The pandemic may have changed how first responders answer calls for help, but their focus remains the same – saving lives.
Both firefighters and EMTs face new risks in this time of coronavirus.
“As a manager, it scares me more for the well-being of our employees,” says Jason Flegner, deputy director of operations for Bell Ambulance. - PUB DATE: 12/9/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WDJT-TV CBS 58 Milwaukee
Just weeks before a COVID-19 vaccine is expected to be made available to U.S. medical workers and first responders, a firefighters' union internal survey taken by members of the country's largest fire department shows that more than 50% say they would not take it, mirroring what appears to be a nationwide hesitancy to get the shot. - PUB DATE: 12/8/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: ABC News
The Chicago Police Department released stunning surveillance footage Monday showing the moments leading up to and following the fatal shooting of a retired fire lieutenant in the city's Beverly Woods neighborhood.
Dwain Williams, 65, was shot and killed during an attempted carjacking on Thursday after leaving a gourmet popcorn shop in the 11700 block of South Western Avenue. - PUB DATE: 12/8/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WMAQ-TV NBC 5 Chicago
VIDEO: One person was taken to the hospital after police said someone opened fire Monday morning in southwest Charlotte, hitting a fire truck and two other vehicles.
The shots rang out around 9:20 a.m. close to a 7-Eleven near the intersection of Clanton Road and Barringer Drive. Police said bullets hit a fire truck but no CFD firefighters were injured. - PUB DATE: 12/8/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WSOC-TV ABC 9 Charlotte
In what has been arguably the toughest year in recent history for first responders, access to care for post-traumatic stress disorder remains out of reach through the state's workers' compensation law.
Back in February, the I-Team reported on a bill in Madison that would include PTSD as a workplace injury for firefighters and police officers. - PUB DATE: 12/8/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTMJ-TV NBC 4 Milwaukee
VIDEO: The governor's mansion is now decorated for the holidays and is open to a limited audience over the next several days. "I looked at the decorations at the mansion and I thought, 'This is Mississippi's home and I just helped decorate it.' Wow, what an honor," decorator Trina Dendy said.
The mansion is filled with traditional Christmas decor including eight Christmas trees and over 30 wreaths. - PUB DATE: 12/8/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WAPT-TV ABC 16 Jackson
PHOTOS/VIDEOS: A six-alarm fire tore through a historic, 128-year-old Reformed church in the East Village early Saturday morning.
Firefighters rushed to Middle Collegiate Church on East 7th Street and Second Avenue following reports of a fire at an empty, nearby building—48 East 7th Street—that began just before 5 a. - PUB DATE: 12/7/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Gothamist.com
Three Montana wildland firefighters had a significant reason to be grateful on the recent Thanksgiving holiday.
On Sept. 5 at around 1:45 p.m., as 100-foot flames shot overhead, the state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation helitack team was trapped by the Bridger Foothills fire. Cornered by a spot fire that had spread as winds gusted up to 28 mph, cutting off their escape route, they scrambled to protect their lives. - PUB DATE: 12/7/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Billings Gazette - Metered Site
The Portland Fire Department's entire Bramhall and Engine 11 Stations called out sick Sunday.
"Basically what happened is we had a member who came in and didn't know that they were COVID positive but after they got off duty they found out," Portland Firefighters Local 740 Union President Chris Thomson said. - PUB DATE: 12/7/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WCSH-TV NBC 6 Portland
An Irving firefighter was severely injured early Sunday when he was struck by a suspected intoxicated driver going the wrong way on State Highway 183, police say.
At about 3:45 a.m., Irving police and fire crews were working a five-vehicle accident on SH183 near Story Road. The accident, which had injuries not thought to be life-threatening, had shut down the highway. - PUB DATE: 12/7/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KXAS-TV NBC 5 Fort Worth
The Philadelphia Zoo is thanking frontline workers in a big, blue way.
The Philadelphia landmark recently lit up its Main Plaza with dazzling blue lights to thank healthcare workers and first responders. The new light display on the trees and front entrance buildings at 34th and Girard are illuminated with the goal of ringing in the holidays while also thanking healthcare workers and first responders during the global pandemic. - PUB DATE: 12/7/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Philadelphia Metro
Firefighters across the United States risk their lives every time they show up to work for the safety of the communities they serve.
In 2020, they have been facing not only the spread of the coronavirus but also other major challenges, including a record-setting wildfire season that has killed dozens and burned millions of acres in the western United States. - PUB DATE: 12/4/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Patch Across America
Firefighters are on the scene of a three-alarm fire Friday at the Toledo Beach Marina in La Salle, Mich. Monroe County Emergency Manager Mark Hammond said there have been no injuries reported, but hundreds, if not more, boats have been damaged or destroyed by the fire. Dozens of firefighters have responded. - PUB DATE: 12/4/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WDIV-TV NBC 4 Detroit
PHOTOS/VIDEO: A new floating fire station, possibly the first of its kind in the world, arrived at its permanent home in San Francisco Thursday morning.
Fireboat Station 35, a two-story, 14,900-square-foot facility sitting on a massive steel float, was towed during the overnight hours from Treasure Island to Pier 22 1/2 along the Embarcadero near the Bay Bridge, according to San Francisco Public Works. - PUB DATE: 12/4/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KNTV NBC 11 San Jose
With talk of COVID-19 vaccines being made available as soon as this month, major firefighter organizations like The International Association of Fire Fighters and the National Volunteer Fire Council are asking to be among the first to receive it.
“I would tell the leaders, the politicians that are deciding, the community leaders, the health department take care of the people that care of your people we are the ones that are out there,” a firefighter and paramedic with the Ocean Pines Fire Department, said. - PUB DATE: 12/4/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WMDT-TV ABC/CW+ 47 Salisbury
VIDEO: It's a tradition at the Bonneville Salt Flats to spread the ashes of lost loved ones on the track. A Central California firefighter wanted to honor his father that way - and he set a racing record on the same trip.
"It was a dream come true. And we didn't have any intention when we left Fresno of going after record, and we ended up having a lot more fun than we thought we were going to," said Frank Silva, Jr. - PUB DATE: 12/4/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KGO-TV ABC 7 San Francisco
PHOTOS: It’s been 21 years since one of the most heartbreaking days in Worcester’s history.
On Dec. 3, 1999, a blaze at the Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co. claimed the lives of six Worcester firefighters. Each December since, the city has remembered the sacrifices of Lt. Thomas Spencer, Lt. - PUB DATE: 12/3/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Republican - Mass Live
VIDEO: Fire crews were battling a blaze at a large two-story structure in downtown Los Angeles Wednesday evening, officials said.
The fire was reported around 6:10 p.m. on the 500 block of East Ninth Street, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department, where a number of fabric stores are located.
Firefighters had moved to a defensive operation to battle fire, which was escalated to a “greater alarm” incident. - PUB DATE: 12/3/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTLA-TV 5 CW Los Angeles
Stefan Hofer’s ambulance company, West Trail EMS, in Mayville, North Dakota, has received only one or two calls that weren’t related to COVID-19 over the past two months. But he said the case count has ballooned by 20 to 30 percent because of the pandemic. At the same time, the company’s expenses have mounted, its revenue has cratered and its workforce is being decimated by the virus. - PUB DATE: 12/3/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTVE-TV NBC 10 El Dorado
The Essex Fire Department (EFD) is one of 20 fire departments in the country — and the only one in Vermont — to join a Drexel University study investigating how the COVID-19 pandemic impacts the mental health of first responders.
The study is run by the Center for Firefighter Injury Research and Safety Trends (FIRST Center) at the Dornsife School of Public Health at Drexel University in Philadelphia. - PUB DATE: 12/3/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Saint Albans Messenger
