The Kansas City, Kansas Fire Department says firefighters who have been exposed to COVID-19 but who have not tested positive should continue to work. The fire department says that since the virus hit, 67 members have tested positive. There are more than 400 members of the firefighters union. "I think it's creating a potentially dangerous situation for both the firefighters and the public," said union president J.
- PUB DATE: 11/20/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KMBC-TV ABC 9 Kansas City

The owners of two smoking and vaping supply stores in downtown Los Angeles where a large explosion left several firefighters seriously injured struck plea deals with prosecutors Thursday that call for their businesses to pay more than $100,000 to the city. As part of the agreement with the Los Angeles city attorney’s office, the retail businesses, Smoke Tokes and Green Buddha, must pay the Los Angeles Fire Department roughly $127,000 to compensate the agency for the investigation into the May 16 blast, which rocked downtown L.
- PUB DATE: 11/20/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Los Angeles Times - Metered Site

The coronavirus vaccine works entirely different than any other human vaccine ever used. Scientists say to not think of this vaccine like a flu shot, because it uses new technology some are calling a game changer. “It's a new era in vaccine design,” says postdoctoral researcher Stephen Goldstein. A flu vaccine is a diluted version of the virus that might provide a defense if the actual virus is introduced into the human body.
- PUB DATE: 11/20/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KUTV-TV CBS 2 News Salt Lake City

PHOTOS: The 775th Civil Engineering Squadron Fire and Emergency Services Flight recently added two new vehicles to their fleet Oct. 29, which will greatly expand emergency and incident response capability. The first of two is a 2020 Oshkosh P-23 Aircraft Rescue Firefighting vehicle. The truck, which has a call sign of “Crash 8,” is a completely modernized, top-tier aircraft fire response vehicle that uses the latest in technology for efficiency and crew safety.
- PUB DATE: 11/20/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Robins Air Force Base

VIDEO: A $5,000 reward is being offered to help catch two people of interest believed to be connected to a severe fire that tore through a building in Milwaukee last year. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Milwaukee police are seeking to identify two people they believe were involved in the arson incident.
- PUB DATE: 11/19/2020 8:50:55 PM - SOURCE: WTMJ-TV NBC 4 Milwaukee

A Waukesha boy had to be rescued by firefighters after getting his head stuck in a cat scratching post. Cynthia Olson posted photos of her son's rescue to the Catspotting Society group on Facebook. Olson said her son had to be removed from the post by the Waukesha Fire Department. "Our son is absolutely fine," Olson wrote on the post.
- PUB DATE: 11/19/2020 4:18:35 PM - SOURCE: WGBA-TV NBC 26 Green Bay

Firefighters on Thursday, Nov. 19 responded to the scene of a structure fire on Arndt Street near Military Road in Fond du Lac. The call came in around 1:30 a.m. Upon arrival, crews encountered heavy fire conditions in the front of the two-story, multiple tenant structure. One victim was rescued by first arriving crews and was treated and transported to the hospital.
- PUB DATE: 11/19/2020 4:52:02 AM - SOURCE: WITI-TV Fox 6 Milwaukee

The Wisconsin Rapids Fire Department is celebrating 100 years of full-time service to the community. The city of Wisconsin Rapids was developed as a consolidation of Grand Rapids, which sat on the east side of the Wisconsin River and Centralia, which was situated in the west side. The two municipalities combined in the spring of 1900 and bore the name of Grand Rapids, until the name was changed to Wisconsin Rapids to correct and freight/mail confusion with Grand Rapids, MI.
- PUB DATE: 11/19/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Wisconsin Rapids City Times

As President-elect Joe Biden prepares to take office in two months, he heard Wednesday from a firefighter, nurses and a caregiver who described chronic shortages of protective equipment, tests and contact tracing to combat the coronavirus pandemic. The virus, combined with rebuilding the economy, is the biggest challenge facing Biden.
- PUB DATE: 11/19/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Daily Journal

VIDEO: A raging fire in Queens forced families out of their homes Wednesday night as temperatures fell below freezing for the first time since last winter. The fire started around 8 p.m. at a seven-story building on New Haven Avenue and Beach 22nd Street in Far Rockaway. CBS2’s Cory James reports it took about 100 firefighters two hours to get the blaze under control.
- PUB DATE: 11/19/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WLNY-TV CBS 55 Riverhead

Hiram's fire chief Bruce Pyburn is proud to show off the town's first fire truck. "This is the original lettering, all gold leaf, original hoses, original ladder," Pyburn said. "It's a '37 Dodge that has been with the department since day one." The truck was purchased in 1937, the same year the Hiram Fire Department was started.
- PUB DATE: 11/19/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTHR-TV NBC 13 Indianapolis

The Wisconsin Rapids Fire Department is celebrating 100 years of full-time service to the community. The city of Wisconsin Rapids was developed as a consolidation of Grand Rapids, which sat on the east side of the Wisconsin River and Centralia, which was situated in the west side. The two municipalities combined in the spring of 1900 and bore the name of Grand Rapids, until the name was changed to Wisconsin Rapids to correct and freight/mail confusion with Grand Rapids, MI.
- PUB DATE: 11/19/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Wisconsin Rapids City Times

Rep. Joe Morelle is calling on a federal agency to reverse a new rule that allows railroad tankers carrying liquefied natural gas to roll through Monroe County. The rule went into effect on Aug. 24, though it faces several legal challenges. It allows trains to carry up to 100 tankers of liquefied gas on American railroads, as long as the gas is stored in a specifically-designed tanker whose safety as a container for the gas has been largely untested.
- PUB DATE: 11/19/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Rochester City Newspaper

The Oconto Fire Rescue Department’s first female full-time firefighter/EMT is now its first female ranking officer. Tabitha Vande Voort was promoted to lieutenant, Fire Chief Josh Bostedt announced Tuesday. She has twice served as a paid on-call member of the department, in 2006 and then again starting in January 2017, before being hired full-time in February 2019.
- PUB DATE: 11/18/2020 11:12:03 AM - SOURCE: Green Bay Press-Gazette

VIDEO: On the surface, Bob Halberstadt's roles as a volunteer EMT and firefighter in his native Blairstown are not all that unusual. But considering he is old enough to be the father or even the grandfather of his fellow first responders, the 80-year-old stands out for his service and his sense of duty to keep his community safe.
- PUB DATE: 11/18/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New Jersey Herald - Metered Site

A South Carolina lawmaker has partnered with a fellow congressman from Illinois to introduce a bill to designate October 28 as "National First Responders Day". Republican Congressman Ralph Norman who serves South Carolina's 5th District partnered with Democratic Congressman Bobby Rush of Illinois to introduce the bill.
- PUB DATE: 11/18/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WHNS-TV Fox 21 Greenville

VIDEO: The NYPD is investigating after a video on social media surfaced showing a man shooting a flamethrower into the air as he was on top of an MTA bus with people inside — but it may have all been a part of an unsanctioned stunt. The incident took place Nov. 8 along the B-26 bus route near Franklin Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
- PUB DATE: 11/18/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WNBC-TV NBC 4 New York

Coronavirus cases have increased in all 50 states plus Washington, D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam over the past 14 days, the latest NBC News data showed Tuesday. And in a dozen of those states — Vermont, Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Iowa, Ohio, Colorado, Michigan, Nebraska, Kansas, Pennsylvania and New York — infections have spiked in the last two weeks, meaning there has been a 100 percent or more increase in confirmed cases over 14 days.
- PUB DATE: 11/18/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NBC News

Welcome to the “Roaring 20s!” Main Journey (Leap!), Anton (Paddington), and Caramel Films have joined forces to create Fireheart, the animated tale of a fearless young girl vying to become the first female firefighter in 1920s New York. The heartwarming film boasts an all-star cast, with Kenneth Branagh (Tenet, Death on the Nile), Olivia Cooke (Thoroughbreds, Ready Player One), William Shatner (Star Trek), and Laurie Holden (The Americans) serving as lead voice actors.
- PUB DATE: 11/18/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Animation World Network

The City of Sturgeon Bay took action Tuesday evening to protect part-time firefighters from lost wages in case they would contract the coronavirus working for the fire department. The Personnel Committee recommended to the city council to approve the coordination of compensation for the firefighters for qualifying COVID-19 conditions.
- PUB DATE: 11/17/2020 10:31:29 PM - SOURCE: Door County Daily News