John Legend is helping to pay tribute to the incredible first responders who are risking their lives everyday on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic. The Grammy-winning multi-talent will be sharing a special performance during May 1st's iHeartRadio's First Responder Fridays with FirstNet Built with AT&T. - PUB DATE: 4/29/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Fox Sports Radio
Medical investigators throughout the world are cooking up ideas that will hopefully put an end to COVID-19, sparing thousands of lives while bringing our old way of life back. (Maybe.) Count among them, investigators with the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, and the ideas they’re cooking up come right from the kitchen. - PUB DATE: 4/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Infection Control Today
For the first time, a special type of COVID-19 test is available for first responders.
"First responders wake up every single day, and they are going out to communities and not knowing where they might be getting exposure to COVID-19," Christine Wiggs, with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, said. "We believe that providing them with antibody tests to understand whether they've been recently exposed is an important first step. - PUB DATE: 4/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KASW-CW6 & KTVK-3TV (AZfamily.com)
Acadian Total Security is using existing technology in a new way to help stop the spread of coronavirus as businesses look to reopen.
“Thermal cameras have been used for quite a while. I’ll just give an example: a chemical plant. We’ve had cameras on a boiler where you want them to run at a certain temperature so you set a parameter saying 'if it reaches this temperature, I need to be alerted right away because something could be blowing soon if it’s too hot," Jason Brown, Director of Sales, said. - PUB DATE: 4/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KPLC-TV NBC/CW+ 7 Lake Charles
Lime, the scooter company, is rolling out a new scooter service designed to help health care workers and first responders in the coronavirus pandemic.
Called Lime Aid, it provides free 30-minute rides for public-health personnel and law-enforcement officers, in select cities around the world. That includes Dallas and Austin, plus Baltimore, Nashville, Oklahoma City, and Salt Lake City, but also Paris, Cologne, and Tel Aviv. - PUB DATE: 4/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Culture Map Dallas
The bulk of the diagnosed COVID-19 cases in Vermont are clustered in the Burlington area, home to some of the long-term care facilities that have seen outbreaks, but Hartford and Woodstock have also seen a notable number of cases.
The Vermont Department of Health on Monday released a town-by-town breakdown that showed Hartford had 10 COVID-19 cases and Woodstock 7. - PUB DATE: 4/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Valley News
According to the International Association of Fire Fighters, firefighters across the country are battling on the front lines of COVID-19 and fire departments are feeling the strain of this massive public health emergency.
The IAFF has released the following numbers as of Friday, April 24, 2020:
1,653 firefighters have tested positive for COVID-19;
4,304 isolated;
66 hospitalized;
Six deaths. - PUB DATE: 4/27/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WEYI-TV NBC 25 Saginaw
Parma Heights (International Association of Fire Fighters) IAFF Local 1690 recently filed an unfair labor practice charge with the State Employment Relations Board (SERB) related to the city’s attempt to unify pay periods across all departments.
Representing Parma Heights IAFF Local 1690 is Susannah Muskovitz and Arish S. - PUB DATE: 4/27/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Cleveland.com
The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) today said it will take heroism in Congress to save fire and EMS in communities across the country.
Legal and regulatory minutiae prevent CARES Act money from immediately helping firefighters protect their communities and themselves during the current COVID-19 crisis. - PUB DATE: 4/27/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: IAFC.org
The new coronavirus doesn't care about a blue uniform or a shiny badge. Police, firefighters, paramedics and corrections officers are just a 911 call away from contracting COVID-19 and spreading it.
With N95 masks hanging off their duty belts and disposable blue gloves stuffed in their back pockets, they respond to radio calls, make arrests and manage prisoners. - PUB DATE: 4/27/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Stamford Advocate
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) released additional symptoms related to novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Health officials recommend those experiencing any of these symptoms contact their physician or the local health department. Previously, guidance from state and federal health officials cautioned people not to call unless experiencing the three traditional symptoms of COVID-19. - PUB DATE: 4/27/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Clarksville Now
VIDEO: Durham Fire-Rescue Hazardous Materials Team is leading the way in using new and existing equipment to decontaminate surfaces that may have been exposed to COVID-19.
Firefighters suit up in Tyvek hazmat gear to spray all surfaces with chlorine dioxide.
"Chlorine dioxide has been shown in multiple studies and by multiple federal agencies to kill the COVID-19 virus," said Ryan Campbell with the Durham Fire Department. - PUB DATE: 4/24/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTVD ABC 11 Durham
VIDEO: The Rolling Stones have unveiled a new song the band thinks is perfect for these coronavirus times.
The legendary band released the four-minute slow-burning bluesy and harmonica-driven “Living in a Ghost Town” on Thursday.
“I’m a ghost/ Living in a ghost town/ You can look for me/ But I can’t be found,” sings frontman Mick Jagger, who wrote it with guitarist Keith Richards. - PUB DATE: 4/24/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: HuffPost
VIDEO: Over the last few weeks of the coronavirus pandemic, we've seen so many people expressing gratitude for first responders on the front lines - and rightfully so. On Thursday, DC Fire and EMS said it was the department's turn to say thank you.
"What this whole experience has taught me is that you have to look to your neighbors and you have to rely on your community," said Dr. - PUB DATE: 4/24/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WJLA-TV ABC 7 Washington DC
A dozen employees are working through the pandemic on the assembly floor of First Line Tech in Fredericksburg, Virginia. They're seeing nursing homes around the country overwhelmed by COVID-19 infections, and racing to provide a way for fire departments to evacuate the elderly safely and quickly.
"We took an old school bus and designed a kit that can go right inside of it to convert it over and handle six, 12, 18 patients," First Line Tech CEO Amit Kapoor said. - PUB DATE: 4/24/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WVEC-TV ABC 13 Hampton
The U.S. military has long played a key role helping American communities respond to natural disasters and other public health emergencies. But the work it is doing during the coronavirus crisis is unique and may lead to a new blueprint for the way soldiers provide civilian assistance during a pandemic. - PUB DATE: 4/24/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NJ Spotlight
As they deal with a pandemic, the city’s fire rescue crews are trying out a new technique.
From the scene of the rescue call, the Providence firefighters make contact with a doctor, via Zoom, on an iPad. The doctor’s input, based in part on vital signs and other information that firefighters provide electronically, can head off an unnecessary emergency visit to the hospital. - PUB DATE: 4/23/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Providence Journal
The IAFC needs your help in measuring the effects of state and local government social distancing orders on local fire and EMS department budgets, including the long-term implications on resources and staffing.
IAFC President and Chairman of the Board, Chief Gary Ludwig, created an Economic Crisis Task Force to help fire and EMS chiefs plan and prepare for the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. - PUB DATE: 4/23/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: IAFC.org
While people are staying apart, the Neighbors App by Ring is helping communities come together. This free app is a valuable resource for information from fellow neighbors as well as official sources, such as local law enforcement agencies and, now, fire departments.
On April 21, Ring announced that fire departments across the country are joining Neighbors. - PUB DATE: 4/23/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Batavia Patch
Researchers at Drexel University’s C. & J. Nyheim Plasma Institute are modifying an air sterilization system they created to combat the threat of anthrax attacks post-9-11 in hopes it can now help to ward off COVID-19.
“As public health research reveals how the virus can persist and be transmitted through the air in indoor environments, it will become increasingly important for engineers to develop air sterilization technology that can neutralize or remove it,” said Alexander Fridman, PhD, director of the Nyheim Plasma Institute and a professor in Drexel’s College of Engineering, who is a leading National Science Foundation-supported effort to develop technology that can neutralize the novel coronavirus. - PUB DATE: 4/23/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Drexel Now
