The sight of firefighters trying to rescue a flood-stranded resident in a paddle boat was just too much for members of the Bellevue Fire Department. “We were contacted,” said Bonnie Knutson, president of the nonprofit Bellevue Public Safety Foundation. “We sent it out to the board and the board said, ‘Yep, let’s do it.
- PUB DATE: 3/29/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Omaha.com Sarpy News

The union representing police and public safety officers in Cedar Falls recently issued a proclamation supporting career firefighters. But city officials note individual officers represented by the union fully support the public safety officer program. On March 4, Teamsters Local 238’s executive board made the proclamation.
- PUB DATE: 3/29/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier

More than 500 fire departments across New York have already signed up for the 9th Annual RecruitNY Weekend. RecruitNY is a cornerstone campaign of the Firemen’s Association of the State of New York (FASNY), with the goal of increasing membership in the State’s volunteer fire service. The 2019 RecruitNY weekend is scheduled for April 27-28.
- PUB DATE: 3/29/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Hudson Valley 360

A toxic blaze that was fed by highly-combustible movie-set materials and raged unseen behind false plywood walls directly contributed to the tragic death of firefighter Michael Davidson in a Harlem basement last year, the FDNY has concluded. Davidson, 37, a veteran firefighter and father of four children, got separated from his fellow Bravest while fighting a fire on March 23, 2018, inside a former jazz club that had been converted into a set for “Motherless Brooklyn,” a star-studded film based on a Jonathan Lethem novel featuring Bruce Willis, Alec Baldwin, Willem Dafoe and Edward Norton, who also directed.
- PUB DATE: 3/28/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Daily News

VIDEO: Millions of dollars in proposed federal budget cuts could cripple New Mexico’s ability to prepare for and respond to large-scale emergencies, including terrorism, according to a state official. “This could be a catastrophic event for New Mexico if that funding is taken away,” said Jackie White, the Cabinet Secretary for New Mexico’s Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
- PUB DATE: 3/28/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KOB 4

Battery-operated smoke detectors weren't sufficient to save about 30 dogs who perished in a January kennel fire near West Chicago. State Rep. Diane Pappas says the outcome could have been less devastating had the two-story building been equipped with more advanced fire safety measures. Illinois lawmakers now are considering legislation to require pet boarding businesses to install a fire alarm system that automatically notifies first responders when it's activated.
- PUB DATE: 3/28/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Illinois Daily Herald

VIDEO: The people who keep Cobb County safe say they are understaffed and underpaid. Cobb police officers, firefighters and deputies crowded a Board of Commissioners meeting Tuesday night, and some said there's such a shortage, people worry about who is going to protect the public. Speaker after speaker stood up for Cobb County's law enforcement officers, and many of the officers were there themselves to demand a fix.
- PUB DATE: 3/28/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WSB-TV ABC 2 Atlanta

The firefighters union in San Antonio revealed more details about its proposal for an independent health care trust on Tuesday, requesting a $19,000-per-employee payment from the city every year for the next five years to fund the trust. The San Antonio Professional Firefighters Association is asking for an independent health care trust that it can manage itself, removing it from the city’s purview.
- PUB DATE: 3/28/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: San Antonio Express-News

Bargersville fire officials are looking at a program would allow them to better serve local residents to help prevent medical emergencies. The Bargersville Fire Department is considering a paramedicine program, which would allow fire departments to take a greater role in primary care and preventative services.
- PUB DATE: 3/27/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Daily Journal

After having sole access to a state-of-the-art driving simulator for the better part of a week, the Moscow Volunteer Fire Department is already making plans to bring the equipment back in 2020. Situated in a long, enclosed tractor-trailer, the simulator is from the College of Eastern Idaho’s Fire Service Technology program and is intended to give new recruits experience driving large emergency vehicles without any risk.
- PUB DATE: 3/27/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Moscow-Pullman Daily News - Metered Site

PHOTOS: Harris County has sued Intercontinental Terminals Co. for failing to prevent a massive chemical fire that burned for more than 60 hours last week and spewed an unknown volume of hazardous chemicals into the air and nearby waterways. The county is seeking a temporary injunction and restraining order against the company, alleging that it violated the Texas Clean Air Act and the Texas Solid Waste Disposal Act, among other rules.
- PUB DATE: 3/27/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Houston Chronicle

VIDEO: KHON2's recent stories highlighting EMS spending and staffing now has the State Department of Health looking for more answers. This, after we raised questions on ambulance units closing and the purchase of a gas truck that has never been used. The health department controls the money for EMS but does give it leeway on what to purchase.
- PUB DATE: 3/27/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KHON-TV FOX 2

VIDEO: A new law in Arkansas has lowered the minimum age requirement for certain fire departments in the state. In order to expand their pool of potential recruits, a Texarkana, Arkansas Battalion Chief requested the change last year. Nearly two decades ago, Texarkana, Arkansas fire officials say they had about 100 people taking the test to become a firefighter, now they hover around 25 applicants.
- PUB DATE: 3/27/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The De Queen Bee

Staffing shortages at West Carrollton fire stations are causing brownouts, or temporary closures. The lack of staff is largely due to the city’s inability to retain part-time firefighters and paramedics, West Carrollton City Manager Brad Townsend said.“With a lot of people retiring and the demand for firefighters and paramedics and all of the overtime that other departments are having to work their people, we’re struggling to keep a full complement going,” Townsend said.
- PUB DATE: 3/26/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Dayton Daily News

PHOTOS: No two calls are ever the same for the crew of MedForce Aeromedical Transport. But when the sleek, blue-and-yellow medical helicopter transport is called to the scene of a crash, fire or near-drowning, the crew – and the public – knows it’s serious. “There's a lot of calls. All the calls are bad,” said Justin Hicks, a six-year flight nurse for MedForce.
- PUB DATE: 3/26/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Quad-City Times

VIDEO: The march of time is bringing us the electric car. It's no longer a science experiment, as there are electric cars, particularly Teslas, all over town. But any car can have an accident, and electric vehicles are a new challenge for firefighters and it can be dangerous, as well. Electric cars run on lithium batteries, roughly the same batteries as cellphones, but they are hundreds of times larger and come with enormous challenges for everyone involved in an accident.
- PUB DATE: 3/26/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WDIV-TV NBC 4 Detroit

A bill introduced by state Rep. Lance Yednock, D-Ottawa, would allow firefighter academy graduates to receive a brief history of the labor movement for firefighters passed out of the House Labor and Commerce Committee. House Bill 2215 allows for candidates to receive a brief presentation that provides them with a historical perspective on the labor movement in the fire service.
- PUB DATE: 3/26/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: MyWebTimes-The Times

On a mild spring day, Cory Pippen suits up in firefighter’s gear outside Therrell High School as he prepares to climb Atlanta fire Truck 25. No, he’s not putting out a fire or saving someone from a burning building, but with the help of the Atlanta Fire Department, he is one step closer to a dream he’s had since he was a child: being a firefighter.
- PUB DATE: 3/26/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Atlanta Journal-Constitution

When slurred speech, facial droop and other telltale symptoms of a stroke develop in Columbus residents, they soon will be able to receive specialized care before they ever see the inside of a hospital. The Columbus Division of Fire and the city’s three major hospital networks are working together on a new ambulance equipped with specialized equipment and personnel to respond faster to patients having a stroke, when minutes saved can translate into days of healthy living.
- PUB DATE: 3/26/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Columbus Dispatch

A new federal law aims to protect wildland firefighters by requiring agencies to outfit crews with GPS locators and deploy drones to scout out and map blazes. The Wildfire Management Technology Advancement Act, sponsored by U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., was signed by President Donald Trump last week after sailing through both chambers of Congress with large majorities.
- PUB DATE: 3/25/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Spokesman-Review