With talk of COVID-19 vaccines being made available as soon as this month, major firefighter organizations like The International Association of Fire Fighters and the National Volunteer Fire Council are asking to be among the first to receive it.
“I would tell the leaders, the politicians that are deciding, the community leaders, the health department take care of the people that care of your people we are the ones that are out there,” a firefighter and paramedic with the Ocean Pines Fire Department, said. - PUB DATE: 12/4/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WMDT-TV ABC/CW+ 47 Salisbury
VIDEO: It's a tradition at the Bonneville Salt Flats to spread the ashes of lost loved ones on the track. A Central California firefighter wanted to honor his father that way - and he set a racing record on the same trip.
"It was a dream come true. And we didn't have any intention when we left Fresno of going after record, and we ended up having a lot more fun than we thought we were going to," said Frank Silva, Jr. - PUB DATE: 12/4/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KGO-TV ABC 7 San Francisco
PHOTOS: It’s been 21 years since one of the most heartbreaking days in Worcester’s history.
On Dec. 3, 1999, a blaze at the Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co. claimed the lives of six Worcester firefighters. Each December since, the city has remembered the sacrifices of Lt. Thomas Spencer, Lt. - PUB DATE: 12/3/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Republican - Mass Live
VIDEO: Fire crews were battling a blaze at a large two-story structure in downtown Los Angeles Wednesday evening, officials said.
The fire was reported around 6:10 p.m. on the 500 block of East Ninth Street, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department, where a number of fabric stores are located.
Firefighters had moved to a defensive operation to battle fire, which was escalated to a “greater alarm” incident. - PUB DATE: 12/3/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTLA-TV 5 CW Los Angeles
Stefan Hofer’s ambulance company, West Trail EMS, in Mayville, North Dakota, has received only one or two calls that weren’t related to COVID-19 over the past two months. But he said the case count has ballooned by 20 to 30 percent because of the pandemic. At the same time, the company’s expenses have mounted, its revenue has cratered and its workforce is being decimated by the virus. - PUB DATE: 12/3/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTVE-TV NBC 10 El Dorado
The Essex Fire Department (EFD) is one of 20 fire departments in the country — and the only one in Vermont — to join a Drexel University study investigating how the COVID-19 pandemic impacts the mental health of first responders.
The study is run by the Center for Firefighter Injury Research and Safety Trends (FIRST Center) at the Dornsife School of Public Health at Drexel University in Philadelphia. - PUB DATE: 12/3/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Saint Albans Messenger
The family of an FDNY captain, who died decades ago after fighting a major fire in Queens, is demanding his name be added to a memorial wall honoring those who died in the line of duty.
Richard Meister says he never knew his grandfather, FDNY Captain Hans Meister, but he’s heard plenty of stories about the impact he had on other members of his family. - PUB DATE: 12/3/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WCBS-AM 880
The CDC's immunization advisory panel voted Tuesday to first give the COVID-19 vaccine to health care personnel and long-term care facility residents. Some firefighters feel they should have been included in that list.
“I think it’s not the correct decision," Prince George's County firefighter and paramedic Theresa Alexander said. - PUB DATE: 12/2/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WUSA-TV CBS 9 Washington DC
VIDEO: A former volunteer firefighter from Long Island just won big on ABC's "Shark Tank" for her new fitness device, which was inspired by her time as a firefighter.
Sarah Apgar, of Port Washington, is the creator of Fitfighter and the Steel Hose.
When Apgar joined the Halesite Volunteer Fire Department in 2012, she noticed the firehouse didn't have a structured strength training program. - PUB DATE: 12/2/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WABC-TV ABC 7 New York
A huge floating fire station will make its permanent home in San Francisco early Thursday morning.
A new Fireboat Station 35 will house the San Francisco Fire Department’s three fireboats and rescue watercraft, replacing the existing 105-year-old fire station on the Embarcadero, according to the city’s Public Works department. - PUB DATE: 12/2/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle - Metered Site
Starbucks is giving thanks to first responders and health care workers on the front lines of the fight against the spread of COVID-19 with a free cup of coffee.
As cases continue to rise across much of the country, Starbucks is offering a free tall brewed coffee (hot or iced) to front-line workers at participating U. - PUB DATE: 12/2/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WNBC-TV NBC 4 New York
PHOTOS: How many cities do you know of that showcase a caboose, fire truck and tractors in their downtown sector?
There is at least one — the city of Winter Garden, which recently saw the return of an iconic piece of its fire department history.
The 1954 American La France fire engine No. 1 is back in the space it shares with a 1907 citrus sprayer, 1948 railroad caboose, a Case grove tractor and a Fordson tractor — all surrounding the Winter Garden Heritage Museum. - PUB DATE: 12/2/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Orange Observer
VIDEO: Fire Chief Michael Williams has seen and fought his fair share of fires in his 34-year career in Brockton.
But when it comes to 2 1/2-story homes, few fires rival the difficulty of the one battled late Monday night in the city.
"This is one of the toughest fires I've ever fought in a 2 1/2-story home," Williams said at the scene. - PUB DATE: 12/1/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Enterprise News
An oversized, multicolored quilt, deemed the “Quilt of the Angels,” was draped over the altar at the Church of the Holy Family in Little Italy for Sunday’s 5 p.m. Mass. The names and ages of all 95 victims from the Our Lady of Angels School fire in 1958 are stitched on each patch.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” said Larry Furio, a survivor of the tragic blaze that resulted in stricter fire safety codes nationwide. - PUB DATE: 12/1/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Chicago Sun Times - Metered Site
In an exclusive interview with ABC10 News, a firefighter shared his heroic story of helping battle the massive fire that erupted aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard this past July.
“It was a crazy situation,” said Deputy Fire Chief Robert Sepulveda with Navy Region Southwest Fire Emergency Services. “We [had] about 400-plus firefighters on-scene at the time,” he stated and added, “I was on the front lines with the firefighters and was directing the fire attack on the forward side of the ship at that time. - PUB DATE: 12/1/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KGTV ABC 10 San Diego
The committee that decides who gets the coronavirus vaccine first meets virtually Tuesday as officials prepare for distribution that could potentially come within two weeks.
Look for discussion of two questions: Where should people in long-term care facilities be in the vaccine line and the power of states and governors to shift priorities for who gets immunized first. - PUB DATE: 12/1/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: USA Today
In a project for the Defense Department’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), computer scientists have turned to artificial intelligence and aerial imagery to construct a detailed damage assessment solution. The tool can be used remotely and automatically to determine the amount of damage to buildings and structures from a natural disaster or catastrophe. - PUB DATE: 12/1/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: AFCEA Signal
Sunday marked 32 years since six Kansas City Missouri firefighters died in an explosion. The explosion happened at a construction site on Nov. 29, 1988.
The crews were fighting a trailer fire. They were unaware the trailer had thousands of pounds of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil inside, and the firefighters were killed instantly. - PUB DATE: 11/30/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KMBC-TV ABC 9 Kansas City
No-Shave November is almost over, and emergency responders across the state will soon go back to a clean-shaven face. But for some Oklahoma firefighters, the mustache will be long-lived.
The handlebar. The toothbrush. The pencil. The walrus. The horseshoe. Firefighters with mustaches is an iconic image spanning back decades. - PUB DATE: 11/30/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KOCO-TV ABC 5 Oklahoma City
VIDEO: A retired New York firefighter who served on the frontlines during September 11, 2001 is on a mission to honor fallen firefighters.
Frank Pizarro calls Las Vegas home, but served 22 years on the New York Fire Department. He is on mission to retrofit a fire engine to carry caskets of fallen firefighters on the West Coast. - PUB DATE: 11/30/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KVVU-TV FOX 5 Las Vegas
