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