Fighting fires comes with many risks. But new research shows there's a new one to consider: increased exposure to fires appears to raise the likelihood of developing atrial fibrillation, or AFib, an irregular heartbeat that can lead to blood clots, stroke, heart failure and other problems.
Researchers found the more fires a firefighter fought, the higher the likelihood he or she would report having been diagnosed with AFib. - PUB DATE: 11/10/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Times Union
VIDEO: No injuries were reported Monday after fire destroyed the Rainbow Motel in the town of Pamelia.
Volunteers from several fire departments were called to the motel on Route 12 at around 1 p.m. The black cloud could be seen a mile away. The heat was so strong, it could be felt across the street, hundreds of feet away. - PUB DATE: 11/10/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WWNY-TV CBS 7 Carthage
Throughout the U.S., hospitals and health care workers are tracking the skyrocketing number of new coronavirus cases in their communities and bracing for a flood of patients to come in the wake of those infections. Already, seriously ill COVID-19 patients are starting to fill up hospital beds at unsustainable rates. - PUB DATE: 11/10/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Jefferson Public Radio
VIDEO: The Alameda County Fire Department was battling a warehouse fire overnight Monday in San Leandro.
By 1:25 a.m., about 50 firefighters were on the scene to fight the large blaze at a Georgia Pacific packaging plant on Alvarado Street. When KRON4 arrived on scene, crews were putting out hot spots and it was finally put out around 5 a. - PUB DATE: 11/9/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KRON-TV 4 San Francisco
Sixty-two firefighters died in 2019 from injuries sustained while on duty, 22 less than the 2018 total of 84 firefighters, according to a new report from the U.S. Fire Administration.
The 2019 total includes 10 firefighters who died under circumstances that were part of inclusion criteria changes resulting from the Hometown Heroes Survivors Benefit Act. - PUB DATE: 11/9/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Homeland Security Today
Bob Perkins of the Winthrop Fire Department says his wife grows nervous when he and his firefighter sons Connor, 22, and Cody, 19, get called to fires or other emergencies.
“By now, she’s sorta used to it, but she still gets pretty nervous sometimes,” he said, “and she ends up listening to the pager. - PUB DATE: 11/9/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Sun Journal
In an unprecedented weekend of COVID-19 infections, nearly all of the US is seeing cases rise as the national total teeters near 10 million.
There were 105,927 new coronavirus cases reported on Sunday, marking the 5th day in a row that cases topped 100,000, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. - PUB DATE: 11/9/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: CNN
Did you know that for over a century the fire trucks in Opelousas had names? That used to be a custom in this town as well as many other towns and cities across the U.S.
Let’s talk about that.
Several days ago I received a message from Debbie Harmon Payne asking if I would know who the Opelousas fire truck “Sid” was named for. - PUB DATE: 11/9/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Daily World
Compared to the general public, New York City firefighters and emergency medical workers were 15 times more likely to be infected with the new coronavirus during the first wave of the pandemic, researchers reported on Thursday in ERJ Open Research. They studied nearly 10,800 firefighters and 3,500 emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics. - PUB DATE: 11/6/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Reuters
A Delray Beach firefighter is sharing his story of survival from cancer in an emotional post on Facebook.
Throughout November, the agency is telling stories about firefighters who have battled cancer. They said it part of an effort to increase awareness of the disease and the importance of prevention for everyone. - PUB DATE: 11/6/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WPTV NBC 5 West Palm Beach
The Rutgers School of Public Health received a $1.5 million Federal Emergency Management Agency grant to support cancer research for volunteer firefighters.
The funding will enhance research already being done in collaboration with Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey as part of the Cancer Assessment and Prevention Study. - PUB DATE: 11/6/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Rutgers Today
For the past 24 years in Haskell, Texas, Steel Fire Apparatus has been transforming trucks into firefighting machines.
“But we take it and add the bed, the tool boxes, the pump, the water,” Wes Steele, owner, said.
But before they’re ready to fight brush fires, everything starts with Wes designing the truck on the computer based on a fire department’s needs. - PUB DATE: 11/6/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KRBC-TV NBC 9 Abilene
Four firefighters and an off-duty Boston police officer were injured when a Boston Fire Department vehicle crashed into a bank less than a mile away from a fire scene early Thursday morning.
The fire truck crashed into a Bank of America around 2:26 a.m. at the intersection of Talbot Avenue and Washington Street in Dorchester. - PUB DATE: 11/5/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NECN-TV NBC 10 Boston
The remains of Los Angeles firefighter Francisco “Frank” Aguilar, who went missing in Mexico in August, have been found after a monthslong investigation, officials announced Wednesday.
The Baja California central state prosecutor said the badly burned body was found on Oct. 23 in a desolate field in Rosarito, according to Border Report, an online news source from KTLA parent company Nexstar. - PUB DATE: 11/5/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTLA-TV WB 5 Los Angeles
Some call it controversial, others call it a life saver.
In time for the onset of a second wave of the coronavirus, an all-women’s EMS service in Brooklyn is finally getting an ambulance after overcoming naysayers in the city who tried to prevent it from happening.
As CBS2’s Lisa Rozner reported, 4-month-old Sarah Richter sleeps peacefully, even in the pouring rain. - PUB DATE: 11/5/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WCBS-TV CBS 2 New York
The new Fire Station 8 facility was built on a site that had a doublewide trailer as a temporary station.
The new, permanent main station has 14 bunk rooms, a kitchen and dining area, offices, an exercise room, a day room with chairs and a TV, a gear locker room and four garage bays. For the firefighters of Station 8, it goes beyond just a place to come to work. - PUB DATE: 11/5/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Business Observer
VIDEO: Heidi Charest of Lady’s Island had the slightest of leads in the finals of the Firefighting Combat Challenge World Championships in Irving, Texas, two weeks ago. Her focus turned to keeping that lead as she dragged a 175-pound mannequin across the finish line.
“Just keep moving,” she told herself. - PUB DATE: 11/4/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Island Packet - Metered Site
When USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6) caught fire at the pier over the summer, sailors from across the waterfront rushed to the scene, some in damage control teams from their own ships and some showing up as individuals who wanted to help.
Though the five-day firefighting effort became very organized, the first minutes were confusing: it was a Sunday morning, when most of the Bonhomme Richard crew and leadership weren’t around, and disparate people who knew how to fight fires but hadn’t trained on how to fold in together in an organized way rushed to the scene. - PUB DATE: 11/4/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: USNI News
Crews battled massive flames at a home in Schuylkill County.
Fire ripped through the home in the 1100 block of West Center Street in West Mahanoy Township just after 10:30 p.m. Monday. Emergency officials said it was a single family home, but no one was hurt.
Crews were at the scene for several hours battling the flames. - PUB DATE: 11/4/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WFMZ-TV 69 Allentown
Firefighters love their job, but it comes with hazards that not only threaten their physical safety, but also their emotional and mental well-being.
Responding to hundreds of emergency related calls each year exposes firefighters and other first responders to a tremendous amount of trauma, from deadly car accidents and house fires to medical calls. - PUB DATE: 11/4/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Tallahassee Democrat
