Chief Gary Ludwig, IAFC President and Chairman of the Board, asked Congress to support local fire and EMS departments as he testified before the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. During his testimony, Chief Ludwig highlighted the importance of local fire and EMS departments to helping victims of COVID-19.
- PUB DATE: 6/15/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: IAFC.org

Survivors of COVID-19 are donating their blood plasma in droves in hopes it helps other patients recover from the coronavirus. And while the jury’s still out, now scientists are testing if the donations might also prevent infection in the first place. Thousands of coronavirus patients in hospitals around the world have been treated with so-called convalescent plasma — including more than 20,000 in the U.
- PUB DATE: 6/15/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NBC News

Firefighters across Ohio are mourning the death of Russell Brode, the former president of Akron’s firefighter union, who they said died Saturday from what’s referred to as “occupational cancer,” or cancer he acquired through fighting fires. Brode, 54, spent years pushing for better care and training for Ohio firefighters facing the same risk from inhaling cancer-causing toxins released by smoke and other chemicals.
- PUB DATE: 6/15/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Beacon Journal

VIDEO: Over 150 firefighters battled a fire at a vacant building in Shelton. Crews were called to the vacant building on Canal Street around 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, firefighters said. Firefighters from Shelton, Derby and Ansonia responded to the fire and it took more than 155 firefighters to help put out the flames, authorities added.
- PUB DATE: 6/15/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WVIT-TV NBC 30 New Britain

The firefighter’s fraternity is a tight one. Due to the many perils of the job, they must rely on each other to remain safe while saving structures and lives. “There is a lot of trust there,” said third-generation Elk River firefighter Chad Kreuser. But for Kreuser and fellow firefighter Ryan Wolcenski, it’s grown to be so much more: Kreuser learned that he suffers from polycystic kidney disease and in rapid need of a lifesaving kidney transplant.
- PUB DATE: 6/15/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WCCO-TV CBS 4 Minnesota

Faced with continued financial shortfalls, the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District has announced that it will take “new urgent measures” to maintain its limited operations and keep firefighters safe. ECCFPD Chief Brian Helmick said during a news conference Thursday that the department will only send firefighters into burning structures if lives are at stake, starting on July 1.
- PUB DATE: 6/12/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: East Bay Times

As the United States begins to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, ample praise has been focused upon the nation’s emergency first responders – and rightfully so. Millions of nurses, doctors, firefighters and police have set their personal interests aside, routinely placing themselves and potentially their families at risk so that critical frontline medical services remain operational at a time when tens of thousands of Americans have been sickened and died from a disease with no known cure.
- PUB DATE: 6/12/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Great Falls Tribune - Metered Site

VIDEO: D.C. firefighters saved the day Thursday when they threw their bodies on two dogs who were attacking people while other members were fighting a fire in Southeast. D.C. Fire and EMS officials say they were in the 4000 block of South Capitol St. SE when two dogs began attacking residents in the area.
- PUB DATE: 6/12/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTTG-TV FOX 5 Washington, D.C.

A group of New York City emergency medical service workers who gave interviews to the news media, including NPR, are suing the city for allegedly retaliating against them after speaking about their experiences responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. In a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday with the federal court in Manhattan, four EMS workers allege the city is violating their right to speak on issues of public concern under the First Amendment, as well as their due process rights.
- PUB DATE: 6/12/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: National Public Radio

A large, early morning house fire destroyed a home on Hazel Drive in Putnam Lake on Thursday. With no fire hydrants in the area, water was carried in on tanker trucks. The family living at the Hazel Drive home were all able to get out safely, with no injuries reported. Putnam Lake Fire Department responded to the scene, with mutual aid from Patterson, Brewster, Croton Falls, and New Fairfield and Danbury, Connecticut.
- PUB DATE: 6/11/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NY Journal News (Lohud.com)

Emergency medical dispatchers across North America can now quickly direct 911 callers during time-critical cardiac emergencies to the closest automated external defibrillator (AED), thanks to the implementation of an AED geolocation plan by Priority Dispatch and the PulsePoint Foundation. The partnership between Priority Dispatch and PulsePoint allows 911 dispatchers to inform callers of the location of AEDs while using existing medical dispatch protocols within Priority Dispatch’s ProQA® software, with no changes to workflow—saving critical time during life-threatening emergencies.
- PUB DATE: 6/11/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Journal of Emergency Medical Services

The US surpassed 2 million confirmed coronavirus cases as experts predicted Thursday that tens of thousands more people will get infected and die in the months ahead. Nearly 113,000 people have died from COVID-19 nationwide, according to Johns Hopkins University. An influential model cited by the White House issued the dire prediction, saying the US death toll could reach 169,890 by October 1, with a possible range of about 133,000 to 290,000 deaths.
- PUB DATE: 6/11/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: CNN Health

Researchers at the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) have updated and extended the U.S. COVID-19 forecasts through Oct. 1. Researchers are forecasting nearly 170,000 deaths. Deaths are predicted to remain level through August but may start to rise in the fourth week and increase during September, according to an IHME release.
- PUB DATE: 6/11/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KIRO-TV CBS 7 Seattle

VIDEO: A three-alarm house fire broke out in a home on the corner of Monroe Avenue and Rosedale Street on Tuesday around 10:20 a.m. Firefighters urged motorists to avoid the area while they work to contain the fire, assess the damage, and begin cleaning up. Officials say roads in the area will be closed until approximately 3:30 p.
- PUB DATE: 6/10/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Rochester First

Researcher Gregory Chiklis has spent the duration of the pandemic running antibody tests in his Franklin lab, MRN Diagnostics. He has tested hundreds of first responders who were exposed to coronavirus in towns west of Boston. “We’ve gone back now and tested their spouses or their partners, in a couple of cases we tested their children who are over 18, and in no cases have we seen that person spread the virus to their family members,” said Chiklis.
- PUB DATE: 6/10/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WBZ-TV CBS 4 Boston

Billings police arrested a man on suspicion of driving under the influence after he drove through a blocked zone, dragging a firefighter trying to stop him along the way. Eli Rindal, 23, drove through cones that marked off an area where power crews were repairing a transformer at Bench Boulevard and Joyce Street in the Heights, according to police Sgt.
- PUB DATE: 6/10/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Billings Gazette - Metered Site

The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC), in partnership with the Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance (FBHA) and the American Psychological Association (APA), has released a new directory of behavioral health professionals that are equipped and ready to help firefighters, EMS providers, dispatchers, and rescue workers.
- PUB DATE: 6/10/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Journal of Emergency Medical Services

Preliminary results from an ongoing study suggest that those with a certain blood type may have some protection against the novel coronavirus. In April, not long after the pandemic began, the genetic testing firm 23andMe began using its testing services to help scientists better understand how genetics may play a role in why some people who contract the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, develop severe infections, while others present only mild or moderate symptoms or have no symptoms at all.
- PUB DATE: 6/10/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FOX News

VIDEO: Firefighters battled a blaze that erupted and spread into a produce market in downtown Los Angeles Monday, the L.A. Fire Department said. Propane tanks were seen exploding outside of the one-story building at 815 Kohler St., fire officials said after the blaze was reported around 3:20 p.m. The produce market was open for business and people were self-evacuating when firefighters arrived at the scene, according to LAFD.
- PUB DATE: 6/9/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTLA-TV 5 CW Los Angeles

The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation has announced five families of front line workers who will receive temporary mortgage payments through its COVID-19 Heroes Fund. "As COVID-19 lockdowns lift and America begins to reopen, we cannot forget the brave men and women on the front lines who gave up their lives to protect ours during this unprecedented pandemic," the organization said in a statement.
- PUB DATE: 6/9/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WABC-TV ABC 7 New York