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National Fire News

North Carolina launches social media campaign to give in-depth look into lives of firefighters

The City of Winston-Salem just launched a new social media video campaign with the city fire department, highlighting the people inside of the bright red engines and what they really do. When most people think of Winston-Salem firefighters, they imagine people barging into buildings filled with flames and racing off to help anyone in need.
- PUB DATE: 2/12/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WGHP-TV FOX 8 High Point

Georgia fire chief wants to create a pipeline for high school graduates to join his department

Local students could soon have a fast track to a stable career, thanks to The Augusta Fire Department. Augusta Commissioners are on board, as well as the Richmond County Board of Education Board Members. The goal is to allow students to earn a good salary right out of high school. “I have positions that I need to fill,” said Augusta Fire Department Fire Chief, Christopher James.
- PUB DATE: 2/12/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WJBF-TV ABC 6 Augusta

New Orleans firefighters boycott overtime, want more hires, Union rep says

New Orleans firefighters claim current staffing shortages threaten their ability to put out fires in the city on a timely basis. "When it comes down to the actual manpower on the streets, we're at critical mass now," Firefighters Union President Aaron Mischler said. According to the Mischler, his members will no longer work excessive overtime to cover for a city administration and department that can't attract or retain employees.
- PUB DATE: 2/11/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WWL-TV CBS 4 New Orleans

Family of fallen Texas firefighter starts initiative to save lives in his honor

VIDEO: The parents of the late Lubbock Fire Department Lieutenant Eric Hill want to carry on his legacy. With the 5-5-5 initiative, Mark and Susan Hill hope to save lives in his memory. "Most people know, before radio, and things like that, they would ring bells to let fire department personnel know what was happening in different places, and when a firefighter fell, they would ring five bells three times," Mark Hill, Lt.
- PUB DATE: 2/11/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KLCW-TV 22 Lubbock

New Washington University Research Finds ‘Alarming’ Stats About Mental Health Of Paramedics And EMTs

Researchers at Washington University have found that paramedics and emergency medical technicians are seven times as likely as the general public to have thought about suicide in the past year. Five emergency medicine doctors surveyed more than 900 paramedics in Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky and Iowa over three months in 2017.
- PUB DATE: 2/11/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KWMU-FM 90.7 St. Louis Public Radio

New Jersey: City sends plan to state to avert most Camden fire department layoffs

Camden city officials, union officials and its fire department will send a set of proposals to the state Civil Service Commission that they hope will, once approved, avert the need to lay off any front-line firefighters. In a letter obtained by the Courier-Post, Mayor Frank Moran wrote to Deirdre Webster Cobb, chair and CEO of the Civil Service Commission, about the loss of a $2.
- PUB DATE: 2/11/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Courier Post (Camden South Jersey)

Modeled after a race track’s pit crew, a new form of CPR helped Colorado fire department save more lives

When a heart ceases to beat and a person’s life hangs in balance, Longmont’s fire department turns to an unlikely source for inspiration to restore its rhythm. Just as a team of practiced pit crew members use speed, agility and organization to return a race car to the track, firefighters use a similar system that brings order to chaos and seeks to give patients a better chance at surviving.
- PUB DATE: 2/10/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Daily Times-Call

Mississippi community mourns for 6 family members killed in house fire

VIDEO: Flowers were placed on the front lawn of the charred home where Brittany Presley and her six kids died Saturday. “I’ve known these kids for -- well, ever since they moved into this neighborhood," Allen Short, a neighbor, said. He said the children’s father, Jake Presley, tried to rescue his family as the home went up in flames.
- PUB DATE: 2/10/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WLOX-TV ABC/CBS 13 Biloxi

Wisconsin: MFD's repair shop team are the unsung heroes of the Milwaukee Fire Department

VIDEO: They're the unsung heroes of the Milwaukee Fire Department. Saving lives, but they rarely hit the streets. TODAY’S TMJ4 spent Thursday with MFD’s repair shop in Walker’s Point. The operation costs $5 milllion to $6 million per year. It includes a small team of about 40 people from various backgrounds working to keep engines running.
- PUB DATE: 2/10/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTMJ-TV NBC 4 Milwaukee

Illinois fire department fights the opioid crisis

"It's not unusual to have an overdose every day," says the Rockford Fire Department's Mobile Integrated Healthcare manager Shannon Kopp. "We're seeing it a lot." Winnebago County has the highest overdose drug problem in the state per capita. The Rockford Fire Department is trying to reduce those numbers through its "Knock and Talk" initiative.
- PUB DATE: 2/10/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WIFR-TV CBS 23 Rockford

Two New York City firefighters die of 9/11-related illnesses on the same day

New York City lost two more of its bravest to 9/11-related illnesses. Retired firefighters Paul Deo, Jr. and Richard Jones both died Friday, joining hundreds of other first responders who succumbed to diseases contracted at Ground Zero in the days and weeks after the Twin Towers fell. ”Nearly two decades later, our FDNY family continues to lose remarkable men and women who never wavered in their commitment to protecting life and property in our city," said FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro.
- PUB DATE: 2/10/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Daily News

VIDEO: Sacramento leaders want fire department pulled from reality show

Some Sacramento city leaders up in arms over the airing of a reality television show that follows Sacramento firefighters and paramedics on the job. A&E's "Live Rescue" features first responders in cities and towns across the country -- and the Sacramento Fire Department is one of them. The show is now in its second season.
- PUB DATE: 2/7/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KCRA-TV NBC 3 Sacramento

Man in Ohio overcomes adversity to serve community as a volunteer firefighter, police captain

Just 10 miles from Findlay, Ohio is a small town called Vanlue. That's where you'll find the Fighting 600 Firehouse where a half dozen firefighters volunteer to save lives. "At any given moment," says volunteer firefighter, Ross Wentling, "we get pulled from our families and family events to help people we don't even know.
- PUB DATE: 2/7/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTVG-TV ABC 13 Toledo

Georgia: State wants truth check on ambulance response times

Bill Compton, senior vice president for Grady Emergency Medical Services, is happy to deliver data on response times for his ambulances in one of the most vulnerable corners of the state: south Fulton. And why wouldn’t he be pleased? Grady, he said, has shaved off 10 minutes from the previous ambulance service’s response times.
- PUB DATE: 2/7/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Atlanta Journal-Constitution

‘So Tragic’: Volunteer Firefighter Shortage Threatens Pennsylvania Traditions And Public Safety

Mike Kitsock never thought he’d still be fighting fires as a sexagenarian. But such is life for Kitsock, 66, in a land where volunteer ranks have dwindled and old wooden homes can quickly turn to ash. “We get a daytime call, I’m hoping there’s two or three others who show up with me,” said Kitsock, who still runs with the Seltzer Hose Company in Norwegian Township in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania.
- PUB DATE: 2/7/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WSKG-FM 89.3

DNR asks fire departments across Wisconsin to report use of firefighting foam containing PFAS

The Department of Natural Resources is asking fire departments around the state to report their use of any firefighting foam that contains perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substances. A news release said the University of Wisconsin-Madison Survey Center is conducting a statewide survey on behalf of the DNR to locate the usage of PFAS in firefighting foams.
- PUB DATE: 2/7/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Channel 3000 - WISC-TV CBS 3 Madison

2 firefighters injured while fighting massive 4-alarm fire in South Boston

VIDEOS: Boston firefighters battled a 4-alarm fire in the city’s South Boston neighborhood, and spent most of the evening working to put out remaining hotspots. The fire started in the basement of an unoccupied building that is being renovated on East 7th Street shortly after 5 p.m., and quickly spread to the floors above as well as an attached building that was occupied, Boston Fire officials said.
- PUB DATE: 2/6/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WFXT-TV FOX 25 Boston

New foam testing device at airport fire department in California protects environment

VIDEO: The Santa Maria Airport just purchased new equipment that allows the fire department to test its fire-fighting foam, while protecting the environment. The device meets a new FAA regulation regarding foam testing for the airport fire department. It's called NoFoam System. The device is used to test the concentration of water versus foam.
- PUB DATE: 2/6/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KEYT-TV ABC 3 Santa Barbara

High-rise fire deaths in Minnesota city prompt call for sprinkler requirements in tall buildings

In response to a deadly fire in a Minneapolis high-rise last fall, a group of Minnesota lawmakers on Wednesday, Feb. 5, proposed legislation that would require nearly all tall apartment buildings to install automatic sprinkler systems. Five people died Nov. 27, 2019, in an early-morning fire at Cedar High Apartments, a 25-story building near downtown Minneapolis.
- PUB DATE: 2/6/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Duluth News Tribune

Saturday's blast in Nebraska caught on camera; Firefighters recovering, procedural changes implemented

VIDEO: Two Papillion firefighters are still recovering after what is called a smoke explosion during a fire Saturday night. A video of that blast is shown from a Sarpy County deputy’s cruiser cam. A blast of fire and air that caught three Papillion firefighters off guard and too close. One of them is Joe Lapuzza silhouetted against the flames.
- PUB DATE: 2/6/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WOWT-TV NBC 6 Omaha

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