When Tommy McDonough learned to talk, one of his first words was “fire truck.” His father, a longtime St. Paul firefighter, never doubted he would follow in his footsteps.
For Mike Paidar, his path to the St. Paul Fire Department came after a successful career as a TV photojournalist. He joined the department when he was 44. - PUB DATE: 9/1/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Twin Cities Pioneer Press
More than a dozen Milwaukee firefighters recently rode their bicycles 183 miles. It was all for a fellow firefighter who gave her life to save others.
It was the first-ever Pedal for the Brave.
"We have people joining us that never cycled before two months ago, but then to do a 100-mile ride one day is just a testament to the kind of grit and will that they have," said Milwaukee firefighter and Ignite the Spirit president, Joe Flick. - PUB DATE: 9/1/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTMJ-TV NBC 4 Milwaukee
VIDEO: More than two dozen people are homeless after a 3-alarm fire at an apartment complex in New Orleans’ Central City area Monday night.
The New Orleans Fire Department said the fire was reported around 8:38 p.m. at a two-story U shaped apartment complex in the 1600 block of Washington Avenue.
Firefighters arriving at the scene found the building heavily involved in flames. - PUB DATE: 9/1/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WWL-TV CBS 4 New Orleans
A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now killed more than 847,000 people worldwide.
Over 25.3 million people across the globe have been diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new respiratory virus, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. - PUB DATE: 9/1/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: ABC News
The Rochester Fire Department is expecting to welcome the largest minority group of new firefighters to its ranks during a graduation ceremony at 10 a.m. Sept. 2.
Of the 30 recruits on schedule to graduate, 13 are Black, 9 are Latino and one is Asian. Two are female, including one Latina.
The minority candidates comprise about 80 percent of the class. - PUB DATE: 9/1/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Rochester La Voz
VIDEO: On Saturday morning, the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association tweeted a photo of a collapsed ceiling on ambulance at Fire Station 49. The post accused the City of Houston of years of neglect of the department's fleet and facilities.
No one was hurt during the collapse.
"Now is the time that this city needs to prioritize not only the fleet [and] facilities, but the health and wellness of the men and women that we are asking to continue to go out there and put themselves on the frontline, not only during this pandemic but on a daily basis," said Marty Lanction, HPFFA President. - PUB DATE: 8/31/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KRIV-TV FOX 26 Houston
VIDEO: Firefighters battled an extra-alarm fire early Sunday morning at a chemical plant in the Pullman neighborhood on the Far South Side, Chicago fire officials said.
According to CFD, around 12:33 a.m. crews were dispatched to a building fire at the Imperial Zinc Corporation in the 1000-block of E. - PUB DATE: 8/31/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WLS-TV ABC 7 Chicago
A Seminole County employee was killed and three firefighters were injured in a sidewalk collapse in Lake Mary Friday, according to the Seminole County Fire Department.
The county environmental services employee was identified as Tomasz Sajkowski, a utilities operations distribution mechanic, by Seminole County spokeswoman Ashley Moore Friday afternoon. - PUB DATE: 8/31/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Orlando Sentinel - Metered Site
Following two shootings in a little more than two months, an Elizabeth City fire station is on track to get bulletproof walls.
Shots were most recently fired July 15 near the station on Harney Street, which is manned 24-hours a day. At least one round went through a wall, into its sleeping and eating areas. - PUB DATE: 8/31/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Virginian-Pilot
The Hilton Fire Department is now training to take its rescue efforts to the clouds, with the help of drone technology. Department heads say it’s among the first in the area to bring use the drones for certain calls.
The idea was the brainchild of fifth-year firefighter David Olney, who is a trained drone pilot himself, he says it was a no-brainer, as the drones could be a real boost for the department, and the community. - PUB DATE: 8/31/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WHEC-TV NBC 10 Rochester
VIDEOS: A fire has broken out in the Westlake, Louisiana, area, causing gases and smoke to plume over I-10.
The Louisiana State Police Emergency Services Unit confirmed the fire involved a chlorine leak at the BioLab plant in Westlake. They are coordinating with plant managers to contain the leak, officials said. - PUB DATE: 8/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Daily Advertiser
In a video made by Murrieta Fire & Rescue Chief David Lantzer told citizens there’s a significant urge to wear masks and follow guidelines, after one of his family members died of COVID-19 recently.
“The individual I was talking about in the video was my brother-in-law,” Lantzer said. “He got COVID-19. - PUB DATE: 8/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Valley News
Styx have released a very special conceptual lyric video for their track "These Are The Times" to celebrate first responders and the digital release of their "Cyclorama" album.
The band's 14th album was originally released in 2003 and has not been available digitally until now. The new lyric video pays tribute to the men and woman on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic. - PUB DATE: 8/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Anti Music
Not long ago, this writer read a commentary by an unknown author who posed the question, “Who changes the course of history...presidents, kings, generals?” And, the answer, of course, was yes. But, the author went on to point out that more often than not, it’s men and women with little social standing who most significantly reshape our communities and eventually the world. - PUB DATE: 8/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Augusta Chronicle
A 64-year-old Belleview woman is accused of hitting a firefighter with a sock filled with two cans of soup because he “brushed her off” when she tried to talk to him during a fire investigation.
Claudia Jean Cyr, of 11745 S. U.S. Hwy. 301 #3, was charged with battery on a firefighter after the incident, which happened around 6 p. - PUB DATE: 8/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Ocala-News
Firefighters in northern California say they are gaining control over historic, deadly wildfires that have burned more than one million acres. However, researchers and former firefighters working on a new study fear the responders battling the blazes are in danger of suffering unprecedented long-term damage, as the wildfires destroy over 1,400 homes and businesses. - PUB DATE: 8/27/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KOTV-DT CBS 6 Tulsa
VIDEO: Hotel directors tried to pay extortionists the $3 million they wanted to keep a 1,000-pound homemade bomb from exploding in the building, but it went off anyway when experts tried to defuse it.
Harvey's Resort Hotel and all the surrounding businesses had been evacuated the day before the blast and no one was hurt or killed. - PUB DATE: 8/27/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Reno Gazette Journal - Metered Site
VIDEO: Arson is suspected as the cause of a July 12 fire that left extensive damage to the amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard docked off San Diego, and a U.S. Navy sailor was being questioned as a potential suspect, a senior defense official said Wednesday. The sailor was being questioned as part of the investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the official said, adding that defense department leaders were notified of the development. - PUB DATE: 8/27/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Navy Times
PHOTOS: Half a dozen fire departments were at the scene of a large fire Thursday morning at the former CharlesTown Mall in Frankfort.
Firefighters were called to the scene at about 1:28 a.m. Thursday, according to Frankfort Center Assistant Fire Chief Fred Distefano.
The rear section of the building, stretching back to where it ends at Turner Street, was fully involved when firefighters arrived, he said. - PUB DATE: 8/27/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Utica Observer-Dispatch
As the coronavirus pandemic has taken over headlines and dominated conversations on public health, another crisis has seemingly been swept under the rug.
The opioid epidemic.
Snohomish County health officials said it their weekly media briefing that opioid use numbers are up since last year.
First Lady Melania Trump used some of her time at the Republican National Convention Tuesday to address the national epidemic. - PUB DATE: 8/27/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KING-TV NBC 5 Seattle
