Three Springfield Township firefighters are in quarantine after they learned through social media they had been exposed to a presumptive coronavirus patient. Chief Barry Cousino told The Blade neither the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department nor St. Luke’s Hospital informed his department of the potential exposure.
- PUB DATE: 3/23/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Blade

The unions representing cops, firefighters and EMS officers are urging Mayor Bill de Blasio to make them a higher priority for access to coronavirus testing given their front-line duties interacting with the public amid the pandemic. Ninety-eight NYPD officers and other employees and 17 Fire Department/Emergency Medical Service personnel have tested positive for COVID-19.
- PUB DATE: 3/23/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Post

North Branford Fire Chief William Seward was alarmed when he got the news: his department, which runs the town’s ambulance service, would only receive one box of 35 respirators from the strategic national stockpile. What’s more, all of those masks — which Seward picked up today in Essex — are expired.
- PUB DATE: 3/23/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New Haven Register

Knowing that firefighters have to protect themselves to help others, Worthington officials worried about having their 36 full-time staff working together in its single fire station. “We were hearing about these other stations being forced to shut down elsewhere. That would decimate our fire and EMS protection if we had to close our firehouse,” said Mark Zambito, assistant fire chief.
- PUB DATE: 3/20/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Columbus Dispatch

“If you see this message — this means your files are now encrypted and are in a non-working state!” That note was discovered on the Bluffton Township Fire District’s computer servers on Sunday, which were rendered inoperable by a hacker, according to a report from the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.
- PUB DATE: 3/20/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Island Packet

Fox's "The Resident" is doing its part to protect the residents -- and other health care workers -- at an Atlanta-area hospital amid the spread coronavirus. Dr. Karen L. Law, who is the program director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program at Emory University, posted a photo to Instagram on Wednesday showing off a donation of masks, gowns and other supplies made by the team behind the medical drama.
- PUB DATE: 3/20/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: CNN

More than 30 members of the Spokane Fire Department are in self-quarantine in an attempt to stop the spread of sickness amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The firefighters – representing about 10% of the department –were exposed to patients who had symptoms similar to COVID-19. As of Thursday morning, none of them had received a positive test for the novel coronavirus – though one firefighter is in the hospital.
- PUB DATE: 3/20/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Spokesman-Review

The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) and other public safety and related industry organizations wrote to congressional leaders urging action on repealing the T-Band auction mandate on the nation’s largest municipalities as part of any coronavirus emergency stimulus spending package. Read letter (PDF) “We write to strongly urge you to include language that would repeal Section 6103 in Title VI of P.
- PUB DATE: 3/20/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: IAFC.org

Legislation that would prevent the T-Band spectrum – a public safety radio network intended to ease communication among first responders in 11 metropolitan areas – from being auctioned to other users has garnered support from International Association of Fire Chiefs President and Board Chair Gary Ludwig and International Association of Fire Fighters General President Harold Schaitberger.
- PUB DATE: 3/19/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Safety+Health Magazine

The ambulances at the West Metro Fire Department have been turned into isolation rooms on wheels. The countertops have been cleared, the EKG machines have been bagged, and the back of each ambulance has been sealed off from the cab. This is just part of the fire department’s plan to battle COVID-19. Fire departments across the state, including Denver, Aurora, Arvada and Fort Lupton, changed the way they do business as the coronavirus spreads.
- PUB DATE: 3/19/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Denver Post

Several boxes and hand sanitizers have been delivered to a fire department in Tennessee after two brothers who tried to capitalize on the coronavirus outbreak by stockpiling nearly 18,000 bottles with the intent to resell the goods had their stash cleaned out. The Chattanooga Fire Department said on Facebook it received a donation of sanitizing products after a "viral story" about individuals who "purchased thousands of those items.
- PUB DATE: 3/19/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FOX News

Kentucky firefighters, police and other public safety workers say the Friday closure of most child care centers could hurt staffing, hamper public safety and impede the state’s response to the coronavirus outbreak. To stop the spread of the respiratory illness, Gov. Andy Beshear ordered Kentucky child care centers closed by Friday.
- PUB DATE: 3/19/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Lexington Herald Leader

New York City could soon be placed under a “shelter-in-place” order to contain the coronavirus — here’s what it would mean for the Big Apple’s 8.6 million residents. Under the strict public health measure, all non-essential businesses would be shut down. That means only police and fire departments, hospitals, grocery stores, pharmacies and perhaps gas stations, banks and laundromats would remain open.
- PUB DATE: 3/18/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Post

The head of a local union is concerned that not enough is being done to protect firefighters and the public during the coronavirus outbreak. Ralph Sicuro, president of the International Association of Firefighters Pittsburgh Local 1, says they are already seeing how fast the virus can spread. Sicuro tells KDKA additional protective gear was given out like masks and gowns, but the firefighters do not feel it is enough protection.
- PUB DATE: 3/18/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KDKA-TV CBS 2 Pittsburgh

VIDEO: The novel coronavirus is changing the way first responders with the Orange County Fire Authority respond to calls. Crews demonstrated what it will look like in a mock call Tuesday. If it doesn't put a life at risk, dispatchers will screen callers. For patients showing symptoms of novel coronavirus, crews will wear their personal protective equipment.
- PUB DATE: 3/18/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KABC-TV ABC 7 Los Angeles

The death of Cowlitz 2 battalion chief Mickel Zainfeld has prompted local agencies and grassroots groups to boost efforts to help firefighters, police and other first responders cope with the emotional trauma of their jobs. And one way may be for both them and the public to tone down the superhero image they bear.
- PUB DATE: 3/18/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Daily News

Amidst the Coronavirus pandemic, Old Fourth Distillery has been distributing make-shift bottles of hand sanitizer. Starting today they are shifting their efforts and giving back to those on the front lines. Co-Owner of Old Fourth Distillery Jeff Moore has been making hand sanitizer with their own in-house alcohol.
- PUB DATE: 3/18/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WGCL-TV CBS 46 Atlanta

VIDEO: “Three, two, one,” counted down a researcher with N.C. State University’s Wilson College of Textiles. With a click, flames ignited and scorched a firefighter’s helmet, protective hood and turn out gear. It’s how the state is fighting cancer with fire power. Data gathered from the mannequin, which is armed with sensors and better known at N.
- PUB DATE: 3/17/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WLOS-TV ABC 13 Asheville

Leaders of several Cleveland suburbs are making plans that could see them share police officers and firefighters in the event of a coronavirus outbreak in their departments. Officials from Lyndhurst, Richmond Heights, Highland Heights, Mayfield Heights and Mayfield Village met Friday in Lyndhurst for a preliminary discussion about sharing resources if a coronavirus outbreak impacts them.
- PUB DATE: 3/17/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Cleveland.com

After the first case of covid-19, the disease caused by the new strain of coronavirus, was announced in the United States, reports of further infections trickled in slowly. Two months later, that trickle has turned into a steady current. This so-called exponential curve has experts worried. If the number of cases were to continue to double every three days, there would be about a hundred million cases in the United States by May.
- PUB DATE: 3/17/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Washington Post - Metered Site