Free Republic

Heroes in life. Legends in our hearts. Their families loved them, and now we honor them. Join us in remembering the 19 fallen firefighters - the Granite Mountain Hotshots - in a special memorial service from Prescott Valley, AZ. LIVE FEED below. The service begins at 10:45 PST. Hotshots survivor, Brendan McDonough is slated to read the Hotshot's prayer to an estimated 30,000 inside and outside during the service at Tim's Toyota Center. Vice President Joe Biden is scheduled to attend, as well as Arizona governor Brewer, and former AZ Governor and DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano. LIVE VIDEO LINK

Arizona Republic - allows title and link only. Full title of accompanying article: Yarnell Hill Fire: 'It's something you never want to see again' http://www.azcentral.com/news/arizona/articles/20130706yarnell-hill-fire-remembrance.html

It has been a rough week. Most of us in the Prescott area have been walking around as though we entered a bad dream, not quite believing what transpired on that hill in Yarnell. We may have tried to pick ourselves up, go to the rodeo, watch the parade and then the tragic reality jolts us back to a state of sorrow. We are trying to absorb the whole thing, accept the facts, but in churches around town yesterday, many of us sat waiting for comfort, and maybe even answers from someone with divine knowledge. "God, why did this happen?"...

As the procession escorting the fallen Granite Mountain Hotshots home came past the courthouse plaza in Prescott late Sunday afternoon, more than a thousand people stopped talking. Some put their hands over their hearts, while others clapped. Children waved flags, and many cried. "We want these young families to know how much we appreciate the sacrifice their loved ones made to protect us," Barb Corkle said. "We want to show them that we love them, that we will help them by making donations, and whatever else we can do." The 19 elite firefighters died while attacking the Yarnell Hill Fire...

Fundraising Update Thus far, the 3 official fundraising efforts to help the families of the fallen have raised about $700,000. • The 100 Club has raised approximately $500,000. • The Wildland Firefighters Foundation (52 Club) has raised approximately $120,000. • The United Phoenix Fire Fighters and Prescott Firefighters Charities have raised approximately $80,000. In the Prescott/Yarnell area, two local fundraising events have been scheduled for this week. • 4th of July Fireworks at Pioneer Park from 12 noon to 10 pm. • Whiskey Row Street Dance on Saturday, July 6th 5-11pm Other fundraising events will be announced in the days...

At a joint press conference with Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete on Monday, President Barack Obama neglected to mention the nineteen firefighters who lost their lives fighting wildfires in Arizona until prompted by a journalist's question--and then blamed the journalist when he forgot to answer the question. From the White House transcript, near the end of the record: Q: And the wildfires? THE PRESIDENT: Oh, thank you. See, this is what happens when I've got too many questions. Obviously, the news is heartbreaking. And our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the brave firefighters who are out there.

Above: The Granite Mountain Hot Shots of Prescott, Arizona. 19 of 20 crew members perished in the Yarnell Hill fire today.- Gusty, hot winds blew an Arizona blaze out of control Sunday in a forest northwest of Phoenix, overtaking and killing 19 members of an elite fire crew in the deadliest wildfire involving firefighters in the U.S. for at least 80 years - and the worst since the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on 9/11/2001/ Members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots were forced to deploy their fire shelters - tent-like structures meant to shield firefighters from flames and...

Prescott Fire Department confirmed 19 firefighters have died while battling the Yarnell Hill fire on Sunday night. They're part of the Prescott Granite Mountain Hot Shots. The wildfire was likely caused by a lightning strike Saturday night. The Yarnell Hill fire, about 35 miles southwest of Prescott, has burned about 1,300 acres and forced the evacuation of 50 homes. The fire started Friday and has not yet burned down any structures, but Sunday night firefighters pushed the blaze back away from communities, hoping to keep the blaze from overtaking any homes. A growing fire in Yarnell forced about 600 residents...

SACRAMENTO, Calif.—California may speed up the release of some inmates while allowing other inmates with a violent history to become firefighters, under a proposal to cut crowding in state prisons filed by Gov. Jerry Brown late Thursday night. Brown filed the plan "under protest," said Corrections Secretary Jeffrey Beard. Brown warned that the options he presented to the court would undermine public safety, and Beard reiterated that the state plans to appeal in an attempt to avoid going through with the measures. The governor's plan calls for increasing early release credits for inmates and paroling elderly and incapacitated prisoners, while...

WACO, Texas - President Barack Obama, standing before a line of flag-draped coffins, consoled family and friends on Thursday at a memorial service for firefighters killed in a massive explosion last week at a Texas fertilizer plant. The deaths of 14 people, nearly all of them emergency responders, ripped a hole in the heart of the town of West, where farming is a way of life and where many people volunteer for the fire department in their spare time. "To the families, the neighbors grappling with unbearable loss, we are here to say you are not alone. You are not...

This is a northeast suburb of Atlanta in Gwinnett County SUWANEE — Five Gwinnett County firefighters are being held hostage at home in Suwanee. Gwinnett County police spokesman Cpl. Edwin Ritter said that, as of 4:45 p.m. Wednesday, a gunman was holding the handful of firefighters hostage at a home at 2440 Walnut Grove Way, not far from the intersection of Collins Hill and Taylor roads. "It appears that the fire department responded to this residence for some type of medical call," Ritter said. "I have very little information on the motive at this time." The police department's SWAT team...

A gunman was barricaded in a home in Georgia on Wednesday with four firefighters he took as hostages after they responded to what appeared to be a medical emergency call, officials said. The man initially held a fifth firefighter captive in the home, in Suwanee, about 35 miles northeast of Atlanta, but let that person leave to move a fire truck, police and fire officials said. Officials were not releasing details about what happened inside the house or a possible motive but said the hostages did not appear to have been harmed.

They coulda' been contenders — and now they have a second chance. Nearly 300 black and Latino firefighter candidates who didn’t score high enough to join the FDNY in 1999 and 2002 are getting a rare opportunity take their entrance exams again. They’ll sit for the FDNY written exam Friday, and an intense physical fitness test will follow later. If they can rack up passing grades on both, the job with generous pension, sick pay and other benefits could be within their grasp. The break is part of a controversial ruling from Brooklyn Judge Nicholas Garaufis, who in July found...

WEBSTER, N.Y. (AP) — Residents of a suburban Rochester, N.Y., neighborhood gutted by a fire set by a man who gunned down four volunteer firefighters have been allowed to return to their homes. Local media outlets report that authorities began letting homeowners return to their properties in Webster on Tuesday, a day after 62-year-old William Spengler shot four firefighters, killing two, after setting the pre-dawn blaze that destroyed seven homes along Lake Ontario and damaged two others.

Webster, N.Y. -- 13WHAM News has learned several people have been shot at the scene of a fire on Lake Road in Webster. The fire is at 191 Lake Road near Bay Road. A source tells 13WHAM News that at that scene, an unknown gunman opened fire on fire crews on the scene. The victims have been taken by Mercy Flight to area hospitals. The fire has now spread to a second house. 13WHAM has several crews converging on the scene and will provide updates at they're available.

Two days after Anonymous and other hacker groups announced their intention to destroy the Westboro Baptist Church over the group's plan to picket the funerals of victims of the Sandy Hook massacre, firefighters and police in New England worked together to shield the funerals from the WBC.

A bedbug infestation at a Northwest Washington fire station left firefighters sleeping in their personal vehicles or in the firetrucks to avoid being bitten by the bugs in their bunkrooms, a report on the conditions at D.C. firehouses found. The 180-page report by the Office of the Inspector General details a wide swath of problematic conditions at D.C. fire stations across the city, including a lack of working smoke detectors, leaking roofs, flooded basements, rodent infestations and inoperable heating or cooling systems. Among the findings, 19 stations had significant rodent problems with one reporting that dead mice had been found...

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A former Los Angeles mayor leading an effort to change pensions plans for newly-hired public employees says he has evidence that a low-level union member is behind an alleged illegal counter-campaign. KNX 1070′s Bill Polish reports Richard Riordan is hoping to amass enough signatures to put a plan to transition newly-hired city workers away from taxpayer-guaranteed pensions and towards 401(k)-style accounts before voters in May. Download: 2-fraud-bpo-w-rick-riordan-fmr-la-mayor.mp3 According to an email obtained and released by Riordan, an employee with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 721 sent out an email calling on members to sign...

A friend, who's a US commercial airlines pilot, sent this video to me, and it's just amazing. The skill of a water take-off, water-dump on fires, a water landing and re-filling, and taking-off again, probably dozens and hundreds of times, is absolutely amazing. Looks like 3+ -aircraft involved. The photography/video is beautifully done. This is the Spanish AF, though I've not see any USAF videos of this, but a few films of private firms dumping a reddish fire retardant on the western fires this past summer. I can't even begin to imagine the skill this takes. Anyway, enjoy it and...

Created for OMG! For America, join the fun on Facebook here, or get involved in their grassroots efforts at the main website here.