On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, when most folks are sitting down to enjoy dinner with family and friends, public safety officers, doctors and nurses and others in service industries still have to work. It’s not always easy – crime and accidents don’t take a break on holidays. The Sacramento Press asked some of them to share their holiday work experiences. These are their stories. FIRE DEPARTMENT: “(Christmas) is a pretty loaded day,” Doug Bruce, an engineer with Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District, said Friday. “There is a lot of last-minute things going on, so there is a lot of traffic out. We keep busy.” Bruce said calls to the fire station can be strange no matter what the day,

Sacramentans who protect their homes and businesses with fire and burglar alarms may soon pay more for chronic false alarms and see alarm permit fees nearly triple. The Sacramento Fire and Police departments each presented proposals to the City Council’s Law and Legislation Committee Tuesday that would change the current policy on fire and burglar alarm response – and increase penalties for multiple false alarms. The proposed changes to police alarm response will do two things: require alarm companies to step up efforts to verify legitimate alarms, and change the current three-year permit structure to an annual permit. The changes to fire alarm response includes incrementally increasing

After the first quarter of the fiscal year, city revenues are only about half of what was projected, but city finance officials said they aren’t ready to panic yet. The negative balance for the city budget is not just related to lower-than-anticipated revenues – a large part of the imbalance is due to greater-than-anticipated expenditures. The $812 million city budget is running negative at the moment – “typical” for the first quarter of the fiscal year, according to the most recent report from the city Finance Department. The first quarter financial report will be presented to the City Council Tuesday. Of the six main sources of revenue for the city – property tax, utility user tax, sa

The 10-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks is coming up, and throughout the country there will be memorials honoring the dead, but Sacramento firefighters ask that locals take the opportunity to come out and run a 5K race for a good cause. Through a partnership between various Sacramento area Fire Departments, the Sacramento Police Department, the Sheriff’s Department and more than 2,000 local volunteers, a 5K run/walk has been organized as an addition to their third annual 9/11 Memorial Climb, in which 343 firefighters – the number of New York firefighters killed on 9/11 – climb the Renaissance Tower in downtown Sacramento to honor fallen firefighters. “It’s very personal for the f

Firefighters responded to a fire near the intersection of N Seventh Street and Richards Boulevard at about 1 p.m. Wednesday afternoon.

July 27, 2011, Sacramento Ca.- Investigators from the Galt Police Department, Cosumnes Fire Department, and the Sacramento Metro Fire District worked together to tie 24-year-old Adam Kelly to three arson fires in Sacramento County over a two-week period. The first fire occurred in Galt on July 6, 2011 at 10430 Twin Cities Rd. Firefighters responded to the service area of the Raley's supermarket and found numerous large pieces of recycled cardboard piled up and set on fire. Firefighters extinguished the fire with no injuries and minor damage to the building. The second fire was July 13, 2011 at the 750 block of Moose Creek Way in Galt. Firefighters responded to the report of a fire agains

Sacramento Ca- Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District, Metro's Firefighter Association and UC Davis Children’s Hospital have partnered with Pillow Pets for Life Foundation, a non-profit organization whose aim is to bring comfort to hospitalized children. They have come together with the common goal of collecting at least 1000 donated pillow pets, an actual snugly pillow shaped like an animal character, to distribute to children undergoing medical treatment at UC Davis Children’s Hospital. Sacramento Metro Fire is partnering with the foundation which is using Sac Metro Fire facilities as drop off locations for the Pillow Pets. Once the goal of 1000 is met, Firefighters from the Sacramento Me

Lighting fireworks at the Fourth of July block party is a common tradition in Sacramento, and local firefighters shared tips to make sure those fireworks are used properly so the holiday is a safe one. Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District Assistant Chief Dale Turner said the two most important safety concerns with fireworks are making sure they are used correctly with adult supervision and that they are used in a safe area away from combustible materials. There should also be 30 feet of pavement, concrete or dirt around fireworks to ensure no fires are started, Sacramento Fire Department Deputy Chief Lloyd Ogan said. He added that only “Safe and Sane” fireworks are legal to use in the

The City of Sacramento reminds residents and visitors to be safe this July 4th Holiday weekend. Below are a few friendly reminders: • The City and County of Sacramento require that anybody under the age of 13 must wear a life jacket while in the regions’ waterways. • Children should be supervised at all times when fireworks are in use; even Safe and Sane fireworks can cause injury. Do not let your children run with sparklers and ensure that they maintain a safe distance from others while handling them to avoid accidental burns. Always have a functioning hose ready to fully extinguish used fireworks. • And, please do not drink and drive. Given the historically high volume of calls over

The State Senate Health Committee unanimously passed Assembly Bill 678 (AB678) Wednesday, bringing the possibility of millions of federal dollars for California fire departments closer to reality. Currently, fire departments that provide ambulance transportation for Medi-Cal patients are not reimbursed for the cost of the service from the federal Medicare program. These costs are instead absorbed into the fire departments’ general fund. AB678 would allow fire departments to tap into a federal program that provides a 50 percent match of those unreimbursed expenses, bringing in much-needed revenue in an economy that has forced fire department brownouts and reduced services. “First respond

The number of people that have swarmed to the Sacramento waterways over the last week isn’t something unusual for this time of year. What’s making the trip different than years past is the hazards that are faced once they are arriving. Because of the extremely late winter storms and the tremendous snow-melt, we are seeing flow levels that are unprecedented for this time of year. The water temperature is also extremely frigid, in the 50’s in several parts of the American River. Although the water appears to be inviting for the hundreds of people who have already made their way out there, most are saying the water temperatures are unexpectedly uncomfortable to stay in for any extended perio

Sacramento, CA- The Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District (SMFD) is promoting literacy this summer through its partnership with Reading Tree. The objective is to put books in the hands of local children to promote literacy, and to support recycling and reuse of unwanted books.  SMFD Fire Chief Henke encourages the community to drop off their gently used books at the Reading Tree book donation containers located at SMFD stations starting June 17, 2011. SMFD will be hosting the Reading Tree bins through November 18, 2011.  Reading Tree and SMFD have partnered on this book collection effort to develop in-classroom lending libraries in Reading Partner Sacramento schools in the Sacramento reg

Approval of a final city budget that includes $39 million in ongoing cuts and the elimination of 320 city positions is expected at Tuesday’s City Council meeting, but Police Department personnel aren’t holding out hope for an 11th-hour save from potential layoffs. “The council is firm on its decision,” said Det. Mark Tyndale, Sacramento Police Officers Association (SPOA) vice president. “And we are firm in ours.” On June 7, City Council members urged SPOA representatives to consider contract concessions for its members in an effort to relieve the burden of deep budget cuts that will have a significant impact on the Police Department and public safety personnel. The SPOA has not made any

Citrus Heights, CA- June 12, 2011 at 6:18pm, Sacramento Metro firefighters responded to the 6000 block of Oak Creek Way to the report of a four-year old male child that had been pulled from a pool and was not breathing. At 6:21pm firefighter/ paramedics arrived on scene to the backyard of a residential home where they found two people performing CPR on the small child. 9-1-1 dispatchers had been able to give CPR instructions to an adult on scene. Firefighter/Paramedics immediately started advanced life support measures and transported the child to Mercy San Juan Hospital. The child did not survive. With the change in weather conditions, more children are going to be in and around the wate

Sacramento Ca.- 4:21pm, Sacramento Metro Fire water rescue teams were dispatched to the report of two people, a 38-year old female and a 10-year old male, stranded in shallow water on the high-flowing American River. Fire crews quickly responded to the area and found the two standing in shallow, swift-moving water. They were assisted into the rescue boat and returned uninjured to shore. The pair said they were part of a three-raft flotilla, all tied together, when the raft's tie rope became entangled in a bridge abutment and they had to cut free. Once freed, the raft soon became caught in tree branches downriver, which they clung to fighting the strong current. They abandoned their boat an

The Truck 10 crew of Sacramento City Fire in South Sacramento donated and installed an American flag at Tahoe Park Saturday morning. The flag was affixed to a long-forgotten pole in the northwest corner of the park which had been recently rehabilitated by the Tahoe Park Neighborhood Association. The pole, according to an old plaque at its base, was donated by Pacific Bell in 1989 and had been previously obstructed from view by neglected shrubbery. In an earlier TPNA park clean-up event, the offending foliage was removed, and the association decided to take steps to bring the pole back to its former glory. One of the main hindering obstacles preventing the use of the flagpole was reaching

Sacramento Metro Fire Investigators have concluded that the double fatality fire that occurred at 4061 Stephens Dr. on April 6, 2011 resulting in the deaths of Laura Fernandez, age 38, and her son Wilfred Villarruel, age eight, was an act of Arson. Metro Fire Investigators are working with Sacramento County Sheriff’s investigators and are asking the public for assistance. April 6, 2011 at 8:03pm, the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District received an alarm for a house fire at 4061 Stephen Drive in North Highlands. The first Engine Company arrived and reported a well involved garage fire with extension into the home. Fire crews made entry into the home and began attacking the fire. During

Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District’s Board of Directors is pleased to announce the appointment of Kurt P. Henke to the position of Fire Chief, replacing William B. Sponable after his April 1, 2011 retirement. Chief Henke was hired as the Deputy Chief of Operations for Metro Fire on October 1, 2009. His professional career began in 1984 as a Firefighter/EMT with the Department of the Navy, Skaggs Island Fire Department. Chief Henke moved on in 1985 to become a full-time Firefighter with the City of Vallejo Fire Department. From there he promoted to Captain in 1992, where he was assigned to the Training and Suppression divisions and was appointed as the Director of Training in 1996. Chie

Midtown, Sacramento, CA | A drunk and violent male gets chased down, pepper sprayed and apprehended by a Lavender Angel. Friday night, a drunk subject smashed the back window of a car in the back lot of Hot Rods near 20th St. and K St. in Midtown. Ashley with the Lavender Angels chased, pepper sprayed and apprehended the perp on 22nd St between J st and K st. after the perp took several swings at her and attempted to take her cell phone while she was contacting police. Sacramento police officers arrived and took the unruly male into custody. While in the back of the police car the subject started kicking and spitting. Officers had to place a hood over his head and strapped him down. Par

Sacramento’s controversial “crash tax” was killed by the City Council, which voted 6-2 to repeal it Tuesday. The fire cost recovery ordinance would have charged non-resident drivers for emergency responses to accidents in which they were at fault. The ordinance was proposed by the Sacramento Fire Department last year in an effort to recover costs from people who don’t pay property taxes – a large portion of Fire Department funding. Fees would have ranged from $495 to more than $2,000, and estimates were that the city would receive about $300,000 annually. Though the “crash tax” has been the subject of spirited debate and community outcry, it went down relatively quietly Tuesday night, w