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National Fire News

Tunnel to Towers race canceled in New York, but some walk through tunnel on Sunday

Despite the cancelation of the annual Tunnel to Towers 5K run and walk due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some people still walked through Battery Tunnel on Sunday. Frank Siller, brother of fallen firefighter, Stephen Siller, showed up to honor the memory of those who died on September 11, 2001.
- PUB DATE: 9/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Silive.com

No injuries reported after oil barrels explode at T&R Towing in New York

PHOTOS: On Thursday September 24, 2020 at 2:50 pm the Bath Volunteer Fire Department was dispatched for a working structure fire at T&R Environmental Services Haz Mat building located next door to T&R Towing on Route 415 North of the Village of Bath. Large plumes of heavy black smoke could be seen for miles.
- PUB DATE: 9/25/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WETM-TV NBC 13 El Mira

California fire department introduces engines that will help keep firefighters safe from toxic chemicals

VIDEO: Tamara Thacher is believed to have died from her job as a firefighter, years after running into burning buildings. Her memorial last December was a time of reflection, not just of her life and service but the illness that cut her life short. The Sacramento Fire Department said her cancer is presumed to be the result of exposure to toxic chemicals firefighters potentially encounter every day.
- PUB DATE: 9/25/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTXL-TV FOX 40 Sacramento

Houston study: More contagious coronavirus strain now dominates

The first study to analyze the structure of the novel coronavirus from two waves of infection in a major city found that a more contagious strain dominates recent samples, researchers from Houston Methodist Hospital said on Wednesday. They examined more than 5,000 genomes from viruses recovered in the earliest phase of the pandemic in Houston, an ethnically diverse city of 7 million, and from an ongoing more recent wave of infections.
- PUB DATE: 9/25/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Yahoo News

Love of the job keeps 80-year-old Michigan EMT working during a pandemic

Most people don't start a full-time career in their 60s. Lyle See isn't most people. At 80 years old, he’s been an EMT for decades alongside a career in human resources and working as a firefighter. His first run was in 1962, shortly after he graduated from Olivet College, responding to the call of a woman with a heart issue.
- PUB DATE: 9/25/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Lansing State Journal

Fire destroys Texas storage facility

VIDEO: More than a dozen units were severely damaged Thursday morning by a large fire that spread through a storage facility. Flames shot high into the air as firefighters responded to the facility around 6:15 a.m. in the 2600 block of Allen-Genoa near S. Houston Road. No injuries were reported and it wasn't clear what was inside the units that were destroyed.
- PUB DATE: 9/24/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTRK-TV ABC 13 Houston

Florida firefighter says being rock 'n' roll drummer by night helps relieve stress

VIDEO: By day he is a firefighter/paramedic for the city of Tampa, and by night he is a rock 'n' roll drummer for the local band Jack Jagger. Nick Cedela quickly and quietly packs up the hook and ladder in preparation, the fire alarm could go off any second inside Tampa Fire Rescue Station 19. He’s part of the Marine Division.
- PUB DATE: 9/24/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WFTS-TV ABC 28 Tampa

Google Maps Will Now Display Coronavirus Outbreaks And Cases

Google Maps will now highlight coronavirus case counts around the world and how bad outbreaks are in each region, Google announced Wednesday, with a new layer dedicated to information about the pandemic. The new feature will display the seven-day average for COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people for the map area that a viewer is looking at, as well as whether cases are trending upward or downward.
- PUB DATE: 9/24/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Forbes

How Spokane’s ‘Buffalo Soldiers’ saved Idaho town from historic 1910 blaze

Wildfires are nothing new in the Northwest, and the “Big Burn of 1910” in Idaho and Montana is still remembered as one of the worst disasters in the region’s history. What’s not remembered so much is that one group sent to battle the blaze was a company from the 25th Infantry, a regiment of Black soldiers, most of whom were from the American South, but who were stationed at Fort George Wright in Spokane.
- PUB DATE: 9/24/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: My Northwest

Firefighter honors fallen firefighters throughout Southern Illinois

Brent Vanfossan has been a firefighter in Christopher, Illinois for over 20 years. And he has wanted to buy his own firetruck for quite some time. "This engine belonged to the Sesser fire protection district. They had it for sale for a while. And I had been looking for something to honor my son Kody," said Vanfossan.
- PUB DATE: 9/24/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WSIL-TV ABC 3 Carbondale

Pennsylvania county 911 to reduce nonemergency services to first responders

Ongoing staffing shortages at the York County 911 Center have caused the center's director to reduce the frequency and kinds of nonemergency services that dispatchers have been providing to police, fire and EMS agencies. The York Dispatch has obtained a copy of a two-page letter dated Sept. 18 that was sent to all York County police chiefs, fire chiefs and EMS officials by 911 Director Matthew Hobson.
- PUB DATE: 9/23/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: York Dispatch

House Passes Legislation to Support Fire & EMS Mental Wellness

Yesterday evening, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation to provide critical resources to local fire and EMS personnel. The Helping Emergency Responders Overcome (HERO) Act (H.R. 1646) will develop peer mental health training programs and resources to educate mental health professionals about active and retired firefighters' needs.
- PUB DATE: 9/23/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: IAFC.org

Tennessee State Fire Marshal’s Office Launches Fire Safety Campaign with Country Music Artist Tracy Lawrence

The Tennessee State Fire Marshal’s Office (SFMO) proudly announces a new fire safety awareness campaign highlighted by new public service announcements (PSAs) starring country music artist Tracy Lawrence. These PSAs are designed to educate Tennesseans and help reduce fire fatalities across Tennessee.
- PUB DATE: 9/23/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance

Tractor That Backfired May Be To Blame For Massive Barn Fire In Maryland, Officials Say

VIDEO: A tractor that backfired Tuesday afternoon in Maryland Line may be to blame for a large barn fire, according to the Baltimore County Fire Department. Chopper 13 was over the scene of the fire along the 3500 block of Baker School House Road. "We looked up and it was big billowing smoke, and I said, ‘Oh my God.
- PUB DATE: 9/23/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WJZ-TV CBS 13 Baltimore

New York: City officials, firefighters at odds over new dispatch policy in Ogdensburg

Ogdensburg City Hall and public safety officials say a new fire dispatch policy won’t endanger the public. Firefighters beg to differ. It’s just a line. On one side is Ogdensburg fire territory and on the other is Heuvelton’s. It runs near the intersection of Routes 68 and 37. Until this week, Ogdensburg firefighters never hesitated to cross over the line when needed.
- PUB DATE: 9/23/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WWNY-TV 7 FOX 28 Watertown

Smoke seen for miles as crews battle massive fire at Ohio factory

VIDEO: Fire crews are working to get a large fire under control at AAM Metal Forming/Colfor Manufacturing. The factory is on Alliance Rd. NW in Malvern. The fire broke out sometime early Tuesday morning. The Carroll County Sheriff’s Office tells FOX 8 they have not had any reports of injuries. There is no word on what caused the fire.
- PUB DATE: 9/22/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WJW-TV FOX 8 Cleveland

How Houston-area first responders train and prepare for storms like Beta

VIDEO: With Tropical Storm Beta bashing the Gulf coast, first responders may get a chance to put some unique training to the test. Inside a warehouse near Austin, Rick Cummins trains the next generation of water rescuers at his Fathom Academy. Since it opened two and a half years ago, Cummins has trained about 300 first responders, with more than 90% of them from the Houston area.
- PUB DATE: 9/22/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KPRC-TV NBC 2 Houston

Florida county could be the first in the nation to respond to 911 calls with a drone

Manatee County officials are pushing for new and more efficient ways to be able to respond to emergencies. They are partnering with a private company to bring more eyes in the skies to not only solve crimes, but also save lives. “We’re on the edge of something that would be very very beneficial to our community,” said Jake Saur, the Public Safety Director for Manatee County.
- PUB DATE: 9/22/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WWSB-TV ABC 40 Sarasota

The Core Lesson of the COVID-19 Heart Debate

Last Monday, when I called the cardiologist Amy Kontorovich in the late morning, she apologized for sounding tired. “I’ve been in my lab infecting heart cells with SARS-CoV-2 since 6 a.m. this morning,” she said. That might seem like an odd experiment for a virus that spreads through the air, and primarily infects the lungs and airways.
- PUB DATE: 9/22/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Atlantic

Paramedic creates new device that could help first responders in emergencies

A new device could help save lives. It’s called, “The Locator.” It helps first responders find the exact location of an emergency. Johnathan Harrison, founder of the product, was a paramedic in Tennessee in 2009. A new paramedic at the time, he responded to a call of a two-year-old in cardiac arrest in a mobile home park.
- PUB DATE: 9/22/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KJRH-TV NBC 2 Tulsa

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