VIDEO: The state fire marshal on Tuesday put all Massachusetts fire chiefs on alert that his office has already received reports of two instances in which teens trying to recreate a viral video have caused electrical system damage or fire. Fire Marshal Peter Ostroskey said a video that’s gained attention on the TikTok app has encouraged teens to partially insert the plug part of a phone charger into a wall outlet and then slide a penny down the wall to make contact with the two exposed prongs.
- PUB DATE: 1/22/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WFXT-TV FOX 25 Boston

VIDEO: The Plover Fire Department recently started using navigation compass devices in their masks. It not only helps crews combat structure fires but it also helps them save lives. "We've had two actual structure fires within the last week," said Plover Fire Dept. Captain Ethan Meddaugh. "One in the village of Plover and one in the village of Whiting.
- PUB DATE: 1/22/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WAOW-TV ABC 9

VIDEO: Hundreds of firefighters battled a raging and fast-moving fire that spread through a row of town-homes on Staten Island on Monday. The fire was reported shortly after 3 p.m. on Rensselaer Avenue, and within 30 minutes, a fifth alarm had been sounded as the flames quickly spread. Officials say 18 firefighters and one civilian suffered injuries in the fire, but all the injuries were believed to be minor.
- PUB DATE: 1/21/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WABC-TV ABC 7 New York

La Verne Fire Station No. 3 at 5100 Esperanza Drive, which serves neighborhoods in the area, will be closed for about six weeks until the city can hire more firefighters, Mayor Don Kendrick said Monday, Jan. 20. La Verne Firefighters’ Association, Local 3624, posted information about the closure Friday on social media.
- PUB DATE: 1/21/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Inland Valley Daily Bulletin - Metered Site

VIDEO: It’s a startling statistic - since 2015, more firefighters and police officers are dying by suicide than in the line of duty, according to a report. In January, nearly 1,000 Fort Worth firefighters will take a course to learn to spot the signs of someone at risk for suicide. According to a report published in 2017 by the Ruderman Family Foundation, almost 250 firefighters and police officers died by suicide in 2016 across the United States, as compared to just over 200 that died in the line of duty.
- PUB DATE: 1/21/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KXAS-TV NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

Two decades ago, a machine shed fire in rural Plymouth County might have taken one, maybe two, fire departments to put out the flames. But in 2019, it took five just to get enough manpower and water to put out the fire. No single department had enough available volunteers or resources. "The days where the butcher, the baker, and the horseshoe maker ran down the street when the fire whistle blew in town, that doesn't happen anymore," Le Mars Fire Chief David Schipper said.
- PUB DATE: 1/21/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Des Moines Register

A bill has been introduced in the U.S. House that aims to help veteran firefighters. Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger and Congressman Don Bacon (R-Nebraska-02), a U.S. Air Force veteran, introduced the Michael Lecik Military Firefighters Protection Act on Thursday. It aims to provide veteran firefighters with the compensation, health care, and retirement benefits they earned with their military service.
- PUB DATE: 1/21/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WVIR-TV NBC/CW+ 29 Charlottesville

A series of the 911 calls made on the night the Alpine Motel Apartments fire went up into flames were released to 8 News Now by the City of Las Vegas Thursday. The calls detail the moments after residents and victims called 911, along with when first responders arrived at the scene that fateful night Dec.
- PUB DATE: 1/17/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KLAS-TV CBS 8 Las Vegas

VIDEO: Paramedic Scott Lazar, a 16-year veteran of the Los Angeles Fire Department, is used to treating the same person, sometimes on the same day, on Skid Row. "Deja vu, yeah, it's every day down here," Lazar told "Nightline" as he treats a man for an overdose, as he did just the day before. Over five months, "Nightline" got an exclusive look at life at Lazar's LAFD Station 9, rare access to the day-to-day operations of this team and a glimpse into daily life for this city's most vulnerable.
- PUB DATE: 1/17/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: ABC News

The Green Bay Metro Fire Department and the San Francisco Fire Department have partnered to remind communities of the importance of practicing fire safety along with some friendly competition. On the Tuesday following Sunday’s game, the fire chief will install a smoke alarm with the winning team’s emblem on it.
- PUB DATE: 1/17/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WFRV-TV and WJMN-TV Green Bay

City firefighters can now bear an emblem for mental health on their helmets after the department’s first officer suicide. It’s a way for firefighters to keep the fallen officer close to them; it’s a reminder for them to take care of themselves, said Shawn Weeks, president of Local 1891, which represents Boynton’s paramedics and firefighters.
- PUB DATE: 1/17/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Palm Beach Post

VIDEO: Students at Dudley High School are getting the unique opportunity to work on the construction of two new fire stations as summer interns. “Opportunities don't come around like this very often, especially for high school students,” Principal Rodney Wilds said. The Greensboro Fire Department received approval for the necessary funding to rebuild fire stations 7 and 56.
- PUB DATE: 1/17/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WGHP-TV FOX 8 High Point

More than 100 Wisconsin firefighters and emergency responders lobbied for a bill Wednesday that they say will save lives. The bill would remove barriers for public safety officers to get worker’s compensation for post-traumatic stress disorder. Because of a 1974 Supreme Court decision, to get worker’s compensation, public safety officers must demonstrate a PTSD diagnosis based on extraordinary stress above what is usually experienced by others on the job.
- PUB DATE: 1/16/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WISC-TV Channel 3000.com Madison

Those interested in learning more about the operation of the Asheboro Fire Department will soon be able to with the introduction of the department’s Ride-Along Program. Lt. Jason Joines says the program, which has never before been offered by the Asheboro Fire Department (AFD), is open to any interested individuals, but that it’s aimed towards those who might be considering a career as a firefighter.
- PUB DATE: 1/16/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Courier-Tribune

Tuesday night's village board meeting was very long and, at times, very confusing, but a few important developments did emerge from it regardless. Among them, the board voted to approve an inter-governmental agreement between the Oswego Police and Fire Departments that will allow fire department paramedics to draw blood for police sobriety tests.
- PUB DATE: 1/16/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Oswego Patch

The D.C. Fire and EMS Department has launched an internal investigation after a photo surfaced Wednesday of a recruit class in which some of the members are making what appears to be an OK sign with their hands. The signal has traditionally been seen as a symbol of understanding or an affirmative reply, but according to the Anti-Defamation League was claimed by white supremacists as a sign of hate.
- PUB DATE: 1/16/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTTG-FOX 5 DC

Even in its earliest days, before the dawn of the 20th century, Butte had experienced tragedy. Six men died in a fire in the Anaconda Mine on Nov. 23, 1889. Fire swept through the Silver Bow Mine on April 21, 1893, leaving nine dead. But “Butte’s Night of Horror,” which occurred 125 years ago, was on an entirely different scale.
- PUB DATE: 1/16/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Montana Standard

VIDEO: Dozens of people at seven schools in the Los Angeles area were treated for minor injuries after a plane with mechanical issues dumped a load of jet fuel while returning to LAX for an emergency landing on Tuesday, officials said. The incident was initially reported shortly before noon at Park Avenue Elementary School in the 8000 block of Park Avenue, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
- PUB DATE: 1/15/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTLA-TV WB 5 Los Angeles

The town of Wiscasset has been fined $1,000 after its fire department violated air quality rules and created a public safety threat when it burned the old Huber’s Market on Route 1. In a memo dated Jan. 3, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection said the Wiscasset Fire Department failed to remove waste material prior to the burn, did not investigate if asbestos or lead paint was present, did not have a written training plan and created a “nuisance and public safety threat” during the demolition of the Huber’s Market building.
- PUB DATE: 1/15/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Bangor Daily News - Metered Site

First responders in Augusta County are working with county officials to come up with an insurance plan that offers better coverage for volunteer firefighters. Volunteer and career firefighters are held to the same standards of training and certifications but do not receive the same coverage if they are hurt or fall ill on the job.
- PUB DATE: 1/15/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WVIR-TV NBC/CW+ 29 Charlottesville