Virginia Beach Fire and EMS employees were “pushed and kicked” Monday night while trying to save the life of a motorcyclist, officials say.
When firefighters arrived in the 900 block of Atlantis Drive in the Seatack community shortly before 9 p.m. “an unruly crowd gathered and rapidly grew in size and out of control, surrounding the scene,” according to a Virginia Beach Fire Department daily briefing report obtained by WAVY-TV 10. - PUB DATE: 7/1/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WAVY-TV NBC 10 Portsmouth
VIDEO: The state's final report about the Farmington explosion, obtained by the CBS 13 I-Team, reveals what firefighters experienced in moments just before and after the blast. They’ve never spoken about it publicly, but their interviews with investigators detail the terrifying ordeal and their brave actions that day. - PUB DATE: 7/1/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WGME-TV CBS 13 Portland
The Kern County Board of Supervisors took a series of steps Tuesday to address a looming budget crisis brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
One of those steps included passing a $3 billion preliminary budget for fiscal year 2020-21, but the most prominent may have been the reduction of firefighter overtime benefits that the County Administrative Office said exceeds federal labor standards. - PUB DATE: 7/1/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Bakersfield Californian
EaseAlert is a pre-alert system designed to alert firefighters of an emergency before the alarm sounds in their station. It was created by young entrepreneurs Blake Richardson and Elezar Tonev with the goal to reduce stress and improve efficiency for firefighters.
“My dad has been a firefighter most of my life. - PUB DATE: 7/1/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WCJB-TV ABC/CW+ 20 Gainesville
For the first time in 73 years, the town’s fire and EMS departments will operate as one unified department beginning Wednesday.
The unified department, the result of merging the Coventry Volunteer Fire Association and the North Coventry Volunteer Fire Department, will be known as the Town of Coventry Fire/EMS Department. - PUB DATE: 7/1/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Journal Inquirer
It’s not just cops’ disciplinary records that should be shared with the public -- firefighters’ and correction officers’ histories should be posted online too, Mayor de Blasio said Monday.
Now that the state has repealed a part of the 1976 state civil rights law known as 50-a, there is no reason for any city agency to shield relevant records from the public, de Blasio added. - PUB DATE: 6/30/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Daily News
VIDEO: A fire at an asphalt processing plant resulted in a hazmat situation and evacuations in Camden County, New Jersey early Tuesday.
Officials said a large tank containing asphalt began to smolder around 12:45 a.m. at Blueknight Energy Partners on the 200 block of Water Street in Gloucester City. - PUB DATE: 6/30/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WPVI-TV ABC 6 Philadelphia
A total of $3.5 million was awarded to 154 fire departments, districts and EMS providers through the Small Equipment Grant Program.
The Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal and Gov. Pritzker announced the OSFM received 540 applications, requesting around $12 million in funding during this grant period. - PUB DATE: 6/30/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WIFR-LD CBS 23 Rockford
The United States has long prided itself as the world's shining beacon. But its current status is a much darker one: the globe's leader in coronavirus cases.
More than 125,000 people have died from COVID-19 in the US, and more than 2.5 million Americans have been infected.
American life has been irrevocably altered by the worst pandemic in a century. - PUB DATE: 6/30/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: CNN
PHOTOS: City officials invite area residents to join them next week in a celebration of the Fort Walton Beach Fire Department’s new fire engine.
City officials used $530,000 in half-cent sales tax money to pay for the 2020 engine, which can pump 1,500 gallons of water per minute and carries a full complement of firefighting, rescue and emergency medical tools and equipment. - PUB DATE: 6/30/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Northwest Florida Daily News
Every JFRD firefighter will be tested for COVID-19. Testing started Saturday after 14 tested positive for the virus. The city said more than 200 firefighter are in self-quarantine.
COVID-19 tests are underway on everyone in the Jacksonville Fire Department after 14 firefighters tested positive for the virus. - PUB DATE: 6/29/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WJAX-TV CBS 47 Jacksonville
A car slammed into the living area of a Rialto fire station Friday night, June 26, almost striking a firefighter and leaving a stew of smashed furniture, broken glass and vehicle fluid behind as it reversed out of the building.
The firefighter, an engineer who is a veteran of 15 years, was sitting about 3 feet from where the front quarter of the car went into the building, Battalion Chief Cory Cisneros said Saturday. - PUB DATE: 6/29/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Sun
A conflict is brewing between the Oneida County Department of Emergency Services and a handful of local fire chiefs who do not want to give up their 3-digit identification numbers.
The county 9-1-1 Center is planning to switch from number identifications to plain language in order to better serve an impending upgrade to a digital radio system. - PUB DATE: 6/29/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Rome Sentinel
Startup Allerio announced that its easy-to-use Mobile Hub broadband platform designed for EMS use and the healthcare community has been certified for use by the FCC and multiple U.S. carriers—FirstNet/AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and U.S. Cellular.
“One of the unique things about this is that there’s one button on it—it turns the device on, and it turns the device off,” Allerio CEO TJ Kennedy said during an interview with IWCE’s Urgent Communications. - PUB DATE: 6/29/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: IWCE's Urgent Communications
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday expanded its list of risk factors that make people more likely to develop severe illness or die from COVID-19. The update comes as the number of confirmed coronavirus infections rises to record levels in the United States, driven by alarming spikes in Florida, Texas and other states across the South and West. - PUB DATE: 6/29/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: CBS News
PHOTOS: A garden style apartment building on Spa Road partially collapsed on firefighters Thursday afternoon in Annapolis as they were battling a blaze that had enveloped all three floors, city fire officials said.
One Anne Arundel County firefighter was injured in the fire, Capt. Aaron Edwards, fire department spokesperson, told The Capital. - PUB DATE: 6/26/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Capital Gazette - Metered Site
A McDowell County volunteer firefighter was arrested for murder and arson Thursday after authorities say he set a blaze that led to the death of a fellow firefighter.
Robert Lee Beckner, 36, of Iaeger, is charged with first-degree murder and three counts of first-degree arson, according to a criminal complaint filed in McDowell County Magistrate Court. - PUB DATE: 6/26/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Bluefield Daily Telegraph
Every year on June 30, the mountain community of Yarnell remembers the 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots who perished in 2013's Yarnell Hill Fire.
Last year, the annual service drew nearly 150 people to a memorial park in the center of town. But this year's 7th anniversary remembrance is taking place virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic. - PUB DATE: 6/26/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Arizona Republic
A senior citizen held at gunpoint an Orange County firefighter who’d entered her home to check on her well-being Thursday morning, before releasing him unharmed, according to Fire Rescue spokeswoman Carrie Proudfit.
Though shots were fired at first responders during the incident, no one was injured, Proudfit said, adding that the Orange County Sheriff’s Office is not currently planning to pursue criminal charges. - PUB DATE: 6/26/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Orlando Sentinel
A handful of Nashville Firefighters and Emergency Medical Services employees have tested positive for COVID-19.
The president of the International Association of Firefighters has some concerns.
“The ideal situation wouldn’t be to close a station, if you need to quarantine all personnel from that station, then do it," said Mark Young. - PUB DATE: 6/26/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTVF CBS 5 Nashville
