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

VIDEO: The Hickory Hills Fire Department said it has some employees it could hire back if a change to the state's pension system is made. House Bill 2051 would allow those who are eligible for the pension to also continue working for a volunteer department. "I think it's great," Hickory Hills Fire Chief Craig Youngblood said.
- PUB DATE: 3/13/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KOKH-TV FOX25

After a fire destroyed the lone fire hall on Madeline Island in early March, the Wisconsin DNR stepped in to help the island. When the fire broke out on March 6, volunteer firefighters from Bayfield, Red Cliff, Washburn and Ashland responded, but could only bring relatively light "brush trucks," according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, because the ice wasn't thick enough to support the weight of fire engines.
- PUB DATE: 3/13/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KSTP-TV

VIDEO: A proposed bill in the State House would make cancer an occupational disease for firefighters. Local fire officials said this would help with workers’ compensation, and if a current or former firefighter passed away from cancer, it would be considered a line-of-duty death. "The nature of the business is you work around carcinogens and there’s a really good chance that something’s going to happen,” said Rob Mullaney, president of the Horry County Professional Firefighters.
- PUB DATE: 3/13/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WMBF-TV NBC Myrtle Beach

VIDEO: Firefighters in Emmet County are taking exception to cuts in funding for life-saving equipment. Emmet County Commissioners approved a budget that slashes funding for local fire departments in half, and could take it all away next year. “We felt we should voice our concern about this and bring it to the commissioners’ attention,” Resort Bear Creek Fire and Rescue Chief Al Welsheimer, said.
- PUB DATE: 3/13/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WWTV-TV 9&10 News

The Freeport City Council on Monday discussed a potential ordinance change that would allow the Fire Department to bill insurance companies for auto accidents. If approved, the Fire Department would start billing the responsible driver’s insurance company $500 for every accident that firefighters are dispatched to and $1,400 if the driver is extricated from the vehicle.
- PUB DATE: 3/12/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Freeport Journal-Standard

VIDEO: Several Kansas City firefighters are in Washington, D.C. this week for the largest legislative conference among all labor unions. Mental health is one of the topics they will be focusing on with members of Congress to encourage support on this issue. As they protect our communities, professional firefighters are also facing threats to their own safety and well-being.
- PUB DATE: 3/12/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KCTV-TV CBS 5 Kansas City

The challenges of running a volunteer fire department — the budget constraints, cancer risks and difficulty recruiting young people — highlighted a meeting of fire officials Saturday in Albertson. State fire officials emphasized the problems of keeping up with the changing landscape of volunteer firefighting, as they briefed about 75 local first responders on state legislative priorities.
- PUB DATE: 3/12/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NewsDay.com

A bill introduced in the Tennessee legislature would allow emergency medical responders and firefighters to carry handguns for their safety, but some emergency response leaders aren’t sure that’s such a good idea. As written, the bill “authorizes any person employed as a firefighter or emergency medical technician (EMT), that has received a written directive from their supervisor and completed an annual eight-hour firearm training, to carry a handgun while engaged in the performance of the person’s official duties.
- PUB DATE: 3/12/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Johnson City Press