South Dakota is on the leading edge for 9-1-1 dispatch services with a new network that will link all dispatch centers in the state, and Mitchell was among the first to implement the new technology. Dispatch centers, officially known as public safety answering points, around the state are implementing a system called Next Generation 9-1-1, which is a system of hardware, software, data and operational policies that includes a statewide digital telephone system and an IP-based network that links all dispatch centers together.
- PUB DATE: 2/22/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Mitchell Republic

On February 18, 10 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

On February 17, 14 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

On February 15, 9 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

The northern portions of Oklahoma saw several fires break out Thursday. Washington County fire crews battled a large fire in the Wann area. And in Nowata County, fires broke out along Highways 169 and 60. One firefighter is recovering after troopers say a man hit him while driving through the smoke.
- PUB DATE: 2/19/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KOTV-TV CBS 6 Tulsa

The fire department has launched a pilot program to make ambulances healthier for the environment. EMS crews save lives while on the move, but idling ambulances could be doing harm. “Each ambulance, when running, we found put forty-five tons of carbon emission into the atmosphere per year,” FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said.
- PUB DATE: 2/19/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: CBS New York

In November of last year, Liberty Volunteer Fire Department was asked by Walton County Fire Rescue for assistance in a rural part of the county. "One of the firefighters there decided not to send tanker support for Walton County," said Fire Chief Bobby Martin for Walton County Fire Rescue. The person who made the decision was Assistant Fire Chief Tony Roy with the Liberty Volunteer Fire Department.
- PUB DATE: 2/19/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WMBB-TV My Pan Handle.com

Michael Kiddy was stocking shelves at his job at Food Lion in Valdese when his heart stopped beating. The 60-year-old man collapsed in a back aisle of the store. That spot would have marked the place he died, had it not been for quick thinking witnesses and first responders, including Michael’s own son.
- PUB DATE: 2/19/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WNCN-TV NBC 17

VIDEO - A private helicopter with five people on board crashed Thursday into Hawaii's Pearl Harbor, leaving a teenage passenger in critical condition, officials said. The Bell 206 aircraft made a hard landing and sank near the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center, a popular tourist destination on Oahu, U.S. Navy spokeswoman Agnes Tauyan said.
- PUB DATE: 2/19/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: firerescue1

On February 15, 8 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

Derlyn Vance would fix your car, lend you money, cook you a meal or give you his last dollar, no matter who you were, friends and neighbors in Homewood said Wednesday. “It pained him to see people down on their luck. That's one thing I learned from him — never turn down anybody,” said Bob Cravener, as he stood across the street from the burned-out shell of the home he said Vance opened to anyone in need.
- PUB DATE: 2/18/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

"Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!," shouted a firefighter last week on call in Roanoke County. It's a call you never want to hear. "Active mayday on the fire ground, a firefighter fallen through the floor," said another firefighter. But it happened to one Roanoke County firefighter last week. "I fell through the second floor, through the first floor, and ended up hanging upside down from the basement ceiling," said Firefighter and Paramedic Robert Mauck.
- PUB DATE: 2/18/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WBDJ7 Roanoke News

Four children were killed when a Pensacola home caught fire early Thursday morning. The victims were two boys, 11 and 5, and two girls, 3 and 11 months. The mother of the children and her 14-year-old daughter were able to escape without injuries. The blaze was reported around 5:30 a.m. at a little wooden house on the corner of Baylen and Scott streets.
- PUB DATE: 2/18/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: pensacola news journal

A deal to put the woman suspected of starting the fire that severely injured Fresno Fire Capt. Pete Dern behind bars for seven years was derailed in Fresno County Superior Court on Wednesday, and the case now appears to be headed for trial. Judge Don Penner rejected the seven-year prison term previously agreed to by both the Fresno County District Attorney's Office and counsel for Julia Harper, 52.
- PUB DATE: 2/18/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: fresno bee

PHOTO - More than a dozen Columbus firefighters could face punishment for a farewell party at a closed fire station this past summer. Photos obtained by 10TV show what investigators call deliberate damage to the old Station 2 building. Firefighters say the pictures don't tell the whole story. The photos were taken inside Station 2 days after the now notorious ‘kegs and eggs’ party.
- PUB DATE: 2/18/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WBNS-TV Columbus 10

The 2016 Official White House Christmas Ornament was unveiled last week featuring an antique fire truck to commemorate a fire that damaged the West Wing on Christmas Eve 1929. President Hoover, the 31st President of the United States, was hosting a Christmas party for his staff and their children in the Entrance Hall of the East Wing when the fire was reported.
- PUB DATE: 2/18/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: firehouse

On February 16, 6 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

PHOTO - A new fire truck being delivered to a Long Island department crashed on Interstate 84 East in Hopewell Junction on Tuesday, state police confirmed. "It was a brand new fire truck being delivered" to the Islip Terrace Fire Department, said Melissa McMorris, a state police spokeswoman. The delivery driver was "transported to Danbury Hospital" in Connecticut.
- PUB DATE: 2/17/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: poughkeepsie journal

Augusta Fire Chief Chris James was rehired by the city Tuesday after losing a job offer in York County, S.C. James had accepted a position as the county’s deputy manager but lost the job offer, several Augusta Commission members confirmed. Commissioner Bill Lockett said York officials rescinded the offer after receiving “all this erroneous information” from the Augusta firefighters union.
- PUB DATE: 2/17/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: firerescue1

Firefighters say a state policy concerning a life-saving device for allergic reactions, EpiPens, put lives at risk. The WZZM 13 Watchdog team is looking into why some firefighters are not allowed to carry EpiPens, while some non-emergency workers can. EpiPens are available in schools, but not some fire departments.
- PUB DATE: 2/17/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WZZM-TV Grand Rapids 13