animation. She assisted in the development and start-up of a retro record label with Dick Clark Productions. Manners & Etiquette for a Heart of VirtueDr Laurie Roth is known for her unique and bold combination of passion, guts, humor, compassion and intelligence when covering the issues. In 2010 Dr. Laurie Roth was nominated for the Ronald Reagan Award by CPAC for breaking a huge national story in 2008 connecting Obama with William Ayers. Dr. Roth is known as the "Annie Oakley of the Airwaves".Dedication: Deputy Chief Fire Marshal Sander Benjamin Cohen, Maryland Office of the State Fire Marshal, End of Watch Fri., Dec. 8, 2017

Southern Sense is conservative talk with Annie "The Radio Chick" Ubelis Shannon Sloane, a former “Miss San Diego Supreme Beauty,” did radio and TV ads at nine. In high school, she co-hosted a radio program on a Christian radio network.  As Director of a Crisis Pregnancy Center, she counseled, developing a unique insight and love for troubled young women.  She was the “Dove Girl” for the Dove Awards, produced by the Gospel Music Association in Nashville, Tennessee.  She holds a B.S. in Communications and Journalism and a Master’s Degree in Biblical Counseling. Lainie Sloane a Los Angeles runway model, owned a modeling and charm school, conducting manners and etiquette courses for school girls for department stores. She has been a pageant coach and a judge at beauty and talent pageants across the nation for little princesses and young ladies.  Lainie was the executive assistant at Sony Music Publishing, the Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Animation. She assisted in the development and start-up of a retro record label with Dick Clark Productions. Manners & Etiquette for a Heart of Virtue Dr Laurie Roth is known for her unique and bold combination of passion, guts, humor, compassion and intelligence when covering the issues. In 2010 Dr. Laurie Roth was nominated for the Ronald Reagan Award by CPAC for breaking a huge national story in 2008 connecting Obama with William Ayers. Dr. Roth is known as the "Annie Oakley of the Airwaves". Dedication: Deputy Chief Fire Marshal Sander Benjamin Cohen, Maryland Office of the State Fire Marshal, End of Watch Fri., Dec. 8, 2017

Buddy is the former Director of Florida’s State Fire Marshal’s Office and is internationally known as a fire safety expert. He earned a BA in Economics from Florida Atlantic University, and a MBA from Nova Southeastern University. Buddy first entered the fire service in 1961 with the New River Fire Department in the Ft. Lauderdale, read more

Buddy is the former Director of Florida’s State Fire Marshal’s Office and is internationally known as a fire safety expert. He earned a BA in Economics from Florida Atlantic University, and a MBA from Nova Southeastern University. Buddy first entered the fire service in 1961 with the New River Fire Department in the Ft. Lauderdale, read more The post 137 | Hotel Fire Safety and Prevention with Buddy Dewar first appeared on Long Live Lodging.

On today's show: The Secretary of State is arming small businesses with valuable information about the Mississippi Marketplace. Then, the State Fire Marshal is hoping to save lives by issuing smoke alarms to vulnerable homes across the state. And, author Jill Ebstein discusses her collection of maternal lessons in this week's Book Club.

Just after 0700hrs Washington County 911 Dispatch received a call reporting heavy black smoke to the rear of 110 North Conococheague Street in Williamsport. The caller advised them that her house was also filling with the smoke from outside. Crews were quickly dispatched out on Box 2-1 at 07:20 hours that morning. Williamsport Rescue Engine 2 was able to see heavy smoke showing as they approached the scene. Lieutenant Nokes of Company 2 immediately requested the Working Fire Assignment as they arrived. Crews found heavy fire on side Charlie of the structure as they began their initial attack on the blaze. Chief William Ball from Company 2 arrived and assumed Command after a quick size up and face-to-face with Lieutenant Nokes. Firefighters worked to control the fire, but the fire found its way through a cock loft area and rapidly spread to different parts of the structure. At 07:48 hours Chief Ball requested a Second Alarm struck.   As heavy smoke encompassed the Williamsport area, crews continued to work diligently to gain control of the blaze. Firefighter’s main game plan at this point was to keep the fire contained to the main fire building. At 08:15 Chief Ball requested a third alarm and Level 2 Staging was established at Company 2’s quarters on Brandy Drive east of the incident. All hands continued to work to bring the blaze under control when Assistant Chief Kopp declared a May-Day after seeing a firefighter go down and become separated from his crew at 08:27 hours. RIT was immediately sent in to assist, but luckily the firefighter was able to self-extricate himself from the debris and rejoin his group quickly with no injuries. Firefighters continued on their quest to gain control as the building was deteriorating around them. After observing this, Command called for all buildings to be evacuated at 09:54 hours. It was later declared at 10:19 hours by Command that the Main Fire Building was off limits to all personnel due to the structural integrity being compromised. Around 11:00 hours, crews were seeing less smoke coming from the building showing signs that their efforts were working. It took four hours reaching a total of Five Alarms before bringing the fire under control which was reported to dispatch by Command at 11:20 hours.     Firefighters remained on the scene for several hours conducting salvage and over haul operations working to extinguish the remainder of the fire. Meanwhile the State Fire Marshal’s Office was on site working an investigation into what caused the blaze that destroyed this historical building. State FM26 Ed Ernst later announced that the cause was traced back to a furnace located in an outbuilding on side Charlie of the structure. The oil furnace malfunctioned sparking a fire in the attached out building which quickly spread to the main structure. Some Williamsport Residents were devastated by the loss of the building. The building itself dated back to the 1800’s pre-civil war era. Housing multiple businesses and hotels over the years, the building is best known as “Wolfe’s On The Square” currently housing a Liquor Store at 1 West Potomac Street and apartments on the North Conococheague Street side of the structure. The initial caller was the only occupant in the building at the time of the fire, and she was safely able to evacuate the structure prior to fire departments arrival. The American Red Cross was called out to the scene and was able to assist her since she lost everything in the fire. The building is believed to be a total loss with damages estimated to be around $500,000. Our sponsor: Midwest Fire MidwestFire.com   Intro music Safety Dance (1982) Men Without Hats GMC - Virgin Records   Guest Contact Information Ryan Fuller rmfuller17@gmail.com Mark Kopp Mkopp1212@yahoo.com Photo Credit Michael Pannill   Williamsport Fire Company website http://www.wvfems.org/news/index/layoutfile/home   Story Credit William King First Responder News Situational Awareness Matters! website www.SAMatters.com   Firefighter Near Miss Reporting System http://www.firefighternearmiss.com/   Contact Rich Gasaway www.RichGasaway.com Support@RichGasaway.com 612-548-4424

CREATE Distinguished Speaker Series featuring Matthew R. Bettenhausen. The 2012 London Olympics – Large Event Safety, Security and Counter-terrorism Biography:Matthew R. Bettenhausen is the Vice President of Security and Chief Security Officer for AEG Worldwide. AEG is one of the leading sports and entertainment presenters in the world. They own or manage over 120 sports and entertainment venues such as STAPLES Center and the LA Live entertainment district in Los Angeles and the O2 arena and entertainment district in London, England. They own sports franchises in professional basketball, hockey, and soccer. AEG LIVE is the second largest promoter of concerts, live tours and special events in the United States. Matt has overall responsibility for security, public safety and preparedness for AEG’s domestic and global operations and facilities. Matt is currently a member of the Chief Security Officer Roundtable, Overseas Security Advisory Council, Domestic Security Advisory Council, a Board Member of the National Disaster Resiliency Center and is a graduate of the FBI Citizen Academy, among other safety and security organizations. Previously, Matt was appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to lead California’s homeland security and emergency management operations as the Secretary of the California Emergency Management Agency (CalEMA). Matt was a member of Governor Schwarzenegger’s cabinet for nearly six years and served as the Chairman of the Governor’s Emergency Council. He has held a number of senior leadership positions with many national and state organizations, such as the National Homeland Security Consortium, National Governors Association’s Homeland Security Advisors Council and National Emergency Managers Association. He is a board member of the Western Institute for Food Safety and Security and serves on the external advisory board to Sandia National Laboratory. Prior to his appointment in California, Matt served as the first Director of State and Territorial Coordination with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), where he was the Department’s representative to the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs and was a member of both the Department’s Emergency Response Group and its Interagency Incident Management Team. From January 2000 to January 2003, Matt served as the Deputy Governor of Illinois and its Homeland Security Director. As Deputy Governor, Matt was responsible for coordinating the law enforcement and public safety functions and agencies of the State of Illinois. The agencies reporting to him included, among others: the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, Illinois State Police, Department of Corrections, State Fire Marshal’s Office, Department of Nuclear Safety and the Department of Military Affairs. For over twelve years Matt was a federal prosecutor for the U.S. Department of Justice. He investigated and prosecuted all manner of federal offenses from drug cases to complex financial fraud matters and long-term undercover investigations. He also worked on a number of terrorism cases and civil rights investigations. For most of his prosecutorial career he held supervisory positions with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago, including Chief of Appeals and Associate Chief of the entire Criminal Division. Matt graduated summa cum laude from the University of Illinois with a B.S. in Accountancy and continued his education at the University’s law school where he earned his J.D. degree with honors. He was recently privileged to receive the Patrick Henry Award from the National Guard Association of the United States. Matt’s family has a long and extensive history in the fire service and law enforcement. His father has spent more than 50 years in the fire service and recently retired as the Fire Marshal for Tinley Park, Illinois. His brother is an officer with the Lemont Fire Prote