Coffee has fueled Luke Schneider’s career, which began in the U.S. Navy when he served as Damage Control 2nd Class Petty Officer, and continues to fuel his post at the Rockford, Illinois Fire Department. “I started drinking coffee when I was in the Navy working long hours and long shifts to stay awake,” said Schneider.
- PUB DATE: 11/7/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Fox Business

VIDEO: West Metro firefighters got a glimpse at what could be the future of public safety Tuesday. It was all part of a competition to see which product prototypes help firefighters best navigate dangerous conditions. All of the devices were incorporated in the firefighter’s gear and involved haptic technology, which involves using a vibration or touch sensation to communicate which direction to go in a dangerous or hectic situation.
- PUB DATE: 11/6/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KCNC-TV CBS 4 Denver

There was “no way in hell” Victoria Sinclaire was rebuilding in Paradise. She’d thought she was going to die during the six hours it took her to escape the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history. The town where she’d raised her family was nearly wiped out, two of her three cats had disappeared into the flames, and she “was done.
- PUB DATE: 11/6/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NBC Bay Area News

It started with a conversation three years ago. Hays CISD met with the Kyle Fire Department and discussed what kinds of professionals were needed in the community. The consensus? More firefighters and emergency medical technicians. And so the district's Firefighter Academy was birthed. This isn't a school field trip.
- PUB DATE: 11/6/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KVUE-TV ABC 24 Austin

Rushing to the aid of Pennsylvania towns that need to recruit more volunteer firefighters and emergency personnel, the state House of Representatives passed 16 bills in the past two weeks to support their efforts. State Rep. Frank Farry, R-142, of Langhorne, co-introduced House Bill 1459, which would create an Emergency Responder Mental Wellness and Stress Management Program that would assist first responders, including 911 dispatchers and coroners.
- PUB DATE: 11/6/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Intelligencer

VIDEO: A local fire department is fighting for a bill that would offer protections for firefighters with cancer. Midway Fire Rescue is holding a town hall meeting Wednesday to spread awareness of the Presumptive Firefighter Cancer Bill. “We’re trying to make (people) aware and have people call their legislatures and tell them to support this bill,” President of Midway Professional Firefighters Association Justin Lenker said.
- PUB DATE: 11/6/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WBTW-TV CBS 13 Florence

PHOTO: Thousands of acres damaged by the ongoing Kincade Fire in Northern California's Sonoma County are visible in this new image from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instrument aboard NASA's Terra satellite. The image was taken at 11:01 a.m. PST on Nov. 3, 2019.
- PUB DATE: 11/5/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Jet Propulsion Laboratory

A Wild Dunes Resort expansion project is worrying South Carolina Fire Fighter advocates. A new hotel is being built with 153 rooms, as well as meeting and event spaces. The Professional Fire Fighters Association of South Carolina said doesn’t believe the Isle of Palms fire department has enough staffing to respond to a building of this size.
- PUB DATE: 11/5/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WCIV-TV ABC 4 Charleston

At just 11 years old, Zechariah Cartledge runs a mile for every first responder who loses their life in the line of service. Since January, he's run 283 miles. "All I think about during the runs is the fallen heroes, the fallen officers, the fallen firefighters, their families. That's my mission for the run," he said.
- PUB DATE: 11/5/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: CBS Evening News

At 8:40 a.m. Sept. 10, 2018, Cedar Falls dispatched four fire-response units — including a rescue truck with special “confined space” equipment — to the University of Northern Iowa, where a massive amount of steam was spewing from the campus Commons. But “due to staffing,” only two of the four units rushed to the scene, arriving five minutes later.
- PUB DATE: 11/5/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Gazette

York City firefighters have a new tool to teach children about the dangers of fires, how to prevent them and ways to escape a burning home. The city's fire safety house is a haulable trailer that's been turned into a mobile classroom, with bleachers for kids to sit on, mock rooms including a kitchen, bedroom and living area, a window so children can practice climbing to safety and more, according to Lisa Altland.
- PUB DATE: 11/5/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The York Dispatch

Brian Serdynski was a reliable and dedicated public servant, father and friend. Those who he leaves behind remember him as selfless, never complaining and for his commitment of a large chunk of his life to serving on the Union Grove-Yorkville Fire Department. The Fire Department has a hole in its roster as the department’s members are mourning the loss of one of their own.
- PUB DATE: 11/4/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Journal Times

The head of the city’s firefighter union wants to know the long-term plan for retaining a crop of new hires when the temporary funding used to bring them on board expires. The problem is — just as it has been in the past — there does not appear to be one, and the union president is concerned the fire department will, once again, be targeted for budget cuts through staffing reductions when it comes time to pay up.
- PUB DATE: 11/4/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Press of Atlantic City

“Level Zero” is the phrase at the heart of a legal fight between Albuquerque Fire and Rescue and privately owned Albuquerque Ambulance Service over the city’s proposed expansion of its authority to have AFR rescue units transport patients to the hospital. In most cases, AFR rescue units stabilize patients on scene and Albuquerque Ambulance then takes them to the emergency room – allowing the Fire and Rescue units to return to service for new 911 calls.
- PUB DATE: 11/4/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Albuquerque Journal - Metered Site

VIDEO: It was a beautiful memorial for Goodyear firefighter engineer Austin Peck, who died in August. Some of Peck's family skydived to remember him, and they say it was a healing moment as they released his ashes into the skies. "I'm sure he would have loved it. He was an adrenaline junkie himself," said Mark Peck, Austin's father.
- PUB DATE: 11/4/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KSAZ-TV FOX 10 Phoenix

In a recent Facebook post, the Portsmouth Professional Fire Fighters & Paramedics Association the public on a staffing shortage. “Today is a scary day to be a citizen, guest, or business owner in Portsmouth.” According to the Association, EMS2, a unit that responds to major medical calls, is down due to lack of staffing.
- PUB DATE: 11/4/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WAVY-TV NBC 10 Portsmouth

Some local fire and rescue chiefs are pushing back against the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities closure of the Silvertip Maintenance Station, located at the junction of the Seward and Hope highways. DOT&PF says five staffers have been moved and the station will no longer be responsible for plowing and maintenance of the the 17-mile Hope Highway, as well as Turnagain Pass from mile markers 45 to 74.
- PUB DATE: 11/1/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTVA-TV CBS 11 Anchorage

President Donald Trump has signed a bill renaming the Sun Prairie post office after a firefighter killed in an explosion last year. U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin’s office says Trump signed the bill Thursday renaming the post office after Cory Barr. He was killed in a natural gas explosion in downtown Sun Prairie in July 2018.
- PUB DATE: 11/1/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WKOW-TV ABC 27 Madison

A new study on the Lake Christine fire finds that wildfire mitigation, like using flame-resistant construction materials and clearing vegetation around homes, played a significant role in saving property. The study, by the Community Wildfire Planning Center, was presented to the Eagle County board of commissioners by wildfire mitigation coordinator Eric Lovgren on Tuesday.
- PUB DATE: 11/1/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Aspen Public Radio

A proposed change in the way Cobb County’s public safety officials are compensated has come under criticism from police and fire fighter representatives. Under the so-called “step and grade” table presented to county commissioners earlier this month, public safety employees would receive a 3-percent “step” increase each year.
- PUB DATE: 11/1/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Atlanta Journal-Constitution