VIDEO: Sharon and Dewayne Smoots are making history and breaking barriers. They are considered the first husband and wife duo to hold two of the highest-ranking positions within the Milwaukee Fire Department. Dewayne joined the Milwaukee Fire Department 35 years ago after a long career with the state's justice department.
- PUB DATE: 2/16/2023 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WISN-TV ABC 12 Milwaukee

VIDEO: One of the leading causes of death for firefighters is cancer, often caused by exposure to toxic chemicals that they may face while responding to a fire. Harmful chemicals put firefighters at an additional risk when they’re serving the community, but recent initiatives are hoping to protect them from these dangers.
- PUB DATE: 2/16/2023 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WECT-TV NBC 6 Wilmington

Firefighters across Tennessee are walking hundreds of miles to raise awareness for the mental health struggles first responders face and push legislation in the state capitol. The walk comes as studies from 2022 found firefighters have higher suicide and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) risks. Studies also found suicide happens twice as often with firefighters compared to the general community, and PTSD occurs in 57% of firefighters.
- PUB DATE: 2/16/2023 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WKRN-TV ABC 2 Nashville

The nation's first 911 emergency call was placed by an Alabama state politician on this day in history, Feb. 16, 1968. The landmark moment came four years after the shocking unreported murder of a New York City woman proved to many Americans the need for a standard and easy-to-use system to call for emergency assistance.
- PUB DATE: 2/16/2023 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FOX News

PHOTOS: A two-alarm fire gutted a South Jersey home Tuesday night. It happened just before 8 p.m. on the 200 block of Port Elizabeth-Cumberland Road in Maurice River Township. Action News obtained dramatic video of the inferno-like scene from the ground as intense flames burned through the two-story house.
- PUB DATE: 2/15/2023 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WPVI-TV ABC 6 Philadelphia

Three Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) teams containing IAFF members continue to search for survivors in the aftermath of the deadly Feb. 6 earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. The death toll has now surpassed 36,000. “Our USAR team members are dedicated fire fighters trained to work in harrowing situations,” said General President Edward Kelly.
- PUB DATE: 2/15/2023 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: International Association of Firefighters

New Philadelphia has extended the time that firefighters have to earn their paramedic certification in hopes of expanding the pool of potential employees. On Monday, council approved an ordinance that gives firefighters hired by the city two years to earn their certification. Previously, they had one year to do that.
- PUB DATE: 2/15/2023 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Times Reporter - Metered Site

PFAS chemicals help protect firefighters by repelling water and oils off their gear. They’re also used to make fire-suppressing foams “extremely effective.” Firefighters were found to be more likely to get diagnosed with cancer and more likely to die from it, according to research by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
- PUB DATE: 2/15/2023 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WFYI-FM 90.1 Indianapolis

The city of Hoover has been chosen to host the 2023 U.S. National Firefighter Challenge Championship with up to 300 firefighters from around the country participating in skills-based competitions in September. The firefighters are expected to come from more than 125 fire departments in 19 states, competing in events that simulate the physical demands of real-life firefighting, such as climbing a five-story tower, hoisting, chopping, dragging hoses and rescuing a life-sized, 175-pound “victim” as they race against opponents and a clock.
- PUB DATE: 2/15/2023 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Hoover Sun

An overnight fire may in Brooklyn may have been caused by a lithium-ion battery. It left two people injured. The fire broke out on Goodwin Place in Bushwick just after 1:30 a.m. A 3-story attached home was filled with flames. The fire moved through all the floors, according to the FDNY. 138 firefighters were at the scene.
- PUB DATE: 2/14/2023 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WNYW-TV FOX 5 New York City

Fire Chief Gene Gallegos is retiring after serving as a firefighter for Albuquerque Fire Rescue since 2000. Mayor Keller has appointed First Deputy Chief of Emergency Services, Emily Jaramillo, as the next Chief for AFR. Emily Jaramillo will be the first woman to lead the state’s largest Fire Rescue in its 123 year history.
- PUB DATE: 2/14/2023 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Paper

The Wausau Fire Department has been having a bit of fun while the crew isn't fighting fires or rescuing people around the community. The department posted a video on its Facebook page Monday, premiering its full parody episode of "The Office," a popular sitcom that began in 2005. "The Fire Department" introduces the crew while having a good amount of fun, taking to the comedic style of "The Office.
- PUB DATE: 2/14/2023 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WLUK-TV FOX 11 Green Bay

PHOTOS: A Philadelphia Eagles fan apparently didn't handle his team's Super Bowl loss to the Kansas City Chiefs very well. Edward Dalasandro, 25, of Philadelphia was arrested Sunday night after the Martin County Sheriff's Office said he vandalized a fire station and assaulted a firefighter with a meat cleaver.
- PUB DATE: 2/14/2023 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WPTV NBC 5 Palm Beach

Husband and wife firefighters in Montgomery County cherish the opportunity to volunteer alongside one another. In celebration of Valentine’s Day, the Montgomery County Fire Chiefs Association is happy to recognize these couples. Tyler Miles and Gina Walters-Miles began volunteering at Limerick Fire Department as junior firefighters at age 16.
- PUB DATE: 2/14/2023 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Reporter - Metered Site

Firefighters have made progress overnight in the effort to extinguish a huge facility fire in Wayne County, a spokesman said Sunday morning. First responders remain at the scene in Dudley and have been aided by rain throughout the evening and morning as they battle the enormous blaze at National Salvage and Service Corp.
- PUB DATE: 2/13/2023 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTVD-TV ABC 11 Durham

VIDEO: Being a firefighter and EMT is a tough job that calls for perfect communication skills. That’s why a Kirby firefighter says people underestimate her and her extreme hearing loss. However, thanks to state-of-the-art technology, she can save lives just as well as her crew members. “There was something about wanting to have that challenge,” Konstance Garner said.
- PUB DATE: 2/13/2023 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KSAT-TV ABC 12 San Antonio

VIDEO: A promise to never forget. Twenty-five years ago, Anthony Lockhart and Patrick King died in a four-alarm fire in the South Side neighborhood of Beverly. On Sunday, friends and family remembered the two fallen heroes. "We got that visit in the middle of the night that nobody ever wants to get ever, and it broke our family," said Gina King, Patrick's wife.
- PUB DATE: 2/13/2023 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WLS-TV ABC 7 Chicago

In the 1980s, rookie firefighters at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport endured a hazing ritual known as the “foam shower.” Recruits stood some 150 feet down the tarmac with 5-gallon buckets and were told to catch firefighting foam shot out of a crash-response truck’s water cannon. They would wear the usual helmet and heat-resistant gear, but still ended up drenched as the bubbly white liquid rained down on them.
- PUB DATE: 2/13/2023 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Seattle Times - Metered Site

PHOTOS: It is always an interesting article when we can find the "oldest" here in New Jersey. It's even more interesting when we can find the "oldest" in Jersey which is the oldest in America. That is the case with this article. First I want to commend all the men and women who served and continue to serve as firefighters here in New Jersey as well as around America and the world.
- PUB DATE: 2/13/2023 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WJLK-FM 94.3 Asbury Park

Huge flames from inside a Bronx supermarket sent smoke billowing into the air, as a fire erupted when the busy store was filled with shoppers and workers. The blaze broke out at a C-Town Supermarket on University Avenue in the Morris Heights neighborhood round 5:30 p.m., fire officials said, and quickly grew to 5-alarms.
- PUB DATE: 2/10/2023 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WNBC-TV NBC 4 New York City