A woman and her husband told police a man ordered his pitbull to charge at them around 9 a.m. Saturday near Euston and Campbell streets.

The woman told police she was running with her dog when the suspect ordered his pitbull to attack and released the dog, according to police reports. The dog charged at her, but was blocked by a fence.

Later, the husband walked by the suspect’s house on the sidewalk, according to the report. The suspect then ordered the dog to attack again and threatened the man.

The suspect is in his 20s, stand at 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 135 pounds, according to the report.

The Easter holiday weekend was a busy one for Flint firefighters.

In just three days,  battled around 20 fires.

Since 23 firefighters were laid off because of budget problems on March 25, the remaining firefighters have been going non-stop.

Only charred rubble was left of two of the eight houses that fires ripped through Saturday night.

Flint Fire Department Battalion Chief John Babb fears the action will become too much for his crew to handle. “Fatigue is starting to set in with the firefighters. I don’t know how long we can keep this pace up. It takes a lot out of you.”

A battalion chief reports the shift that handled the eight fires overnight had to stay an hour over to finish up their work.

They battled a trailer fire on Webster, two fires at Donald and Page, two fires at Janes and Minnesota, and three others.

The high call volume forced Flint to call for mutual aid once again. Both Mount Morris Township and Genesee Township helped out.

Currently, the Flint Fire Department is down to about 65 firefighters. At a bare minimum, 16 are on duty on any given shift. Firefighters report it’s been a tough week and a half as a result of the ciaos.

The firefighters get sleep when they can during their 24-hour shift, but sometimes it’s just not possible because of the call volume. One firefighter told reporters he was called out 18 times during his shift a few days ago, while another said he responded 16 times. These figures include medical runs and minor fires, but many of them were abandoned house fires.

Firefighters and Flint residents want it all to stop. “Not only are they putting the citizens at risk … you know people are losing their property, their homes … but they’re putting the firefighters at great risk, too. You know we’ve had several injuries, plus the fatigue which can lead to more injuries,” explained Babb.

Firefighters are frustrated and many Flint residents fear their house or a neighboring abandoned house could be next.

He’s baaack.

Or, at least he says he is.

A little more than a year after he resigned while facing a potential recall, former Flint Mayor Don Williamson said he’s “thinking seriously” about making another run for mayor.

“It’s a mess,” said the characteristically bold Williamson of city government. “What’s going on down there?”

Williamson’s comments come as his two-time rival, current Mayor Dayne Walling, faces criticism for steep budget cuts that include laying off 46 police officers and 23 firefighters.

Walling, who was elected to serve the remainder of Williamson’s term, said the budget cuts are necessary because of the financial situation left behind by Williamson and his predecessors.

“We’ve been cleaning up the mess we inherited since the day I came to City Hall,” said Walling, who plans to run for re-election in 2011. “We’ve got a long way to go.”

But Williamson said he’s recently received “a couple thousand phone calls — or more” from supporters who say they’d like to see him go for it.

He said he’s recovered from the health issues that prompted his resignation from the mayor’s office, and he feels “in perfect shape.”

“Somebody has to save the city of Flint,” Williamson said. “The people are calling me.”

Whether Williamson has a chance, though, is questionable, said Bill Ballenger, editor of Inside Michigan Politics newsletter. He called the comments “par for the course for Williamson” — but voters aren’t likely to buy it.

“I would be very surprised if there were nostalgia for Williamson,” Ballenger said. “I don’t think he presents much of a threat.”

Ballenger said it’s likely that Williamson is delighting in “kicking Dayne Walling while he’s down.”

Burton’s fire chief says his department will not come into the city of Flint to assist with fires.

It’s the continued fallout from Flint’s public safety layoffs. The decision not to help out the city comes after the layoffs of 23 firefighters and a rash of arson fires.

Several departments in our area have been taking a second look at their agreements to come in and help Flint fire if needed.

But if a call goes out in the City of Flint for help, Burton says it will not pick up.

“It’s a tough decision. It’s not one I relish doing. It’s not one I did without forethought and prayer,” said Burton Fire Chief Doug Halstead.

Halstead told the city of Flint last week that if a fire call goes out and additional man power is needed, his firefighters will not be there to respond.

“We’ve been struggling. We’ve been struggling hard,” he said.

One reason comes down to cost. The Burton Fire Department is made up of 57 paid on-call firefighters. If they have to assist in a call outside of Burton, it ties up at least five firefighters.

Also a factor the Chief says was this from Flint Public Safety Director Alvern Lock last week: “If you’re going to come and help us, don’t complain about coming to help us. We come and help you. We’re not going to complain about that but if you don’t really want to come then just don’t come.”

“If they don’t want to come in then don’t come in,” Halstead said. “If they do, don’t gripe. I had two alternatives so I picked the first one.”

Since laying off firefighters late last month, Flint has responded to dozens of arson fires at abandoned homes.

There were five Thursday morning in a span of three hours with other departments being called in to assist. Flint’s mayor was unavailable to respond to Burton pulling out of its agreement.

But the director of communications issued statement saying, “We will be a better and stronger community if we are all working together.”