As Milwaukee prepares to host the Democratic National Convention some leaders within the city are getting new roles to keep the area safe. Milwaukee Fire Department Deputy Chief Kevin Hafemann is the person behind the city's fire and EMS response for the DNC. He has been planning for everything from a person suffering from heat exhaustion to a bomb.
- PUB DATE: 3/4/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTMJ-TV NBC 4 Milwaukee

Anyone who hasn’t been to the city for some time will be captivated, and possibly alienated, by the new architectural profile of New York. The Empire State, the Chrysler and other 1930s classics have maintained their grandeur. But they seem to be losing much of their visual relevance to the most recent construction development: the ultra-high residential apartment buildings that continue to spring up in Manhattan.
- PUB DATE: 3/4/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Daily News - Metered Site

Developers who are looking to build new projects in Bound Brook will now have to pay for increased security measures at construction sites after a destructive Main Street fire in January that investigators have said was purposefully set. The borough committee last week unanimously passed the new ordinance, which will be added to its construction code, that will require developers to have 360-degree motion detectors and video surveillance, along with a physical security guard, on-site at all times once there are flammable materials, like wood, at the property.
- PUB DATE: 3/3/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NJ.com

A fire station south of Tucson that services about 5,000 residents is set to close by May unless union members and the company that owns the station come to an agreement. Nico Latini, president of the Old Pueblo Firefighters Association, the union that represents Rural Metro firefighters in Pima County, said Station 81, at 966 E.
- PUB DATE: 3/3/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Arizona Daily Star

A pair of southwest Ohio lawmakers want any workers compensation claims for a first responder’s post-traumatic stress disorder to be paid from the state’s unclaimed funds program. A bill submitted for introduction by Ohio Reps. George Lang, R-West Chester Twp., and Niraj Antani, R-Miamisburg, offers an alternative proposal to the first responder PTSD bill overwhelmingly supported last month by the Ohio House.
- PUB DATE: 3/3/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Dayton Daily News

There were 103 reported suicides by firefighters nationwide in 2017. It's a startling number, according to the Ruderman Family Foundation, which last year published a study of first responder deaths that found suicide, not deaths in the line of duty, are the greatest peril firefighters and law enforcement officers face.
- PUB DATE: 3/3/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Carlsbad Current - Metered Site

To celebrate Read Across America day, St. George firefighters visited elementary schools Monday to read to students in an effort to help promote the importance of reading. In celebration of Dr. Seuss’ birthday, Read Across America is a reading initiative held annually and was first incepted in 1997 by the National Education Association.
- PUB DATE: 3/3/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: St. George News

The International Association Firefighters (IAFF) and the Washington State Council of Fire Fighters (WSCFF) issued a joint statement reporting that several firefighters have been exposed to the virus. The statement reports that members from Kirkland Fire, Redmond Fire and Woodinville Fire had been exposed to the coronavirus, and were isolating themselves for evaluation.
- PUB DATE: 3/2/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KXLY-TV ABC 4 Spokane

VIDEO: Falls happen on ice, in homes, and outside. When EMS and fire crews respond, Des Moines Fire says it's easy for them to get hurt when lifting someone that has fallen. That's why Jeff Downing, an engineer with Des Moines fire, created the Jak Harness. "I felt the need to create this because in recent years we've been going on more and more calls of people that have fallen down and they're not injured and they can't get up," Downing said.
- PUB DATE: 3/2/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WOI-TV ABC 5 Des Moines

First responders in Nebraska would be offered annual “resiliency training” to help combat and cope with post-traumatic stress disorder under a bill given initial approval by state lawmakers on Wednesday. State Sen. Mike McDonnell, a former Omaha fire chief, said that 1 in 4 firefighters on average will visit an emergency room during their career for physical injuries on the job.
- PUB DATE: 3/2/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Scottsbluff Star Herald

It isn't easy to describe the life of an emergency responder, but Jonathon Gould, with Chatham EMS, sees it as "sheer boredom interrupted with complete chaos." Gould, a 26-year-old emergency medical technician from Ludowici, has wanted to help others since he was a teenager, putting himself through EMT school at the age of 17.
- PUB DATE: 3/2/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WJCL-TV ABC 22 Savannah

The scene is disturbingly realistic: Two men lie on the floor with very convincing fake blood pooling around them. Others in the room are screaming in fear. A siren is heard in the distance. Several men and women arrive with stretchers and medical gear to treat the “wounded,” while two men pose as police to attend to the upset onlookers, who shout, “That’s my friend!” and “You’re not working fast enough!” This is just one of the scenarios that the Black Fire Brigade’s EMT program uses to prepare students for work on the job.
- PUB DATE: 2/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTTW-TV PBS 11 Chicago

Local and state leaders are preparing for COVID-19 like they would a hurricane. The local emergency operation center is now active in Jacksonville ahead of a potential coronavirus outbreak. While there are currently no cases in Florida, local and state leaders said now is the time to be prepared. Our firefighters and paramedics are the first line of defense, along with health care workers.
- PUB DATE: 2/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WFOX-TV 30 Jacksonville

An interest arbitration board reached a decision Tuesday regarding the FY19 firefighters’ contract, awarding an across-the-board wage increase of 2.25 percent for the July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2019 agreement, Mayor Joseph J. Solomon announced Wednesday. The decision puts to rest the final issue related to negotiations that had been ongoing since the prior contract expired on June 30, 2018.
- PUB DATE: 2/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Warwick Beacon

New Jersey officials have issued a $108,000 fine to a Burlington County ambulance squad after finding the crew drove an ambulance to 90 emergencies even though the vehicle was not licensed through the state’s Department of Health. Shamong Medical Services, which is part of the Indian Mills Volunteer Fire Company, responded to those calls between Oct.
- PUB DATE: 2/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NJ.com

Maybe it’s finally time to recognize the 699 New York City firefighters who battled the famous New York City Telephone Company fire 45 years ago today. Nearly 700 men fought the awful five-alarm inferno that broke out in the early morning hours of Feb. 27, 1975 at the telephone company’s switching center on Second Ave.
- PUB DATE: 2/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Daily News - Metered Site

VIDEO: A DWI suspect crashed into a fire station leaving one firefighter in the hospital overnight. Houston Fire Chief Sam Pena visited the firefighter at the hospital overnight. HFD District Fire Chief Ruy Lozano said the firefighter suffered a head injury, possibly a concussion. Pena later tweeted on Thursday morning that the firefighter had been released from the hospital.
- PUB DATE: 2/27/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KHOU-TV CBS 11 Houston

Denver Fire Chief Eric Tade has resigned his position with the Denver Fire Department. Tade gave his resignation to Denver Mayor Michael Hancock on Monday afternoon. “Chief Tade is dedicated to this department, and his decision that new leadership was needed reflects his devotion to the men and women who serve our residents in the Denver Fire Department,” Mayor Hancock said in a statement.
- PUB DATE: 2/27/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KCNC-TV CBS 4 Denver

Five Escambia County fire stations are operating with reduced staffing because of budget constraints. Escambia County Interim Fire Chief Paul Williams sent a memo Friday to all firefighters announcing several changes, including the reduction in staffing levels at the five stations in an effort to cut down on the amount of overtime.
- PUB DATE: 2/27/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Pensacola News Journal

A Carroll County commissioner with decades of firefighting experience testified in Annapolis on Tuesday in support of a Maryland bill that would require the state fire marshal to enforce residential fire sprinkler requirements. Commissioner Stephen Wantz, R-District 1, who has 30 years of experience as a career firefighter in the state and 44 years as a volunteer firefighter, said Tuesday the Maryland State Firemen’s Association asked if he would speak to the importance of House Bill 823 at a hearing of the House Environment and Transportation Committee, and he did.
- PUB DATE: 2/27/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Baltimore Sun - Metered Site