St. Louis (MO) Chemical Fire Spurs Evacuations

From CNN.com:

About 500 people were evacuated and a portion of I-44 closed early Monday as St. Louis firefighters battled a five-alarm chemical fire, the city's fire chief said.

Three firefighters suffered minor injuries, Chief Dennis Jenkerson said.

The fire at Chemisphere Corp.'s west St. Louis storage yard involved tankers, rail cars and other storage tanks containing solvents, Jenkerson said. A Fire Department spokeswoman said the solvents were acetone and ethanol.

The fire was under control as of about 6 a.m. CT. But when firefighters arrived at about 2:30 a.m., "We had the whole yard going," Jenkerson said.

More HERE.

Firefighter Layoffs: St. Louis (MO) Fire Department to Lay Off 30 Firefighters

According to a report from stlouistoday.com:

After nine months of stalemate in labor negotiations, the city will lay off 30 firefighters, the office of Mayor Francis Slay said late Monday, one of the few Fire Department layoffs in city history.

In addition, said chief of staff Jeff Rainford, the city will cut 24 more positions through attrition, bringing the cuts to nearly 10 percent of the department's 600 firefighters.

Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson vowed the layoffs would not impact public safety. "It's going to put a strain on us," he said. "It's my job to get through it."

Firefighters said they had heard the rumors but were surprised to hear the decision. Chris Molitor, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, Local 73, said the news would be tough to take.

Read all about it HERE.

St. Louis (MO) Firefighter's Widow Gets $40M

A report from Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment Magazine> discusses a ruling that awarded $40M to a St. Louis (MO) firefighter's widow.

A jury in St. Louis awarded Angela Martin and her children $27 million in a judgment against the company that manufactured her husband's defective fire safety equipment...

Read the rest HERE.