An area girl used her own money to help families in the North Central Wisconsin area. Maci Courtright decided to use her birthday money to purchase 40 teddy bears. She then donated them to the SAFER Fire Department and the Everest Metro Police Department to give to children and families in need. "Maci and her family are amazing for doing this, especially in this time of need.
- PUB DATE: 1/15/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WAOW-TV ABC 9 Wausau

VIDEO: A massive, five-alarm fire broke out in Brooklyn Thursday evening, roaring through four buildings on one block as more than 200 firefighters battled the flames, officials said. The fire started just after 6 p.m. at a building on Montrose Avenue in East Williamsburg, fire officials said, as flames began on the second floor, shooting up to the third floor and going through the roof shortly after.
- PUB DATE: 1/15/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WNBC-TV NBC 4 New York

A Georgia fire captain will deliver the Pledge of Allegiance as part of the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris next week. The International Association of Fire Fighters and the inauguration committee asked City of South Fulton Fire Capt. Andrea Hall to do the honors of reading the pledge.
- PUB DATE: 1/15/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WAGA-TV FOX 5 Atlanta

North Carolina is the first state in the country to implement a statewide voluntary registry to help combat the spread of COVID-19 among first responders, according to Insurance Commissioner and Fire Marshal Mike Causey. Causey’s office partnered with RTI International to create a survey on the Fire Marshal website to allow fire departments, emergency service workers, and other first responders to report positive COVID-19 cases and quarantines.
- PUB DATE: 1/15/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WITN-TV NBC 7 Washington

VIDEO: A retired firefighter from Chester, Pennsylvania is accused of being the man seen on video throwing a fire extinguisher that hit three police officers at the Capitol during the riot in Washington, D.C. last week. Robert Sanford, 55, was arrested Thursday morning on four federal charges, including knowingly entering a restricted building, disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, civil disorder and assaulting officers engaging in their official duties.
- PUB DATE: 1/15/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WPVI-TV ABC 6 Philadelphia

As the COVID-19 pandemic ravages the USA, vaccines have begun to be distributed across the country and its territories. Two different vaccines, one made by Pfizer-BioNTech and another from Moderna, have been authorized for emergency use and are part of the widespread distribution process. The first shots were given Dec.
- PUB DATE: 1/15/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: USA Today

The recently formed Rock County Advisory Committee will ask the Rock County Board for $250,000 in funding during a regularly scheduled meeting Thursday night. The committee, made up of 30 members including emergency managers, fire chiefs, healthcare partners and the county health department, would use the money to help further equip the county for widescale vaccination efforts.
- PUB DATE: 1/14/2021 10:20:36 PM - SOURCE: WMSN-TV Fox 47 Madison

The inside of a City of Madison recycling truck caught fire Thursday morning, according to an incident report. Officials responded to the intersection of Lucia Crest and North Blackhawk Avenue shortly after 10 a.m. regarding an active fire in the truck’s collection compartment. The report said flames could be seen rising from the open top of the truck as firefighters arrived.
- PUB DATE: 1/14/2021 9:43:03 PM - SOURCE: WISC-TV CBS 3 Madison

Karla Creuziger, a firefighter/paramedic with the city of Brookfield Fire Department, has responded to several calls that put her in close proximity to individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19. The thought of bringing the virus home to her family has crossed her mind numerous times in the last 10 months.
- PUB DATE: 1/14/2021 3:07:01 AM - SOURCE: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

VIDEO: A large fire broke out at an apartment complex near the Industrial Canal in New Orleans East Wednesday night. The cause of the fire is not yet known, but it appears to have broken out at or near the Gentilly Ridge apartment complex off of Chef Menteur Highway. NOFD officials say the complex has about 100 units in it, about 90 of them occupied.
- PUB DATE: 1/14/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WWL-TV CBS 4 New Orleans

The Thornton Fire Department is one of the first in the country to use new technology to monitor firefighters who were exposed to COVID-19. The department is using the Masimo Pulse Oximeter on quarantined firefighters to check their health status and be notified of a health decline. The device measures oxygen saturation, pulse and breathing rate, circulation and respiratory quality.
- PUB DATE: 1/14/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KCNC-TV CBS 4 Denver

Electric vehicle fires pose safety risks to first responders and guidelines from manufacturers about how to deal with them have been inadequate, according to U.S. investigators. There are also gaps in industry safety standards and research on high-voltage lithium-ion battery fires, especially in high-speed, severe crashes, the National Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday.
- PUB DATE: 1/14/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: ABC News

To the known risk factors for developing severe COVID-19—age, male sex, or any of a series of underlying conditions—a new study adds one more: high levels of the virus in your saliva. Standard COVID-19 tests sample the nasal passage. But several new tests look for SARS-CoV-2, the pandemic coronavirus, in saliva, and the new work finds a striking correlation between high virus levels there and later hospitalization or death.
- PUB DATE: 1/14/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Science Magazine

Broadview Heights Fire Chief Jeffrey Hajek is giving 19 News a first-hand look at a new piece of technology his department uses to save precious seconds when getting to an emergency. It’s called the HAAS Safety Cloud System. The device alerts drivers to move over because emergency vehicles are coming through.
- PUB DATE: 1/14/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WOIO-TV CBS 19 Cleveland

PHOTOS: Crews have responded to a house fire in Green County on Wednesday night. Officials received a call at 7:43 p.m. for a report of a structure fire at 16th Avenue and 8th Street in Monroe. Monroe police said firefighters called a box alarm, meaning departments from several municipalities have been sent to assist.
- PUB DATE: 1/13/2021 7:38:50 PM - SOURCE: WISC-TV CBS 3 Madison

The Milwaukee Field Office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is asking for the public's help to identify a person of interest who may be able to advance an arson investigation of the probation and parole building in Kenosha. The arson happened on Monday, Aug. 24 -- one day after Jacob Blake was shot in the back several times by a Kenosha police officer.
- PUB DATE: 1/13/2021 1:30:32 PM - SOURCE: WDJT-TV CBS 58 Milwaukee

A Prince George's County firefighter fell out of a fire engine truck that was traveling to a call around 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, according to the Prince George's County Fire Department (PGFD). The fall from the truck happened around the intersection of Bell Station Road and Annapolis Road in Fairwood, Maryland.
- PUB DATE: 1/13/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WUSA-TV CBS 9 Washington DC

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) has partnered with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA JPL) to develop firefighter tracking technology. The effort would allow first responders to locate team members in burning buildings more accurately. According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, domestically, approximately 80 to 100 firefighters are lost in the line of duty each year.
- PUB DATE: 1/13/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Homeland Preparedness News

Chicago firefighters put their lives on the line every day, and the risks of their jobs are ramped up even more during the coronavirus pandemic. But hundreds of Chicago firefighters who got COVID-19 said they were stunned when they were told it is not considered an on-the-job illness. They told CBS 2 Political Investigator Dana Kozlov it impacts their pay and medical bills – and they’re fighting it.
- PUB DATE: 1/13/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WBBM-TV CBS 2 Chicago

A Houston firefighter who works two jobs and fought COVID-19 received a surprise live on “TODAY” Tuesday morning. Josue Rios has been with the Houston Fire Department for more than a decade, and works hard to provide for his family by working most 24-hour shifts and managing his second job at his family truck mechanic business, according to “TODAY.
- PUB DATE: 1/13/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KPRC-TV NBC 2 Houston