VIDEO: The staff at the Tybee Island Fire Department have been hard at work since Wednesday making masks for those that need them most. The dedicated team is one of several groups working to fill the nationwide mask shortage triggered by frightened Americans concerned about their respiratory health amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
- PUB DATE: 3/27/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WSAV-TV NBC/CW+ 3 Savannah

With 16% of its workers in self-isolation due to exposure to the coronavirus, New Orleans Emergency Medical Services will run ambulances to situations that are not life-threatening staffed solely with emergency medical technicians and not the more highly trained paramedics who are now required to be on board.
- PUB DATE: 3/27/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NOLA.com

The Senate approved more than $163 billion designated to assist local fire and EMS departments as part of an economic stimulus package to safeguard the U.S. economy and help the nation respond effectively to the 2019 novel coronavirus and its resulting illness, COVID-19. The House is expected to pass the $2 trillion stimulus bill on Friday.
- PUB DATE: 3/27/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: IAFC.org

Calls to New York City’s 911 medical services hit their highest levels since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to emergency workers’ unions, stretching staffs that have already seen their own ranks thinned by coronavirus infections. Medical emergency calls are up 40% to about 6,500 a day, according to Oren Barzilay, president of Local 2507, a union that represents emergency medical technicians, paramedics, fire inspectors and dispatchers.
- PUB DATE: 3/27/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Bloomberg

Mayor Jack Young will give employees in the city a stipend to ease financial burdens as they continue to work during the coronavirus pandemic. The COVID-19 Pandemic Mission Critical Stipend will be meant for “frontline public-facing employees” including firefighters, EMTs and police officers. They will receive an extra $200 bi-weekly.
- PUB DATE: 3/26/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WJZ-TV CBS 13 Baltimore

With the number of people in the city testing positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) growing by the day -- 84 members of the FDNY have tested positive for the virus, according to an FDNY spokesman. The number of FDNY employees who have tested positive has almost doubled since yesterday, when FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro stated during an interview on Fox News that 46 members had tested positive for coronavirus.
- PUB DATE: 3/26/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: SILive.com

VIDEO: The New Haven Fire Department has a new weapon in the war against Covid-19. The department purchased an AeroClave device, which is a fogging system that disinfects on contact. “We are using it for firefighters or medics that go into a building of potential exposure. When they come out, we can actually decontaminate the firefighters gear and spray the firefighter right down on scene,” said Mark Vendetto, Assistant Chief Operations with the New Haven Fire Department.
- PUB DATE: 3/26/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTNH-TV ABC 8 New Haven

Kentucky firefighters say they struggle still to get COVID-19 tests and don’t get workers’ compensation for missed days while self-quarantining or waiting for test results. Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer announced Tuesday a Louisville firefighter was the first to test positive for the coronavirus. The man is self-isolating at home, Fischer said.
- PUB DATE: 3/26/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Lexington Herald Leader

Mansfield Fire Chief Steve Strickling has issued a directive to his employees to limit their exposure working at other jobs, including township fire departments and hospitals, for the time being due to COVID-19 concerns. Strickling said he does not know the exact number of his employees who work elsewhere too but said "there are quite a few.
- PUB DATE: 3/26/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Mansfield News Journal

VIDEO: Montgomery County first responders who are on the frontlines in the fight against the coronavirus are using spray guns to clean ambulances and keep themselves safe. “One of our employees came up with the idea just to go to Home Depot or Lowes and get paint sprayers,” Justin McNabb, a Narberth Ambulance Infection Control Officer, told NBC10.
- PUB DATE: 3/25/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WCAU-TV NBC 10 Philadelphia

VIDEO: Thuy Dinh was stuck at home while the coronavirus pandemic was quickly moving across the world. So, the mechanical engineer put her talents to use—from home. “A lot of people right now who aren't in the medical field feel like there's a sense of helplessness,” Dinh said. She had seen a design of a protective face shield on Facebook and decided to use her own home 3-D printer to make one.
- PUB DATE: 3/25/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KENS-TV CBS 5 San Antonio

In reaction to Ohio's first confirmed death from coronavirus, a state lawmaker is urging his colleagues to back a bill that would require hospitals and local boards of health to notify first responders when a patient they've treated is suspected of having a contagious disease. “We need to make sure our first responders stay healthy and are able to respond to the community's call for service,” said state Rep.
- PUB DATE: 3/25/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Toledo Blade - Metered Site

As shelter-in-place orders and other directives from government officials take effect, people across the country are adapting to a new normal of social distancing, working from home and, in some cases, temporarily closing up shop during the COVID-19 outbreak. Health officials say such measures are essential to help “flatten the curse,” keeping the number of disease cases at a manageable level, spread out over time.
- PUB DATE: 3/25/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Fire Rescue 1

While some families are grappling with how to keep their children educated and entertained in this new age of social distancing, many on the front lines are grappling with whether to risk coming home to their families some nights or pondering whether responding to an emergency could result in exposure.
- PUB DATE: 3/25/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Bucks County Courier Times

Fire departments in Arizona went straight to the state Capitol Monday after a workers' compensation insurance company said their firefighters would not receive coverage if they contracted COVID-19 on the job. A voicemail was sent to Arizona's Family confirming that's what 7710 Insurance said, but the company is now admitting they made a mistake.
- PUB DATE: 3/24/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTVK-TV 3 & KPHO-TV CBS 5 (azfamily.com)

After weeks of protests and motions from City Council trying to prevent it, Engine 11 in the South End has been decommissioned. New Bedford Firefighters Local 841 sent out a statement about the closure on Sunday, highlighting the fact that the closure happened during a pandemic. The statement said the closure adds to response times and reduces the level of preparedness that the city needs amid the current time of uncertainty.
- PUB DATE: 3/24/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New Bedford Standard-Times

In the battle against coronavirus, first responders are stocking up on the tools they need to stay safe, including personal protective equipment and ultraviolet lights that zap the potentially deadly COVID-19. Upper Pine Fire Protection District began using two portable ultraviolet lighting devices, which cost about $6,000 total, to disinfect ambulances and fire stations.
- PUB DATE: 3/24/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Pine River Times

The California Highway Patrol has closed its academy because of the coronavirus pandemic, but Cal Fire says its training academy in Ione is staying open for classes for its recruits. “These are essential classes that we need to continue with,” Cal Fire spokesman Scott McLean said. “We are very cognizant of the situation and we will constantly re-evaluate the situation as conditions change.
- PUB DATE: 3/24/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Sacramento Bee

The state is trying to avoid depleting the ranks of police and fire departments – and the prison – after the governor activated the R.I. National Guard last week. Gov. Gina Raimondo said on Monday she has heard from city and town leaders concerned that activating the guard could make it hard for public safety officials to properly staff their police and fire departments, where personnel often serve in the armed services.
- PUB DATE: 3/24/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WPRI-TV CBS 12 Providence

When Hayward Fire Chief Garrett Contreras saw that San Jose had to quarantine many of its firefighters after they were exposed to coronavirus, he thought it could happen to his city, too. “We started to get concerned about taking care of our people,” he said. “Once I realized that there was a lack of testing for sick people in general, I realized there was a broader problem.
- PUB DATE: 3/23/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KQED-FM