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National Fire News

Pennsylvania volunteer fire department staffed with a trio of high school girls

Across the country and right here in central PA, fighting fire is in most cases a male-dominated field. But right here in Central Pennsylvania there is an exception to the norm. Molly Gontis, a 9th grader said, “I’m a freshman.” Molly is just 16 years old and her partners in fire, as they go by the three amigos, are only 17 and juniors in high school in Boswell.
- PUB DATE: 5/21/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTAJ-TV CBS 10 Altoona

Ohio State University studying the effects of COVID-19 on first responders

As the world is getting back to some normalcy, medical experts want to reemphasize the pandemic isn’t over, which is why the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center’s research team is trying to understand the impact COVID-19 has had on first responders. OSU Wexner Medical Center and researchers at the OSU College of Medicine have been awarded a five-year, $10 million grant from the National Cancer Institute in the National Institutes of Health to study the long-term, longitudinal impact of COVID-19 on first responders, healthcare workers, and the general population.
- PUB DATE: 5/21/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WDTN-TV NBC 2 Dayton

3 youths blamed for starting fire that engulfed California home, neighbors startled by fireball

VIDEO/PHOTOS: A fireball explosion at a home in Martinez was captured in multiple videos Wednesday afternoon, destroying the residence and sending up thick, black smoke hundreds of feet into the air. Investigators say three minors playing with fire were the cause. Contra Costa County Fire Protection District said Wednesday evening that the fire started in a backyard on Arthur Road.
- PUB DATE: 5/20/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTVU-TV Fox 2 Oakland

Pennsylvania health network teams up with Marvel Comics to celebrate EMS heroes

Allegheny Health Network has teamed up with Marvel Comics to tell the true-life stories of medical responders from community EMS services, who have been serving the community through the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Set in the winter of 2020, the first responders’ stories are brought to life in a comic book, titled “The Vitals: True EMS Stories,” that was unveiled Monday.
- PUB DATE: 5/20/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WPXI-TV NBC 11 Pittsburgh

Behind the scenes in North Carolina: The making of 'Deadlier than Fire' documentary

PHOTOS: The Asheville Fire Department might be the most accepting of change in the fire service, given what firefighters have been through over the last several years. The department has made significant changes in a short period of time, specifically when it comes to effort to better protect a firefighter from a risk many weren't even talking about a decade ago.
- PUB DATE: 5/20/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WLOS-TV ABC 13 Asheville

Texas mayor announces firefighters will receive 18% pay raise over 3 fiscal years

Mayor Sylvester Turner joined Houston Fire Chief Sam Pena to announce the proposed pay raise for Houston firefighters. Turner said because of the $670 million American Rescue Plan from President Joe Biden’s administration, the city will be able to use those funds to help raise firefighters’ pay. He said under the new pay, Houston firefighters will receive an 18% increase in pay over the next three fiscal years, which will be based on qualifications.
- PUB DATE: 5/20/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KPRC-TV NBC 2 Houston

Robot developed at University of Florida could help first responders see through walls during rescues

A University of Florida research team is working on a robot dog that has the ability to enter an enclosed space, scan it, and provide humans with a visual of what’s inside, an application that could lessen dangerous situations for first responders. The team of graduate and undergraduate students is led by Eric Jing Du, Ph.
- PUB DATE: 5/20/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: University of Florida News

Man Harasses California Firefighters On Emergency Calls, Posts Videos Of Confrontations Online

VIDEO: Sacramento area firefighters are facing some new challenges on emergency calls. A man is going up to crews with a camera while they’re on calls, often peppering them with foul language and intimidation. Video shows the man behind the camera verbally confronting fire crews and coming right up to firefighters with taunting language.
- PUB DATE: 5/19/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KOVR-TV CBS 13 Sacramento

New Mexico fire rescue hires first behavioral health director in department history

For the first time in its history, Albuquerque Fire Rescue now has a behavioral health director. AFR Behavioral Health Director Maia Dalton-Theodore will be tasked with supporting the mental health needs of the department’s firefighters, paramedics, and EMTs. "I really look forward to continuing the ongoing mission of normalizing the ability for people to ask for help and reducing the stigma, and also to continue the work around behavioral health for this department,” she said.
- PUB DATE: 5/19/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KOB-TV NBC 4 Albuquerque

Tennessee board details impact of Christmas bombing on 911 systems

Sixty-six emergency communications districts in Tennessee experienced service interruptions, lasting more than 97 hours, as a result of the Christmas morning suicide bombing on Second Avenue in downtown Nashville, according to a report released earlier this month by the Tennessee Emergency Communications Board.
- PUB DATE: 5/19/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Tennessee Outlook

Georgia city looks to shorten 911 response times with new EMS ‘micro station’

Atlanta is set to build its first “micro station” for emergency medical services in southwest Atlanta to shorten response times to 911 calls. The City Council on Monday voted to approve up to $4 million in bonds that the city will borrow to fund the new station. It will be located at 4532 Campbellton Road on property that is owned by the city, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said in a press release.
- PUB DATE: 5/19/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution - Metered Site

Uneven vaccination rates across the US linked to COVID-19 case trends, worry experts

Tuesday was a "landmark day," as the United States reached a new COVID-19 vaccine milestone: 60% of adults have now received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, according to the US Centers and Disease Control and Prevention. But vaccination rates across the United States are uneven -- a worrisome trend that could obstruct efforts to end the COVID-19 pandemic.
- PUB DATE: 5/19/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: CNN Health

3-Alarm Fire Breaks Out at New Jersey Recycling Plant

VIDEO: A large fire broke out at a paper recycling center in New Jersey Monday afternoon sending plumes of black smoke into the air. The fire, which broke out just before 5 p.m., prompted a 3-alarm response from nearby fire departments to the Colgate Paper Stock Recyclable Processing Facility in New Brunswick.
- PUB DATE: 5/18/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WNBC-TV NBC 4 New York

Chemical scare in Boston shuts down street, forces firefighters to evacuate

VIDEO: A firehouse was evacuated and a nearby Roslindale street was shut down Monday night after a suspicious package containing an unknown chemical was discovered. The suspicious package came in the mail to a Brooke Street home, prompting a resident to bring the package to the nearby firehouse on Canterbury Street, fire officials said.
- PUB DATE: 5/18/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WHDH-TV 7 Boston

100-year-old fire engine refurbished, returned to original department in Ohio

VIDEO: A 100-year-old fire engine has been refurbished and returned to it’s original department. Larry Manaro spent a year restoring McDonald’s first fire engine. Now retired Fire Chief Todd Stitt approached him about fixing it up. The truck was in rough shape and had been stored in a garage for years.
- PUB DATE: 5/18/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WYTV ABC 33 Youngstown

Fire ambulance stolen in Pennsylvania, crashed in Lancaster County

VIDEO: A fire department ambulance that was stolen Monday in Reading later crashed into a tractor-trailer in Lancaster County. Reading police say Reading Fire Department ambulance No. 4 was taken while first responders were attending to a call inside Kennedy Towers senior center, located in the 300 block of South Fourth Street.
- PUB DATE: 5/18/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WFMZ-TV 69 Allentown

Fiery train derailment prompts evacuation of small Iowa town

VIDEO/PHOTOS: Thick black smoke billowed into the air Sunday after a train derailed in northwest Iowa, prompting authorities to evacuate part of a small, nearby town. The fiery derailment happened early Sunday afternoon on the southwest edge of Sibley, which is a town of about 3,000 people roughly 200 miles (321.
- PUB DATE: 5/17/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KMSP-TV FOX 9 Minneapolis

Chicago Mayor Nominates First Black Woman To Serve As City’s Fire Commissioner

VIDEO: Mayor Lori Lightfoot has tapped Acting Chicago Fire Commissioner Annette Nance-Holt, who lost her teenage son to one of the city’s most infamous shootings in 2007, to serve as the first Black woman to run the Chicago Fire Department. Lightfoot announced Nance-Holt’s nomination at a graduation ceremony for the latest class of Chicago Fire Department paramedics on Friday.
- PUB DATE: 5/17/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WBBM-TV CBS 2 Chicago

Ohio city sets new social media policy for police and firefighters

A "rift." That is how Carter Stewart and Ohio State University described the relationship between Columbus city leaders and the police department. The city has a new social media policy for police officers and firefighters. It says, while social media can be fun, employees could be disciplined, even fired, for saying anything negative about the city and its operations.
- PUB DATE: 5/17/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WBNS-TV CBS 10 Columbus

As Weather Improves, FDNY’s Marine Division Gears Up For A Busy Season On The Water

VIDEO: The FDNY is gearing up for a very busy season on the water. The department answered hundreds of calls last year, and is expecting the same this year. CBS2’s Andrea Grymes got an inside look at how they do their job, and what you can do to stay safe. With sunny skies ahead and calm seas around her, Grymes went on patrol with the FDNY’s Marine Division.
- PUB DATE: 5/17/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WCBS-TV CBS 2 New York

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