VIDEO: The newest part-time employees at Gaston Emergency Medical Services walk on four legs and work for treats. Bijou, her son Knox, and a Danish import named Macy Mae serve as the first responders’ therapy dogs. Their presence was the idea of Maj. Jessica Ross, who reflected on tough times at the department and her past career as a certified nursing assistant for a way to help her co-workers.
- PUB DATE: 3/19/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Gaston Gazette

The city's fire union is asking a judge to halt newly codified rules that direct firefighters to clean up blood and bodily fluids at accident and medical scenes. The Detroit Fire Fighter Association is asking a Wayne County Circuit judge to grant an injunction to halt the practice until an unfair labor complaint is resolved.
- PUB DATE: 3/19/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Detroit News

The Baltimore City Fire Department is paying overtime to fill nearly a third of its firefighter and medic shifts every day, blowing through its overtime budget. The department is relying heavily on volunteer “callbacks,” in which firefighters or medics who have just finished a shift are asked to work another, said a department spokeswoman.
- PUB DATE: 3/19/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Baltimore Sun - Metered Site

VIDEO: An election forum Monday allowed voters to hear from both sides of Ballot Issue 1, which residents will vote on as part of the Colorado Springs municipal election April 2. The measure would allow collective bargaining for all uniformed firefighters, which means firefighters would be guaranteed an opportunity to negotiate pay, benefits and equipment concerns with the city.
- PUB DATE: 3/19/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Fox21 News

The city’s fire chief is firing back after an alderman announced on social media over the weekend his intent to make a motion this week to shut down the Safe Station program. On Friday, Alderman at Large Joe Kelly Levasseur posted a message on his personal Facebook page, stating that 61 percent of those accessing Safe Stations in Manchester “are from somewhere else.
- PUB DATE: 3/18/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Union Leader

A swath of Interstate 15 that runs through Escondido was dedicated Saturday in honor of Cory Iverson, a North County Cal Fire firefighter who died battling the Thomas Fire in 2017. “Corey Iverson is a hometown hero,” said California Assemblymember Marie Waldron, who started the effort to get the freeway naming approved by the Legislature.
- PUB DATE: 3/18/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The San Diego Union Tribune - Metered Site

Starting April 1, it will be illegal to sell smoke detectors with removable, replaceable batteries in New York state. The law was adopted in 2016 but it gave retailers three years to comply. The law requires that battery-powered smoke detectors sold in the state must come with batteries that last at least 10 years and cannot be removed.
- PUB DATE: 3/18/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Syracuse.com

Lieutenant Barry Narrin has a challenge for area fire departments. Narrin’s part of the Otter Lake Fire Dept., and he and his fellow volunteers will be spending their free time installing fire safety kits in 36 homes in the Otter Lake area, completely free for both the homeowners and the department itself.
- PUB DATE: 3/18/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Lapeer County Press

Firefighter Thomas Harwell says it's always been in his blood to help people, and not just when he's on the clock. He, his wife Shayla and their 2-year-old daughter were at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo featuring Brad Paisley Saturday when they saw an elderly woman struggling to get down the stairs of the stadium with her daughter and two granddaughters.
- PUB DATE: 3/18/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: CNN

A crane hoisted two heroic figures back into place on the Cleveland Fire Fighters Memorial Tuesday morning, completing restoration of the colorful fiberglass sculpture honoring Cleveland firefighters killed in the line of duty. The memorial, which was installed in 2007 on Erieside Avenue, outside FirstEnergy Stadium and the Great Lakers Science Center, will be rededicated at 12:30 p.
- PUB DATE: 3/15/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Cleveland.com

VIDEO: The Batesville Fire and EMS Department, established in 1887, hired its first full-time female firefighter — the first in the department’s history. Several women have worked as part-time EMTs or volunteer firefighters, according to a news release, but Lisa Jennings will be first to serve as a full-time firefighter/paramedic.
- PUB DATE: 3/15/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WCPO Cincinnati

The Village Board on Tuesday denied a request from the Caledonia Fire Department to apply for a grant that potentially could have helped fund the addition of six firefighters to its staff. Instead of authorizing the department’s application for a federal Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response — or SAFER — grant, the village trustees agreed to create an ad hoc committee to look into various options for financing and staffing at the department.
- PUB DATE: 3/15/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Journal Times

VIDEO: Together, they are making history in Howard County: Lisa Myers, the county’s first female police chief, and Christine Uhlhorn, the first female fire chief. ABC7 recently spoke to the two women about what it took to break the glass ceiling. "It's an amazing opportunity," Myers said. "I think we both realize it's much larger than who we are.
- PUB DATE: 3/15/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WJLA.com

VIDEO: Clover isn’t bringing on a new paid chief after all. A lengthy Clover Town Council executive session Monday night led to a reversal of course on hiring a new chief. “At last night’s meeting, the town council voted to change the policy directive with regard to the hiring of paid personnel at the Clover Fire Department,” said Allison Harvey, town administrator.
- PUB DATE: 3/15/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Herald

VIDEO: Mayor London Breed announced Wednesday that San Francisco Fire Deputy Chief Jeanine Nicholson would take over the duties as the new chief, the first member of the LGBT community to head the department. Nicholson, a 25-year veteran of the department, replaces retiring Joanne Hayes-White and becomes the second woman to hold the top post.
- PUB DATE: 3/14/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KPIX-TV CBS 5 San Francisco

A bill to extend workers' compensation to first responders suffering from psychological injuries was signed into law by Gov. Brad Little on Tuesday. The law will make police, firefighters and other first responders with “clear and convincing” evidence of a work-related psychological injury eligible for worker’s compensation.
- PUB DATE: 3/14/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: MagicValley.com

AUDIO: Earlier this month, a group of police officers, firefighters, and paramedics became the first in New Hampshire to complete an intensive course on how to react to people in mental health crisis. It brought together people with firsthand experience from both sides of that interaction. Inside a small carpeted classroom at the New Hampshire Fire Academy, two police officers are trying to get through to a woman in crisis.
- PUB DATE: 3/14/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New Hampshire Public Radio

VIDEO: Drone company Flirtey has received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to conduct drone delivery flights beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS), allowing for drones to deliver defibrillators to heart attack victims so treatment can begin before paramedics arrive. The new approval enables Flirtey to conduct drone delivery operations with a pilot controlling the flights from a remote location.
- PUB DATE: 3/14/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KOLO 8 News Now

The Akron Fire Department is adopting a staffing strategy that fills openings as they happen instead of hiring extra at the start of the year and expecting they’ll be needed when employees leave or retire. Before a day of contract negotiations with the labor union and a budget hearing before city council, Fire Chief Clarence Tucker said the old way created roller coaster staffing levels, with too many employees for the first half of the year, just enough in the middle and not enough at the end.
- PUB DATE: 3/14/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Akron Beacon Journal

VIDEO: Numerous firefighters, officials, departments, and community leaders are holding meetings to discuss their resources in firefighting amidst an almost certain tightening of the budget belt. Firefighters are familiar with fighting smoke and flames, but at a meeting in Torrington, firefighters and officials are fighting for their futures in the face of shrinking state resources.
- PUB DATE: 3/13/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WFSB-TV CBS 3