The board this morning

Spokane County deputy killed, a second on life support in a reported domestic-call ambush, Fox News reports

By The FirstResponders Desk

Good morning. Start with Washington. Fox News reports that a Spokane County sheriff's deputy died and another is on life support after a SWAT team was ambushed responding to a domestic violence call, with four dead in total. Treat that count as an early figure from a single outlet; it is not an agency tally and early counts change. We are not naming the deputy. For anyone working domestic calls this shift, the reminder is in the word "ambush": the threat did not end when the first units arrived.

Air and surface incidents. One person was killed and two were hurt when a helicopter carrying three people crashed in Biscayne Bay, east of Miami executive airport, officials said, according to the Tampa Bay Times; The Washington Post and The Guardian also report the crash. In Mississippi, ABC News reports emergency crews responded to an early-morning explosion at a chemical plant that sent a large plume of black smoke into the air; no agency status beyond the response is reported here. In New Jersey, NJ.com reports two Cherry Hill officers, one from the department's Critical Incident Negotiating Team, talked a man down from an overpass.

Law enforcement and courts. Opening statements in the second federal arson trial of the accused Palisades fire starter began Wednesday with lighter-test footage shown to jurors, the New York Post reports. Cleveland.com reports a 20-year-old was sentenced to 15 years on child pornography offenses, with an FBI probe also uncovering abandoned mass-shooting plots. The Los Angeles Times reports a welfare check in Santa Barbara led to a man's concealed body; two people are charged. The Oregonian reports a lawsuit by an Oregon college student who says officers shot him after he escaped a knife attack. CBS News reports newly obtained 911 audio from the Bend, Oregon, elementary-school attack.

Fire and weather to watch. Satellite systems reported fire detections across eight states Wednesday — 192 over Washington, 132 over Oregon, 74 over California, 68 over Arkansas, 55 over Nevada, 47 over Hawaii, and 29 each over Illinois and Pennsylvania — all unconfirmed by any agency and not an ignition count. NWS Anchorage AK has Gale Warnings from Gore Point to Marmot Island and for the Barren Islands East, plus Small Craft Advisories for Northwest Prince William Sound, Marmot Island to Sitkinak, Cook Inlet North Kalgin Island and Kachemak Bay. Crews on the water in those zones should plan around them.