As many as 4 million drivers are about to become safer, thanks to an over-the-air software update Stellantis will send to their vehicles — at no cost — in January. The Jeep, Ram, Dodge and Fiat and Alfa Romeo vehicles will receive alerts when they near an emergency vehicle with its flashers lit. The feature, called the Emergency Vehicle Alert System (EVAS), will initially be available in North America, but Stellantis could roll it out across the 14 brands the automaker sells around the world.
- PUB DATE: 1/5/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Detroit Free Press - Metered Site

At least 13 people, including children, died as a quick-moving fire tore through a crowded Philadelphia rowhome converted into two apartments owned by the city's public housing authority in the Fairmount neighborhood early Wednesday. “This is without a doubt one of the most tragic days in our city’s history, the loss of so many people in such a tragic way,” Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said with tears in his eyes.
- PUB DATE: 1/5/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WCAU-TV NBC 10 Philadelphia

Occupational cancer is now the leading cause of death among firefighters, surpassing heart disease. January is “Firefighter Cancer Awareness Month.” The International Association of Fire Fighters and the Fire Fighters Cancer Support Network are teaming up to reduce the impact of cancer on firefighters with education and prevention resources for departments across the nation and here in North Carolina.
- PUB DATE: 1/5/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WMYA-TV 40 Anderson

The U.S. reported a record 1,082,549 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. It's the latest in a series of staggering milestones brought on by the highly transmissible omicron variant, which is sweeping across the U.S. and around the world. The U.S. has broken several of its own COVID-19 records in recent days.
- PUB DATE: 1/5/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: National Public Radio

In response to the growing need for emergency responders in the community, Viroqua Fire Chief Chad Buros has been working with Gundersen Lutheran to expand the services of the Viroqua Fire Department to now include Emergency Medical Responders. On the night of Dec. 16, eight Viroqua firefighters and three members of the public completed the Medical First Responder Advanced Skills course from Western Technical College.
- PUB DATE: 1/4/2022 1:05:22 PM - SOURCE: Vernon County Times

The Milwaukee Fire Department has temporarily closed its fire station near Teutonia and Locust after "major structural issues" were found, officials announced Thursday, Dec. 30. Fire Station 30 is an "older-style" station, built in 1911, with a basement beneath the large apparatus floor. According to MFD, evidence of a partial failure of the apparatus floor, which houses fire trucks and more, was observed.
- PUB DATE: 1/4/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WITI-TV FOX 6 Milwaukee

When someone calls North Central EMS & Rescue Squad to ask for a ride to a health care facility, the answer is no. That’s been the answer for all calls since May, said Christopher Siebeneich, chief of the private ambulance company, 3204 Washington Ave. “Other than planned events, I don’t have anybody,” Siebeneich said.
- PUB DATE: 1/4/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Journal Times

For John Alley and Luke Barron, being firefighters and varsity wrestling coaches isn’t simply a matter of balancing two jobs. It’s more like a double-dip in intertwined vocations. Alley is an engineer for the Westminster Fire Department, while Barron is a firefighter for the Denver Fire Department. They’ve coached at Columbine High School together for six years, the past two as co-head coaches.
- PUB DATE: 1/4/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Denver Post - Metered Site

VIDEO: A half-dome tent and a portable trailer on an empty piece of property off I-30, make up the newest official fire station in Fort Worth. Approved, constructed, and outfitted in three months, the temporary station opened New Year's Day, providing protection to the rapidly growing communities on the far western edge of the city.
- PUB DATE: 1/4/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTVT CBS 11 Fort Worth

COVID-19 cases in Maryland continue to skyrocket and as of Monday, 2,746 people are hospitalized with the virus. Not only is it overwhelming hospitals, but it's impacting fire and EMS operations. "We've noticed an increase call volume in EMS, primarily patients who believe they are experiencing symptoms of COVID," said Shannon Stallings, chief of the Bowleys Quarters Volunteer Fire Department.
- PUB DATE: 1/4/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WMAR-TV ABC 2 Baltimore

For John Alley and Luke Barron, being firefighters and varsity wrestling coaches isn’t simply a matter of balancing two jobs. It’s more like a double-dip in intertwined vocations. Alley is an engineer for the Westminster Fire Department, while Barron is a firefighter for the Denver Fire Department. They’ve coached at Columbine High School together for six years, the past two as co-head coaches.
- PUB DATE: 1/4/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Denver Post - Metered Site

In celebration of its 150th anniversary, The Firemen’s Association of the State of New York is giving itself a new name. As of this month, the group will be known as The Firefighters’ Association of the State of New York (FASNY). The organization’s board voted unanimously to change its name at a December meeting.
- PUB DATE: 1/4/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Times Union

Ever since the pandemic began, public health experts have warned about the possibility of getting COVID-19 and the flu at once. With flu cases jumping up across the country after a very mild season last year, doctors are warning that so-called “flurona” can happen—and Israel just had its first documented case, which may be the first in the world.
- PUB DATE: 1/4/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Prevention

Fire crews responded to a reported fire at the Didion ethanol plant in Cambria Monday night. A Columbia County dispatcher confirmed crews were battling a fire at a facility along Cabbage Road. Firefighters were called to the scene just before 8:40 p.m. On Tuesday, Cambria Fire Department officials said no injuries were reported as a result of the fire.
- PUB DATE: 1/3/2022 7:38:28 PM - SOURCE: WISC-TV CBS 3 Madison

When the clock struck 12:01 a.m. Saturday, three fire departments with a combined history of 420 years officially merged as one. The Clyman Fire Department has been in operation since 1909. While Reeseville Fire Department began in 1892, Lowell Fire Department traces its roots back to 1845. Over the last five years, Clyman, Lowell and Reeseville fire departments have already been responding, effectively as one department to calls because of the lack of members during the daytime hours.
- PUB DATE: 1/3/2022 4:11:56 AM - SOURCE: Watertown Daily Times

PHOTOS/VIDEO: A 4-alarm fire at a commercial building in Hillsboro has shut down a city block for the rest of the day as crews work to put out hotspots after an hours-long battle against the flames. Hillsboro Fire and Rescue first reported the fire at SE Main Street and 3rd Avenue just before 3:30 a.
- PUB DATE: 1/3/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KATU-TV ABC 2 Portland

A child in East Haven was severely burned while attempting a social media challenge that calls for igniting a bottle of alcohol, fire officials said Wednesday. The victim was being treated at the Bridgeport Hospital Burn Center, Fire Chief Matt Marcarelli said. Firefighters responded Tuesday at about 8:30 p.
- PUB DATE: 1/3/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Hartford Courant - Metered Site

“I've always been one of those guys who liked helping out other people,” said Jacksonville resident Michael Griffitts. Captain Griffitts is the Crew 3 shift commander, EMS coordinator and fire safety and prevention officer for the Jacksonville Fire Department. His 24-year career has allowed Griffitts to pursue his passion for helping other people while making the community a safer place.
- PUB DATE: 1/3/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: My Journal Courier

VIDEO: One small town in Massachusetts is coming to the aid of another in Kentucky after its fire department was devastated by a recent tornado. The tornado that ripped through Kentucky on the night of Dec. 10 was on the ground for 235 miles, obliterating everything in its path. It hit the rural town of Cayce hard, tearing apart its all-volunteer fire department.
- PUB DATE: 1/3/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WCVB-TV ABC 5 Boston

PHOTOS: More than six years after then-Cumberland Fire Department Chief Donnie Dunn sounded the alarm for the need for a new ladder truck, city firefighters now have a 2021 Sutphen model to help in their firefighting mission. “It’s been a lengthy process,” interim Chief W. Shannon Adams, Dunn’s successor, said Thursday, a few days after the new purchase arrived at CFD headquarters.
- PUB DATE: 1/3/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Cumberland Times-News