VIDEO: Union County Sheriff’s Deputy Chris Castrogiovanni, a former NYPD officer, was at the scene of 9/11. “I had been looking at those buildings my whole life so to see what happened was just, it’s so surreal,” Castrogiovanni said. Castrogiovanni worked in and around Ground Zero for about seven weeks and then again during the holiday season that year.
- PUB DATE: 12/31/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WSOC-TV ABC 9 Charlotte

PHOTOS: North Beach Volunteer Fire Department (NBVFD) is pleased to announce the arrival of an iconic piece of the department’s history. In 1947, the department took delivery of an FMC John Bean high pressure pumper built on a KB International chassis. The truck served the Twin Beaches communities for a number of years before being sold and lost track of.
- PUB DATE: 12/31/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Southern Maryland News Net

More than 100 first responders were able to get the first round of COVID-19 vaccinations after two major healthcare facilities were left with extras. The City of Beloit Fire Department said nearly two dozen firefighters got the shot after they got a call from Beloit Health Systems. “We were getting contacted saying ‘Hey, can you send some staff up if you have some that are interested?’,” said Dep.
- PUB DATE: 12/30/2020 7:38:31 PM - SOURCE: WMSN-TV Fox 47 Madison

Crews from several departments worked Wednesday morning to extinguish a fire at Double P. Dairy. The Hamburg Fire Chief tells NewsChannel 7 that crews were called to the farm at 9:09 a.m. Wednesday. He said an employee found the fire, which started in an office area. That office area and the milking parlor were destroyed in the flames.
- PUB DATE: 12/30/2020 1:34:58 PM - SOURCE: WSAW-TV CBS 7 Wausau

Gov. Tony Evers has ordered flags be flown at half-staff in honor of a firefighter who died after contracting COVID-19 in the line of duty. Donald Edwin Kittelson died Dec. 17 after contracting COVID-19. He was chief of the Clayton Volunteer Fire Department. “Fire Chief Kittelson served the Clayton community for more than 34 years years.
- PUB DATE: 12/30/2020 7:30:40 AM - SOURCE: WISC-TV CBS 3 Madison

VIDEO: Large piles of scrap metal caught fire at an Opa-locka recycling plant, sending heavy plumes of smoke into the sky. The firefight, which began around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at Trademark Metals Recycling Plant, stretched well into the evening. Firefighters said because of the metal that is burning, these type of fires take a long time to put out.
- PUB DATE: 12/30/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WPLG-TV ABC 10 Miami

Some ambulances have been forced to wait as long as 12 hours outside Memphis hospitals to drop off patients, according to the Memphis Fire Fighters Association. The problem appears to be tied to the recent surge in COVID-19 cases, which has brought many hospitals to capacity. Tuesday afternoon, the Memphis Fire Department confirmed ambulances were backed up at St.
- PUB DATE: 12/30/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WREG-TV CBS 3 Memphis

A burglary and theft of $50,000 worth of firefighting and emergency equipment at a Woodland fire station could temporarily slow emergency services to the nearby rural community, fire officials said Tuesday. Cowlitz County Fire District 1 Assistant Chief Bob Kofstad said volunteers with the station discovered the break-in Monday, Dec.
- PUB DATE: 12/30/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Longview Daily News - Metered Site

Firefighters in Massachusetts are sounding the alarm about delays in COVID-19 vaccinations for first responders. On Tuesday, Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts, the statewide union, posted on Twitter claiming the state has “no viable plan” to vaccinate local firefighters. The union president says the union learned the state planned to place the responsibility for distributing vaccines to first responders on local city and town boards of health.
- PUB DATE: 12/30/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WBZ-TV CBS 4 Boston

U.S. emergency medical personnel are getting quick access to COVID-19 vaccines in some parts of the United States while fire chiefs in other areas forecast a delay of weeks or months, highlighting the chaotic nature of a rollout that relies on states and counties to plan and administer distribution. A lack of detailed federal guidelines has forced U.
- PUB DATE: 12/30/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: U.S. News & World Report

A lot of Milwaukee County front line workers are still waiting for their COVID-19 vaccines. Now, a local fire chief is expressing his frustration over the delay. “In Milwaukee County at this moment, I don't know of any firefighter or EMS provider that has been vaccinated,” said Chief Jon Cohn of the Greenfield Fire Department.
- PUB DATE: 12/29/2020 4:07:22 PM - SOURCE: WTMJ-TV NBC 4 Milwaukee

The Two Rivers Fire Department is investigating a single-family house fire that happened on Dec. 28. According to a release, fire crews entered the house on 10th Street and were met with heavy smoke and flames on the first floor. Officials say the fire was able to be extinguished quickly but the living room and kitchen sustained significant fire damage.
- PUB DATE: 12/29/2020 3:45:13 PM - SOURCE: WFRV-TV and WJMN-TV CBS 5 Green Bay

VIDEO: Kansas City firefighters battled a multi-alarm apartment fire Monday night near 80th Terrace and Troost Avenue. Fire crews were called to the Waldo Heights apartments just after 8 p.m. and found a working fire when they arrived. Authorities said three people were rescued from the 36-unit building.
- PUB DATE: 12/29/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KMBC-TV ABC 9 Kansas City

The vulnerability of the telecommunications system in Nashville and beyond became clear Christmas Day when AT&T's central office in downtown became the site of a bombing. Mayor John Cooper called the blast on Second Avenue an attack on infrastructure. The effects of that attack are sure to ripple through the region for weeks, as the telecom giant scrambles to restore services while also maintaining the integrity of an active investigation site teeming with federal agents.
- PUB DATE: 12/29/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: USA Today

More than two dozen hospital intensive care units (ICUs) and emergency rooms were full on Monday, according to the Georgia Coordinating Center (GCC). The online database shows bed capacity at medical facilities across the state and allows users to find the closest hospital to them with the most resources.
- PUB DATE: 12/29/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WXIA-TV NBC 11 Atlanta

In a typical school year, students often look forward to visits from their local fire departments — or perhaps they're lucky to visit a nearby station in-person. But this year, those visits and field trips have been put on hold due to the pandemic. So the Overland Park Fire Department is hoping to bring that experience to you and your student.
- PUB DATE: 12/29/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KSHB-TV NBC 41 Kansas City

The innovative new station of Rescue Company 2 in Brooklyn is a welcome upgrade from their former station house, which was built in 1893 when the FDNY still used horses. Designed through a partnership with the New York City Department of Design and Construction and the illustrious architecture firm Studio Gang, the multifaceted new building serves as a training space where the specially-trained unit can practice responding to fires, building collapses, water rescues, and other dangerous scenarios.
- PUB DATE: 12/29/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Untapped New York

As of Sunday, about 39,500 Wisconsinites had already received the coronavirus vaccine, but state emergency medical responders are concerned they've been left out. Firefighters and ambulances respond to virtually every medical emergency, and they want to make sure they're included as the Moderna vaccine rolls out this week.
- PUB DATE: 12/28/2020 7:04:57 PM - SOURCE: WISN-TV ABC 12 Milwaukee

This holiday season, the Merrill Fire Department is seeing calls they’d never seen before 2020. They have to be just as quick to respond to calls without letting COVID-19 slow them down. Usually at this time of year, Merrill firefighters might be suiting up for calls for holiday fires or kitchen fires, but this year, they’re having to suit up in PPE for EMS calls to protect themselves from COVID-19.
- PUB DATE: 12/28/2020 5:57:54 PM - SOURCE: WSAW-TV CBS 7 Wausau

No one was injured after a house fire occurred in Shawano County on Monday afternoon. The Shawano Fire Department told Local 5 that at around 1:30 p.m., fire crews responded to a home located on the 100 block of S. Lafayette Street for reports of a residential fire. Upon arrival, firefighters say they saw heavy smoke coming from the eaves and later determined the fire was located in the attic of the home.
- PUB DATE: 12/28/2020 3:14:49 PM - SOURCE: WFRV-TV and WJMN-TV CBS 5 Green Bay