VIDEO: Soon, fire fighters will be the only first responders rescuing people from Panama City Beach's Gulf waters. Right now, police officers, firefighters, and parks and recreation officials all share the responsibility. Handing the torch to the fire department aims to save more lives in the end. It's a trend throughout the state.
- PUB DATE: 5/24/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: MyPanhandle.com

A new mural at the Ogunquit Fire Department -- a colorful, expansive depiction of three key moments in the department’s long and proud history -- will be unveiled after Monday’s Memorial Day Parade. The mural is the result of a collaboration between Nathanael Pierce, a firefighter and paramedic, and local artist John Stand, who owns Out of Sight, Out of Mind, a gallery at 622 Main St.
- PUB DATE: 5/24/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: SeaCoastOnline.com

An emerging class of toxic chemicals is getting more attention in Madison as worries about contamination from the compounds is growing in Wisconsin. Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, said Thursday he was supporting legislation to give state regulators more enforcement powers over the chemicals. Also, two Republican legislators — Rep.
- PUB DATE: 5/24/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Journal Sentinel

Something more than 100 years old was discovered in the north Valley: A Merced Fire Department badge from 1916. This badge has great significance to the city of Merced. It belonged to a volunteer firefighter and on Thursday, it was returned to his family. "One of my neighbors found a Merced fire badge that was dated 1916 and had the fella's name on it," says Lloyd Pareira, Merced County Supervisor for District 4.
- PUB DATE: 5/24/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: MyCentralValley.com

A man walked directly into the path of a bus in Lake Nona on Wednesday. The 15-passenger self-driving shuttle came to a halt and let out a loud beep – preventing a collision and turning heads from the firefighters in attendance. The demonstration was part of a training session meant to teach Orlando’s first repsonders how to handle emergency situations involving Beep autonomous vehicles, soon to hit the roads in the southeast Orlando community.
- PUB DATE: 5/23/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Orlando Sentinel - Metered Site

As communities in southeast Wisconsin continue to grow, so does the need for volunteer firefighters. Fire Chief Tim Allen of the Union Grove Yorkville Fire Department has been in the business for decades, so firefighting is in his blood. "I grew up in this business. My dad did it for 34 years, so I have been here since I have been a kid," said Allen.
- PUB DATE: 5/23/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTMJ-TV NBC 4 Milwaukee

According to some Heartland first responders, a feature on your smart phone could save your life. “Medical ID” shows information about your health, especially important if you’re ever unresponsive or unable to communicate. “Everybody never thinks it’s going to happen to them until it’s done,” said Quentin Goode, Stoddard County Ambulance District EMT and Strike Team.
- PUB DATE: 5/23/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KFVS-TV 12 CBS Cape Girardeau

VIDEO: New cutting-edge technology to help firefighters and first responders was developed right here in the Bay Area. It's called "C-Thru" and it allows firefighters to see through thick smoke when battling fire -- and a man from San Francisco came up with the idea. The Menlo Park Fire Department has tried the technology and say it's a game changer.
- PUB DATE: 5/23/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KRON-TV 4 San Francisco

It was an accident that changed policy and the way firefighters protect us. Four Cincinnati firefighters were putting out a fire 28 years ago, when all of a sudden the ladder they were on snapped. Almost three decades later, for the first time, one of those firefighters is talking about that day and the changes that followed.
- PUB DATE: 5/23/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WLWT-TV NBC 5 Cincinnati

VIDEO: Legislation passed the New York State Senate Monday that would allow law enforcement and firefighters to carry EpiPens to help save lives. Under current law, they’re not allowed to carry or administer EpiPens. “There are a certain number of individuals who are identified in the law, which says you can carry an EpiPen and they weren't on the list unfortunately,” said Senator Jim Tedisco (R).
- PUB DATE: 5/22/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WNYT-TV NBC 13 Albany

The Phoenix Fire Department is mourning the loss of a 31-year-old Phoenix firefighter who lost his battle to occupational cancer on Sunday morning. Brian Beck Jr., a third-generation firefighter, was an eight-year veteran with the Phoenix Fire Department, while mostly working at Fire Station 33 in north Phoenix, according to the United Phoenix Firefighters, a nonprofit organization.
- PUB DATE: 5/22/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: AZ Central - Metered Site

VIDEO: The Ankeny Fire Department is hosting its first Special Needs open house for people with disabilities. The idea to have a separate night for families with disabilities came when community members saw a need for it. Ankeny Fire Department Public Education Coordinator and Firefighter Karen Peters said, “They really are a high-risk group as far as fire and fire safety.
- PUB DATE: 5/22/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WHO-TV NBC 13 Des Moines

Less than 700 feet from Millvale’s Ethel M. Taylor Academy, a Cincinnati public elementary school, bombs have been going off for years and a building is often on fire. Don’t call emergency responders. They already know. For years, the Cincinnati Fire Department has been setting cars and a specially-designed $3 million building alight to train fire recruits at 1898 Mill Creek Road.
- PUB DATE: 5/22/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: CityBeat

VIDEO: The Navarre Beach Fire Department wants to become a state-recognized fire district. Right now, they're privately owned. Fire Chief Danny Fureigh is asking the county to approve a non-binding referendum on the county's special election ballot in August to gauge how voters feel. Fureigh said state lawmakers want to know they have the community's support before they ask the legislature to make the Navarre Beach Fire Department state-recognized.
- PUB DATE: 5/22/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WEAR-TV ABC 3 Pensacola

VIDEO: Fargo police officer and president of the city's police organization Mike Clower "absolutely" thinks action taken Monday night, May 20, to raise salaries for most police officers and firefighters in the city will help attract and retain employees. Clower, interviewed after a 4-1 favorable Fargo City Commission meeting vote, said he believes officers will be "quite pleased" with the decision to increase step pay for workers in the two departments with increases starting in the second year and continuing until they reach a maximum salary after about eight years.
- PUB DATE: 5/21/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: INFORUM

Jacksonville Beach city leaders met Monday night and voted in favor of a plan to merge the city’s fire department with the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department. The City of Jacksonville still has to vote. If the merger happens, JFRD would provide services to people living in Jacksonville Beach. The proposal has been faced with opposition.
- PUB DATE: 5/21/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: News 4 JAX

A Minnesota woman has given a kidney to a firefighter who once answered her call for help. Becca Bundy spotted Bill Cox tending bar last fall. The Bearville volunteer firefighter was wearing a T-shirt on which he wrote a plea for a donor. “I couldn't get it out of my head,” Becca said. “I just said, ‘I'm the one and I know it.
- PUB DATE: 5/21/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KARE 11

VIDEO: A bill in the New York State legislature aims to help volunteer first responders out with their bills. EMTs and firefighters often put themselves in dangerous situations to keep others safe. “I love comforting people. I love being there for people, saving people. I feel like it's what I'm meant to do,” Emily Evans, volunteer firefighter & EMT, said.
- PUB DATE: 5/21/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: ABC News 10

Manpower and resources are at a premium inside the Tucson Fire Department. The city is looking to minimize the high call volume firefighters face. “We are doing this for firefighter safety,” interim Tucson Fire Chief Joe Gulotta said. “It’s having an impact on their health. We’re seeing higher levels of sick leave, we’re seeing increase response times because crews are out of service in different areas all over town.
- PUB DATE: 5/20/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KVOA-TV 4 Tucson

Officials in California are crying foul over a Trump administration plan to slash firefighting assistance payments to the state, which could amount to millions of dollars in lost income for fire departments. The U.S. Forest Service, in turn, is accusing the local fire departments in the state of over-billing the federal government as part of a federal-state partnership, the California Fire Assistance Agreement (CFAA), that was inked in 2015 and expires in 2020.
- PUB DATE: 5/20/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Tribune