Statesville City Council approved this week a $15 per hour minimum wage for all city employees. However, some Statesville firefighters have been voicing their displeasure this week because they are not included in the wage increase. Statesville City Manager Ron Smith told FOX 46 Thursday that firefighters work different hours, 24 on and 48 off, so their pay structure is different.
- PUB DATE: 8/7/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WJZY-TV Fox 46 Charlotte

If Fire Chief Jeff Rowe were headed to Bangor, or somewhere out of state for a conference, he would likely know the most efficient way to get there. He might not know where the charging stations were though, should he need one, for the new Tesla 3 command vehicle. He could soon find out, by using the car's GPS, which not only plots the course, but also marks the charging stations — and how long he would have to be there for the charge to complete.
- PUB DATE: 8/7/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Portland Press Herald - Metered Site

Ammonium nitrate (AN) became infamous when convicted bomber Timothy McVeigh used it in the Oklahoma City bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building on April 19, 1995. Ammonium nitrate is back in our collective consciousness with the horrific Beirut, Lebanon, blast, and its reminders of the explosion at a West, Texas, fertilizer plant that claimed at least 15 lives, caused 200 injuries and destroyed more than 50 homes.
- PUB DATE: 8/7/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Fire Rescue 1

As health experts gather more data and continue to learn about COVID-19, certain protocols and regulations are changing. According to the CDC and local health experts, it's now okay to go back to work just 10 days after testing positive for the virus. That's not the only change — Requiring a negative test result to return to work is no longer encouraged.
- PUB DATE: 8/7/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KRON -TV 4 San Francisco

PHOTOS: It was just after 9 AM and already the temperatures were in the 90s. A work crew was pin-welding insulation onto a gigantic 5-million-gallon fuel storage tank in the tank farm next to the Canal Electric Plant. But the crew had not properly grounded the tank before they began work. That mistake would cause one of the largest fires the Sandwich Fire Department has ever battled.
- PUB DATE: 8/7/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Sandwich Enterprise - Metered Site

Gov. Brian Kemp signed legislation Wednesday aimed at protecting police and other first responders from bias-motivated crimes in Georgia, capping a series of controversial moves by state Republican leaders that nearly derailed passage of a separate bill outlawing hate crimes. The bill Kemp signed into law sets out punishments for those who commit crimes against police officers, firefighters and medics because of their “actual or perceived employment as a first responder.
- PUB DATE: 8/6/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Jackson Progress

Four firefighters were overcome by fumes after stumbling onto a drug mill operating in the basement of a Paterson home. The firefighters were responding to a small fire in the basement of the Illinois Avenue home when they were overcome just before 1:30 a.m. Thursday. They evacuated the structure and collapsed on the driveway.
- PUB DATE: 8/6/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WABC-TV ABC 7 New York

PHOTOS: On Tuesday, Lebanon's capital city of Beirut was rocked by a massive explosion at the city's port. Thousands were injured and at least 100 people are known to have died so far. While citizens and government officials there are still evaluating the extent of the damage, others are pointing out similarities between this disaster and one that happened in a small Texas town in the 1940s.
- PUB DATE: 8/6/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Spectrum News

Public safety should retain control of its 50 MHz of 4.9 GHz spectrum—airwaves that the FCC is considering for at least some commercial use—through an allocation to the FirstNet Authority, according to the newly formed Public Safety Spectrum Alliance (PSSA). “We're concerned that public safety is going to lose spectrum that we might need,” Jeff Johnson, CEO of the Western Fire Chiefs Association and former vice chairman of the FirstNet Authority, said during an interview with IWCE's Urgent Communications.
- PUB DATE: 8/6/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: IWCE's Urgent Communications

Using anonymous cell phone data, University of South Florida researchers are pinpointing how and where people in the Bay area move to try to predict how the coronavirus will spread and impact our hospitals. The data is collected by a third-party vendor from devices on which users have enabled location services.
- PUB DATE: 8/6/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTSP-TV CBS 10 Tampa

This summer's pandemic-altered traffic configuration in downtown Hyannis has led the village Fire Department to adapt, too. And for now, at least, two wheels could be better than eight to ensure rapid emergency response in the downtown area. Last week, the department initiated bicycle patrols on Main, North and South streets and on Ocean Street near the harbor.
- PUB DATE: 8/5/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Cape Cod Times

The first fallen Columbus Firefighter is finally receiving a headstone at his gravesite after 150 years. Mark B. Newman was a Columbus firefighter in the 1800s, he also worked as a police officer. Newman was recognized as the first Columbus firefighter to die in the line of duty more than a century ago.
- PUB DATE: 8/5/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WSYX-TV ABC 6 Columbus

VIDEO: The Midland Fire Department responded to a tank battery fire southeast the city at S. County Road 1173 and E. County Road 113. The fire department says that the department is making significant progress in controlling the fire and no injuries have been reported. The Midland Fire Department and other volunteer crews on the scene are focusing on ensuring that the fire doesn't spread to any other tanks, they plan to let the fire burn off overnight.
- PUB DATE: 8/5/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KWES-TV NBC 9 Odessa

The Elba Fire Department is now home to a $65,000 airboat. In December 2015, flood waters breached the dam and sent water rushing through the Pea River. Now, five years later, the river struggles to stay at 2.5 feet. This has led to people getting stuck and sometimes stranded while trying to enjoy a day on the water.
- PUB DATE: 8/5/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WDHN-TV ABC 18 Dothan

PHOTOS: A massive fire burned in downtown St. Paul early Tuesday morning, apparently destroying a hotel under construction across from the Xcel Energy Center. The flames were more than 40 feet high at one point and visible on freeway traffic cameras nearby. Fire officials said shortly after 5 a.m. that a substantial part of the blaze had been knocked down.
- PUB DATE: 8/4/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Minnesota Public Radio News

According to the UC Davis Fire Department, nearly 25% of its firefighters are wearing gear that doesn't fit them. UC Davis Fire Chief Nathan Trauernicht told FOX40 Monday that he is calling on uniform manufacturers to do better. “They need to have maximum range of motion, and at critical times, they have to be able to make critical movements, and if that doesn't happen, it puts all of us in danger,” Trauernicht explained.
- PUB DATE: 8/4/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTXL-TV FOX 40 Sacramento

The bad news: COVID-19 appears to be filling hospitals throughout the South and the Southwest with patients with a deadly, highly contagious disease. The good news: The federal government is now publishing a COVID-19 hospital bed occupancy map that looks terrible. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been trying to track COVID-19 with a weekly collection of maps, tables and charts based largely on the data sources and methods used to track influenza.
- PUB DATE: 8/4/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Think Advisor

City Council has tabled a proposal to hire, for the first time, part-time firefighters to beef up the Fire Department staff, instead opting to seek a tax increase that would pay for additional full-time firefighters. The Strongsville Fire Fighters Association, the union representing firefighters here, opposed hiring the part-timers, saying it would undermine the professionalism of their department.
- PUB DATE: 8/4/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Cleveland.com

Firefighters with the Orlando Fire Department who have recovered from COVID-19 are donating plasma. The Orlando Fire Department and OneBlood have teamed up for a plasma drive where firefighters and their family members who've recovered from COVID-19 can donate plasma. "As the cases surge throughout our service area, the need for convalescent plasma has reached new heights," said Susan Forbes, with OneBlood.
- PUB DATE: 8/4/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WOFL-TV FOX 35 Orlando

VIDEO: A cavalry of firefighters and response crews had to go into defensive mode as they battled a massive fire at a southwest Houston business that went to three alarms and destroyed an HFD ladder truck. Explosions continued to erupt hours after the fire broke out some time before 10:30 a.m. Friday in the 7800 block of Westpark Drive near Hillcroft.
- PUB DATE: 8/3/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTRK-TV ABC 14 Houston

Josie Harris Robinson and her husband are both front-line shift workers in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. She's a nurse and her husband, Aaron Robinson, is a Wilmington firefighter. They both had to scramble, with just six days notice, to figure out a new way of life when a required shift change took effect for firefighters on July 1.
- PUB DATE: 8/3/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WDEL 1150AM & WDEL.com

A smartphone app that tracks COVID-19 symptoms has collected information from more than 4 million people worldwide, and is giving doctors a closer look at the different symptoms patients are experiencing. The variety of different symptoms people are exhibiting with COVID-19 is startling. "I've seen more varied presentations of COVID that anything I can think of in my career so far," said Dr.
- PUB DATE: 8/3/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KGO-TV ABC 7 San Francisco

The FDNY has formally prohibited the use fire hoses to disperse unruly crowds, following several weeks of civil rights protests and rioting across the city that left several police officers and civilians injured. “While the vast majority of these (protests) in NYC have not involved the response of the FDNY, there is the potential for civil unrest, or acts of violence causing immediate danger to our members,” reads an order obtained recently by the New York Post.
- PUB DATE: 8/3/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Staten Island Live

VIDEO: The Duxbury Fire Department has become the first in the country to have its firefighters wear biometric rings. The rings can monitor vital signs, including pulse, temperature and sleep cycles. They could help detect early warning signs of coronavirus. They are also designed to withstand the rigors of a tough job.
- PUB DATE: 8/3/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WBZ-TV CBS 4 Boston

VIDEO: Flames jumped from unit to unit as a fire engulfed a North Coventry Township, Pennsylvania, apartment building, displacing 100 residents and leaving at least seven people, including three firefighters, hurt. The three-alarm fire started at the Ashwood Apartments on 782 Worth Boulevard shortly after 7 p.
- PUB DATE: 7/31/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WCAU-TV NBC 10 Philadelphia

First responders with the Reedy Creek Improvement District have launched a legal battle to collect workers compensation benefits after being tested and diagnosed with COVID-19. Michael Grant, a paramedic with Reedy Creek since 2018, tested positive with the virus “on the job” on July 3 and quarantined at home for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended 14 days.
- PUB DATE: 7/31/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WKMG-TV CBS 6 Orlando

Four years into his budding career as a firefighter, Glenn Ericksen was used to putting out routine fires in apartments, single-family homes and small businesses in Arlington Heights. Then in the early morning hours of July 31, 1985, he and his co-workers at the firehouse got the call they'll never forget: A fire had broken out in the Horseman's Lounge at Arlington Park.
- PUB DATE: 7/31/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Daily Herald - Metered Site

For over a month Tony winner Brian Stokes Mitchell serenaded the streets of Manhattan from the window of his Upper West Side apartment to honor frontline workers who were fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic. The cause, meaningful to the 62-year-old as he was diagnosed with coronavirus in late March but has since recovered.
- PUB DATE: 7/31/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WNYW-TV FOX 5 New York

More than a year and a half after the Camp Fire, the documentary Rebuilding Paradise is finally being released to the public on July 31. The documentary, directed by Academy Award-winner Ron Howard, depicts the 2018 fire and the rebuilding efforts of the Ridge through the eyes of those who lived it. KRCR spoke with the former mayor of Paradise, Steve “Woody” Culleton, who is featured in the doc.
- PUB DATE: 7/31/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KRCR-TV ABC 7 Redding

Callers to 911 in Houston will no longer be asked if they are experiencing COVID-like symptoms, changing a months-long practice to pass on the information to first responders. Firefighters are now told to treat every call as if the patient or home is COVID-positive. Houston Fire Chief Sam Pena said the change is an admission of the widespread nature of the virus in the city and out of concern that callers were not always offering true information.
- PUB DATE: 7/30/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTRK-TV ABC 14 Houston

Scientists at Washington State University Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine have launched one of the first tracking tools that provides a daily snapshot into COVID-19 cases in rural communities across the country. Using data from The New York Times and other sources, the COVID Urban Rural Explorer (CURE) focuses specifically on highlighting rural urban inequities in COVID trends by county and provides a daily report on rural areas experiencing spikes in COVID-19 cases.
- PUB DATE: 7/30/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WSU.edu

PHOTOS: Four firefighters were injured after a fire broke out at a mobile home park in Quincy Wednesday afternoon. According to the Plumas County Sheriff's Office, the fire started just before 1 p.m. in the 600 block of Main Street. The fire spread to three mobile homes and caught other buildings on fire, firefighters said.
- PUB DATE: 7/30/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KOVR-TV CBS 13 Sacramento

Police and fire officials are following leads in a string of fires believed to be arson, including one at the home of the Shelby Fire and Rescue chief. Investigators believe at least six fires were set deliberately in multiple locations in west Shelby this month. On Thursday, Shelby firefighters responded to two fires believed to be connected to this string of recent arsons.
- PUB DATE: 7/30/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Shelby Star

As the COVID-19 pandemic affects communities across the United States, it has also wreaked havoc on fundraising for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, according to the International Association of Fire Fighters. For 66 years, IAFF members have been standing on sidewalks asking passers-by to fill a firefighter's boot with dimes, quarters, dollar bills, and more.
- PUB DATE: 7/30/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WFMJ-TV NBC/CW 21 Youngstown

VIDEO: A bridge over Tempe Town Lake has caught on fire and partially collapsed after a train derailed. Tempe Fire Department officials say the derailment happened around 6 a.m. on July 29 and involved a Union Pacific train. At least 90 firefighters are on the scene. One person is being treated of smoke inhalation, officials say.
- PUB DATE: 7/29/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KSAZ-TV FOX 10 Phoenix

World Trade Center (WTC) first responders are at risk for developing dementia, according to two studies led by Stony Brook University researchers and presented virtually at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference on July 28, 2020. The studies included individuals with signs of cognitive impairment (CI) who show neuroradiological abnormalities and changes in their blood similar to that seen in Alzheimer's disease patients and those with related dementias.
- PUB DATE: 7/29/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Technology Networks

Easy access to fire hydrants is a requirement of every city's building codes, but Reno Fire Department says depending on the location and type of fire, getting to fire hydrants can be extremely difficult. Last week a south Reno apartment complex was engulfed in flames, destroying 14 of 21 buildings.
- PUB DATE: 7/29/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KRNV-DT NBC 4 Reno

Local fire department leaders are speaking out about the calls to increase mental health screenings for first responders following the overdose death of a Winter Park EMS captain. Winter Park fire Capt. A.J. Isaacs overdosed on painkillers, which were stolen from his own department. “I know, without a doubt, there's definitely PTSD within the fire service,” his widow, Heather Isaacs, said.
- PUB DATE: 7/29/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WFTV ABC 9 News Orlando

Florida on Tuesday hit a new statewide record high for number of coronavirus deaths reported in a single day since the pandemic began — 186 residents. And while there are signs hospitalizations may be leveling off, the virus continues to upend life there and across the country. Nearly half of all states are now part of the government's so-called "red zone" due to rising cases, including Missouri, North Dakota and Wisconsin.
- PUB DATE: 7/29/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: CBS News

Several firefighters were overcome while battling a fire in New Jersey that spread to several homes. Four homes were burned and two were destroyed when a fire started in a basement on Passaic Street around 2 p.m. At least nine firefighters were hospitalized and needed assistance after suffering from heat exhaustion and smoke inhalation.
- PUB DATE: 7/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WABC-TV ABC 7 New York

Firefighters in Hingham said they won't comply with an order from the police and fire chiefs to take “thin blue line” flags off firetrucks, and have asked them to reconsider the decision. Fire Chief Steve Murphy and Police Chief Glenn Olsson explained in a letter to personnel that the blue and black flags, which are black-and-white versions of the American flag with a single blue line in the center, will have to be removed from where they've flown atop Hingham fire trucks after a citizen complaint.
- PUB DATE: 7/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Patriot Ledger

When a large battery used to power a neighborhood in Surprise failed and began smoking last year, firefighters didn't have a response plan for how to deal with the problem, which contributed to an explosion that injured several first responders. That is one of the conclusions of a report released on Monday about the April 2019 explosion at the McMicken Energy Storage facility near Grand Avenue and Deer Valley Road, owned by Arizona Public Service Co.
- PUB DATE: 7/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: AZ Central - Metered Site

COVID-19 is continuing to fill U.S. hospital beds. As of July 20, the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 was over 58,000, or about as high as it was in April, when hospitals in the New York City area were scouring the world for ventilators. Surges in hospitalization rates are now showing up in every state in the South and Southwest other than New Mexico.
- PUB DATE: 7/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Think Advisor

For the last 18 years, family members of 9/11 loved ones have descended on Lower Manhattan in a tradition that is as comforting as it is familiar in its ritual. The names of nearly 3,000 victims read aloud, often with personal messages that have changed over the almost two decades that have passed - heartfelt and sad.
- PUB DATE: 7/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Spectrum News NY1

A shared contract to hire firefighters jointly is in the works among six area municipalities that are struggling to find and retain firefighters. If approved, the estimated $405,847 annual contract would staff two full-time, EMS-trained firefighters to serve the neighboring towns and villages of Walworth, Sharon and Darien around the clock.
- PUB DATE: 7/27/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Lake Geneva News

VIDEO: The Macomb County Prosecutor's Office announced Friday that a Fraser woman has been charged with setting a car on fire after video shows her apparently filling the SUV with gasoline and then lighting it, only to have it explode in her face. Sydney Parham, 26, was arrested on arson charges after police said she set the car on fire on Wednesday.
- PUB DATE: 7/27/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WJBK-TV FOX 2 Detroit

Ann Jerome got to see her son for a brief moment before he was flown to Syracuse with injuries critical enough to make his survival expectancy unclear. She was able to touch his hand, then hear him say he was sorry. It was around 4 p.m. on Tuesday when the Parishville Volunteer Fire Department was dispatched to a scene where a person was having difficulty breathing.
- PUB DATE: 7/27/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NNY 360

PHOTOS: As the Indianapolis Fire Department was finishing a pre-planned training exercise Saturday on Geist Reservoir, conservationists with the Department of Natural Resources asked them to help search for a missing prosthetic leg. That leg belonged to Amy Gillum. Her family was out on their boat and when she went to take off her prosthetic leg to get in the water, it slipped and fell in.
- PUB DATE: 7/27/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTHR-TV NBC 13 Indianapolis

Late-July 1910 saw the Harbor beset by fires, not particularly unusual during the summer in small timber towns. It was the massive holocaust in Hoquiam on July 22, 1910 that killed two and injured many more that held the headlines when the substantial, picturesque four-story Hotel Hoquiam was reduced to rubble in an early morning blaze.
- PUB DATE: 7/27/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Daily World

VIDEO: Geiger Grade and Veterans Parkway have reopened after a large apartment fire broke out at a vacant complex in south Reno. According to the Reno Fire Department, the massive blaze was reported by several people at about 3:15 a.m. on Thursday. When crews arrived on the scene shortly after, there was heavy smoke and flames as a six-story building burned.
- PUB DATE: 7/24/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KRNV-TV NBC 4 Reno

A person trapped nearly 100 feet off the ground in Waukegan no longer needs to descend on a ladder guided by a firefighter paramedic. People can now be rescued and lowered to the ground in a basket affixed to a crane mechanism attached to the Waukegan Fire Department's newest piece of equipment. The Fire Department took possession of its $1.
- PUB DATE: 7/24/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Chicago Tribune - Metered Site

For the first time in 108 years, Rockland's volunteer firefighters' parade and convention will be canceled. Both events were casualties of the coronavirus pandemic. The Rockland County Volunteer Firefighters' Association board of directors voted on Wednesday to cancel the convention. The annual parade, which was to be hosted this year by West Nyack Fire Engine Co.
- PUB DATE: 7/24/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NY Journal News (Lohud.com)

First responders providing emergency medical services routinely face high rates of depression, burnout and suicidal thoughts. The added stress of the pandemic is making it worse. Speaking at a Wisconsin EMS Association town hall meeting on Thursday, U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, said she is working with a group of Democratic senators on legislation that would boost mental health services in the COVID-19 relief legislation that's being debated in Congress.
- PUB DATE: 7/24/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Wisconsin Public Radio

One of the leading doctors on the White House Coronavirus Task Force warned state and local leaders on a private phone call that 11 cities, including Cleveland, needed to take "aggressive" steps to limit the virus' spread, a report said. According to a report from the Center for Public Integrity, Dr.
- PUB DATE: 7/24/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WKYC-TV NBC 3 Cleveland

VIDEO: Crews responded to a large fire burning at a tire recycling facility in rural Weld County on Wednesday evening. According to the Platteville Gilcrest Fire Protection District, the fire started shortly before 5:30 p.m. near County Roads 26 and 41. The location is northeast of Fort Lupton and southeast of Platteville.
- PUB DATE: 7/23/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KDVR-TV FOX 31 Denver

City leaders announced this month that noncriminal and nonviolent calls will be handled by social workers, not uniformed officers. The proposed program is a response to the demands for police reform from Black Lives Matter protesters. “Our citizens are asking for change,” St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway told the media during the July 9 announcement.
- PUB DATE: 7/23/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Tampa Bay Times

One of the scariest parts of the coronavirus pandemic is the idea that anyone could get infected at any time. With the virus circulating as widely as it is, anyone could be unlucky. But while we are all at risk of COVID-19 infection, we are not all at equal risk. You're clearly more likely to get sick if you live in an area currently experiencing a surge in cases, like Florida, Arizona and Texas.
- PUB DATE: 7/23/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: TIME

Traditionally, chaplains' roles have been ceremonial; they are called upon for banquets, funerals, blessings, and weddings. They are well-meaning and primarily volunteer people of faith, having a heart and hand in assisting first responders and their local agencies. But the days of the ceremonial chaplain are over if we genuinely want operational effectiveness.
- PUB DATE: 7/23/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: IN Homeland Security

When Asheville Fireman Mark Jameson returned to the fire station after responding to a particularly difficult call, the only thing that lifted his spirits was seeing Denali wagging her tail with excitement upon his return. “We had a call that was DOA, dead on arrival,” Jameson said. “It was an older woman, lived by herself, no one had seen her for a while, and she passed.
- PUB DATE: 7/23/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Smoky Mountain News

VIDEO: Emergency crews pulled a man who was trapped in a deep trench on the Northwest Side after about two hours of effort on Tuesday. The man, a construction worker, fell into the trench while his crew was excavating near Galm Road and Swayback Ranch. He was waist-deep in dirt, officials said after the dramatic rescue.
- PUB DATE: 7/22/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KSAT-TV ABC 12 San Antonio

Buffalo Fire Officials say first responders were blocked while responding to an emergency early Sunday morning on Laurel. “We couldn't pass through that intersection to get to the scene,” said Buffalo Fire Commissioner Bill Renaldo. Firefighters were responding to a call for a car into a house further down on Laurel.
- PUB DATE: 7/22/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WKBW-TV ABC 7 Buffalo

VIDEO: A special mural in honor of a volunteer for the Greater Tucson Fire Foundation is finally finished. It's for Patty Vallance who recently passed away. Vallance commissioned local artists, Wagon Burner Arts, to paint a mural honoring firefighters just one week before she went into the hospital.
- PUB DATE: 7/22/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KOLD-TV CBS 13 Tucson

PHOTOS: Four Davidson and Randolph County firetrucks were damaged in three separate accidents over the weekend. The Westside Volunteer Fire Department in Asheboro responded to a multi-vehicle accident on Interstate 73/74 northbound near Vision Drive on Friday night. At around 9:30 or 10 p.m., a vehicle hit their firetruck in the back, said Chief Racil Williamson.
- PUB DATE: 7/22/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Courier-Tribune

Convenience stores across America are joining together this Friday, July 24, to recognize the contributions of front-line responders, medical personnel and American Red Cross volunteers on 24/7 Day. The NACS Foundation's 24/7 Day features a variety of free in-store offers from 18 different convenience and fuel retailing partners, most of which are available to doctors, nurses, EMTs, police officers, firefighters and American Red Cross volunteers.
- PUB DATE: 7/22/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Forbes

The U.S. House of Representatives on Monday adopted legislation sponsored by Bainbridge Township GOP Rep. Dave Joyce to ensure that families of first responders who die from or are disabled by the coronavirus get Public Safety Officers Benefit program payments for firefighters, police officers and emergency medical technicians who are killed or disabled in the line of duty.
- PUB DATE: 7/21/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Cleveland.com

VIDEO: Massive flames ripped through a farm in South Jersey overnight, killing nearly 300,000 chickens. The blaze broke out around 8:30 p.m. Monday at the Red Bird Egg Farm on the 100 block of Cemetery Road in Pilesgrove, Salem County. Crews battled the four-alarm fire all night and remained on scene Tuesday morning putting out hot spots.
- PUB DATE: 7/21/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KYW-TV CBS 3 Philadelphia

Two more injured firefighters from an explosion in downtown Los Angeles in May have returned to active duty. A total of 12 firefighters were injured in the fire that broke out in the Toy District on May 16. More than 230 firefighters responded to the scene. As firefighters were responding to the blaze inside the building at 327 East Boyd Street, the site of a butane honey oil supplier called Smoke Tokes, there was a “significant explosion,” said LAFD Captain Erik Scott.
- PUB DATE: 7/21/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KCAL-TV CBS 2 Los Angeles

By the time the EMTs reached my hotel room in Austin, Tex., I was already unconscious on the floor. Moments earlier I had dragged myself to the phone and called for help as chest pains began to overwhelm me. I later learned those first responders resuscitated me more than once as they used their medical training to keep me alive until we arrived at the hospital.
- PUB DATE: 7/21/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Daily News

As the U.S. approaches 4 million confirmed COVID-19 cases, local health officials are reporting more cases per day than at any previous point. The virus is concentrated now in states that had relatively few confirmed cases not long ago. On June 22, there were seven states with at least 100,000 cumulative confirmed infections.
- PUB DATE: 7/21/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: 24/7 Wall St.

At least two sailors who helped fight an aggressive fire that raged on for days aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard last week off the coast of San Diego have since tested positive for the coronavirus, U.S. Navy officials confirmed on Friday. The two sailors are crew members on the USS San Diego, an amphibious transport dock, that pulled up alongside the Bonhomme Richard to help with firefighting efforts as the warship continued to burn for more than four days in the San Diego Bay.
- PUB DATE: 7/20/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FOX News

Analysis of data from the COVID Symptom Study app, led by researchers from King's College London, reveals that there are six distinct ‘types' of COVID-19, each distinguished by a particular cluster of symptoms. Moreover, the team found that these types differed in the severity of the disease and the need for respiratory support during hospitalisation.
- PUB DATE: 7/20/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Technology Networks

Maine caught dramatic video of a car on fire in Portland. All occupants were able to get out safely. The car fire happened Sunday night on Congress Street near State Street. A witness told the people in the car that is was smoking when it pulled up to a stoplight. The Portland Fire Department arrived to put out the flames.
- PUB DATE: 7/20/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: News Center Maine

Fire Captain Frank O'Reagan says a rather bizarre incident just over a month ago involving a motorcyclist — who ended up badly injured on the banks of the Taunton River — was all the justification he needed that the recent acquisition of a new fire and rescue boat was worth the investment. “We've already saved someone, so in my eyes it's already paid for itself,” said O'Reagan, who has been training other firefighters how to operate and take full advantage of his department's new high-speed rescue boat.
- PUB DATE: 7/20/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Herald News

VIDEO: A massive 4-alarm fire tore through a waterfront apartment complex under construction in Everett Thursday, creating a raging inferno that damaged two homes up a nearby hill and partially burning an ambulance and fire truck that had responded to the scene. The fire in one of the two large buildings broke out around 5:45 p.
- PUB DATE: 7/17/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KOMO-TV ABC 4 Seattle

Nationwide, firefighter suicides have been growing and are continuing to outpace line of duty deaths. It's a trend that has persisted in the last few years, especially for states like Nevada and California who are hit hardest by wildfires. One study found that 37 percent of fire and EMS professionals have contemplated suicide, nearly 10 times the rate of American adults.
- PUB DATE: 7/17/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KRNV-DT NBC 4 Reno

For years, the department has lacked manpower in emergency situations, making response times longer when timing is crucial. Lives could be in danger in Georgetown County, where firehouses face chronic manpower shortages. In some cases, fire engines continually go out with only one firefighter on the truck, while national standards call for a minimum of four.
- PUB DATE: 7/17/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Myrtle Beach Online

The city of Oakland, California, will pay more than $32 million to settle lawsuits brought on behalf of victims of the deadly 2016 "Ghost Ship" fire in which 36 people died, officials announced. "This was a horrific tragedy that deeply impacted every corner of our community," a statement from the city attorney's office said.
- PUB DATE: 7/17/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NBC News

The Magic City will host the World Police and Fire Games (WPFG), an event featuring more than 10,000 first responders competing in 1,600 medal events, from June 27 to July 6, 2025. The city's successful bid for the event was announced in May by local officials and The World Police and Fire Games Federation.
- PUB DATE: 7/17/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Village Living Online

Police, firefighter and correction officers unions have asked a judge to block the release of officers' disciplinary records in cases where claims against them are unsubstantiated following Albany's repeal 50-A law, according to new court papers. The some 60,000 officers who are represented in the lawsuit, claim that when the records concerning officers disciplinary matters are released beginning as early as Wednesday, they will also include non-final and unsubstantiated allegations.
- PUB DATE: 7/16/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Post

EMS agencies and officials are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the nation's first paramedic act, signed in California on July 15, 1970. The Wedworth-Townsend Act, signed by then-Gov. Ronald Reagan 50 years ago on Wednesday, legally recognized the practice of paramedicine and protected paramedics administering intensive prehospital care in the state, the California Ambulance Association and National EMS Museum recounted in a news release marking the anniversary.
- PUB DATE: 7/16/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: EMS1

A new tool developed by Georgia Tech allows people to look up their risk of encountering COVID-19 at event, based on the county they live in. The interactive map allows users to choose a county anywhere in the United States, choose the event size (anywhere from 10 people to 10,000), and then calculate the risk that at least one COVID-19 positive person will be present.
- PUB DATE: 7/16/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTHR-TV NBC 13 Indianapolis

VIDEO: More than 50 children in the U.S. died from heatstroke after being left in hot cars last year. Rising temperatures during the summer are one reason why parents must be more alert than ever when driving with children in the back seat. “It doesn't take as long as you think it will to build up to a dangerous situation inside a car,” said Gulfport Fire Chief Mike Beyerstedt.
- PUB DATE: 7/16/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WLOX-TV ABC/CBS 13 Biloxi

Today, First Lady Melania Trump made an unannounced visit to Engine Company 9 fire station in Washington, D.C. to deliver a donation of boxed lunches prepared by the White House chefs, Be Best tote bags, reusable face masks and hand sanitizer. The First Lady met with firefighters and Emergency Medical Service (EMS) personnel from Engine Company 9 and policemen and women from the neighboring DC Metropolitan Police Department Third District.
- PUB DATE: 7/16/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Whitehouse.gov

The fire that broke out on the USS Bonhomme Richard on Sunday was still burning at the time of writing. The blaze has caused at least 20 casualties, and the fate of the ship is unclear, with Navy officials stating it was too soon to say if the vessel will be salvageable. But new firefighting technology might have stopped the fire before it ran out of control.
- PUB DATE: 7/15/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Forbes

A Daytona Beach man positive with HIV was accused of passing on the virus by spitting on a South Daytona firefighter-paramedic, police said. Julio Rivera, 41, who was being investigated in a domestic violence case on Tuesday, was charged with criminal transmission of HIV, battery on a firefighter by way of spitting, domestic violence battery, resisting arrest without violence, fleeing and attempting to elude police, giving a false name, unlawful possession of molly/ecstasy, possession of drug paraphernalia, and grand theft.
- PUB DATE: 7/15/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Daytona Beach News-Journal

Evansville Fire officials are forging ahead with a diversity and inclusion training program from the firefighters' union. The move comes months after a fire inspector's use of a racist slur on the job pushed issues of race in the department into the headlines. A diversity sub-committee set up by the Evansville Fire Department Merit Commission will undergo a five-hour virtual training next week with the International Association of Fire Fighters, Fire Chief Mike Connelly announced at a commission meeting Tuesday afternoon.
- PUB DATE: 7/15/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Courier & Press

The Austin EMS Association is worried there aren't enough ambulances in the city to quickly respond to emergencies. Leadership representing the medics of Austin/Travis County EMS said they were disappointed they didn't see any new vehicles in the budget released on Monday. “We are seeing at least 50 calls per day that are related to COVID-19,” said Austin EMS Association President Selena Xie.
- PUB DATE: 7/15/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KXAN-TV NBC 36 Austin

VIDEO: A Raleigh firefighter is an unofficial Guinness World Record holder, pending paperwork. 5,297. That's how many burpees Nick Christopoulos said he did on Sunday in an un-air-conditioned gym. "It was as it sounds, awful...yeah." His venture to hold the title started simply enough- for every call at his firehouse, he'd do 100 burpees.
- PUB DATE: 7/15/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTVD ABC 11 Raleigh

VIDEO: Firefighters are trained to rescue people from burning buildings, and they do it without hesitation. It's much more personal when it's one of their own. Dekalb County firefighter Viv Evans was battling a blaze in Stone Mountain when she got injured. Evans says even while flames were swirling around her, she knew without a doubt her fellow firefighters would get her out.
- PUB DATE: 7/14/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WAGA-TV FOX 5 Atlanta

A fire suppression system was inoperable when a blaze erupted aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard in San Diego, so sailors fought the blaze with water, a top Navy official said Monday. Rear Adm. Philip Sobeck said the Halon gas system had been turned off because it was being worked on while the amphibious assault ship was undergoing maintenance work.
- PUB DATE: 7/14/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KUSI-TV 51 San Diego

VIDEO: A tense rescue unfolded on Monday morning at a high-rise building in North Palm Beach. Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Capt. Derek Wiley said rescuers were dispatched to a 23-story building in the 100 block of Lakeshore Drive about 10 a.m. Wiley said a window washer was hanging from the 15th floor of the building, yelling for help.
- PUB DATE: 7/14/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WPTV NBC 5 West Palm Beach

The UNC School of Medicine and UNC Health have launched the Heroes Health Initiative to help support the mental health of first responders and health care workers during the COVID-19 global pandemic. The app is available through the App Store/Google Play Store in the United States, free of charge to first responders, health care workers and their organizations.
- PUB DATE: 7/14/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Knowing which mask is best to prevent person-to-person transmission of the COVID-19 coronavirus is still an open question for most, but slow-motion video shared on YouTube early in July provides a visual basis to judge how best to keep safe amid the global pandemic. Professor Joe Hanson of the YouTube channel "It's Okay To Be Smart" released a video earlier in July, reviewing the basics of why people should wear masks — in a visual review and primer and recent studies on the effectiveness of masks to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.
- PUB DATE: 7/14/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Interesting Engineering

More than a dozen sailors and several civilians have been hospitalized following an explosion on a Navy ship in San Diego on Sunday, officials said. A fire broke out aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard sometime around 8:30 a.m. local time, said officials with the Naval Surface Forces. The blaze escalated to a three-alarm fire, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department, which assisted in battling the fire along with base and shipboard firefighting teams.
- PUB DATE: 7/13/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: ABC News

A fight for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder coverage years in the making has ended with a win for Cleveland paramedics, EMTs and dispatchers. A union contract for Cleveland EMS just passed, including about $3.7 million in back pay for employees and mental health language, addressing PTSD. CARE has been negotiating their contract since March of 2016.
- PUB DATE: 7/13/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WOIO-TV CBS 19 Cleveland

There are many statistics available regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, although they aren't necessarily well coordinated at the national level. With so many numbers being available, it can be difficult to understand what they mean, how they work together, and how to apply them. However, experts say a more unified, national approach is essential in getting the pandemic under control.
- PUB DATE: 7/13/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Healthline

San Antonio firefighters handled a crash of their own on Sunday. One of the department's fire trucks rolled down the street with no one inside and firefighters chased it down in hot pursuit. The incident happened on Stafford Street near Fire Station 5. A fire official said they'd parked the truck at New Braunfels and Stafford when the truck started rolling down Stafford.
- PUB DATE: 7/13/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KSAT-TV ABC 12 San Antonio

VIDEO: Wildlife officers and firefighters managed to come up with a solution after a bear fell asleep in a tree after being tranquilized. Colorado Parks and Wildlife first responded to a home on Alameda Parkway and Bear Creek Road at 9 a.m. on Saturday for a call about a bear in a tree. Twelve hours later, the 350 lb.
- PUB DATE: 7/13/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KCNC-TV CBS 4 Denver

VIDEO: Two workers were pulled from scaffolding that was dangling from the side of an apartment building in Boston's Chinatown on Thursday morning. The incident happened 13 stories in the air at Tai Tung Village, a housing and business complex. Witness Andres Mateo told NBC10 Boston he saw the scaffolding drop.
- PUB DATE: 7/10/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WBTS-TV NBC 10 Boston

As coronavirus cases surge in much of the country, issues with testing availability and access have once again arisen in nearly every aspect of the testing supply chain, local officials and hospital leaders in several states told ABC News -- a troubling echo of the shortages that plagued the nation's initial response to the virus months ago.
- PUB DATE: 7/10/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: ABC News