The results of a workplace assessment recently completed for Tucson’s Public Safety Communications Department has caused concern among city leaders who are working to address “fundamental problems in the operation of the department.” The department is responsible for dispatching 911 calls for police and fire departments.
- PUB DATE: 10/22/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Arizona Daily Star

The lounge could pass for a college dorm, ignoring the vintage fire hats, canvass jackets and 1992 training record board hanging on the walls. Half-empty Gatorade bottles and binders sit on end tables next to plush couches the twenty-somethings who live there found on the side of a road. They’ve got a PlayStation system and a kitchenette that, admittedly, they don’t use often, opting for fast food instead.
- PUB DATE: 10/22/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Morning Call

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has changed the amount of time it would take for someone to be considered a close contact of a person with COVID-19. Previous language defined a close contact as someone who spent at least 15 minutes within 6 feet of a confirmed case. The CDC now defines a close contact as someone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for a total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period.
- PUB DATE: 10/22/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NPR

A Farmington artist has become nationally known for the unique way in which she uses the helmets of firefighters as a canvas on which to honor them for their courage and sacrifice. Miranda DeOrnellis grew up in Womack and has been painting for others since she was 18. “I’ve always been interested in art.
- PUB DATE: 10/22/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Daily Journal Online

Two people from Madison have officially been indicted for allegedly setting fire to a pair of commercial buildings in Madison during the civil unrest that erupted in August. The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday that a federal grand jury has formally indicted Anessa Fierro, 27, and Willie Johnson, 45, on two counts each of attempting to damage and destroy by fire the two buildings.
- PUB DATE: 10/21/2020 3:05:25 PM - SOURCE: WMTV-TV NBC 15 Madison

VIDEO: A Hialeah firefighter has recalled the night he flew over a barrier and off the Palmetto Expressway after, investigators said, he was hit by another driver, causing his truck to come to rest on its roof along the street below. Alain Pineiro is at home recovering from a fractured neck and rib, but it will take him longer to recover from the emotional pain of the crash.
- PUB DATE: 10/21/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WSVN-TV FOX 7 Miami

The daughter of Clayton’s first fire marshal on Tuesday retrieved her father’s retirement badge after losing it in Florida. Jill Halsey, 75, of St. Charles, lost the badge at a Florida restaurant years ago — when, exactly, is unclear. But now, thanks to the diligence of Clayton fire Chief John Paul Jones, as well as the Florida man who found the badge, Halsey again has a piece of family history.
- PUB DATE: 10/21/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: St. Louis Post Dispatch

VIDEO: A Davis police officer recalled the tense moments before rescuing a woman from a burning car. It looks like a scene out of a Hollywood movie as Davis Police Cpl. Pheng Ly’s body camera shows him pulling a helpless woman out of her burning car and into safety. But the scene happened in real life Saturday night in the middle of Ly’s shift.
- PUB DATE: 10/21/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTXL-TV Fox 40 Sacramento

US COVID-19 cases will begin to rapidly accelerate in about a week, a leading health expert says, as the country's daily averages keep climbing toward the summer's peak and several states are setting hospitalization records. The US recorded more than 60,300 new cases Tuesday, and the national seven-day case average hit about 59,500 -- an increase of about 73% in five and a half weeks, Johns Hopkins University data show.
- PUB DATE: 10/21/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: CNN

Firefighters in Dearborn, Mich, destroyed a $90,000 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 last week, but they had a good reason. The department, which is located in the same town as Ford's headquarters, was using the pre-production muscle car donated by the automaker to hone the vehicle extraction skills needed to rescue victims from wrecked vehicles.
- PUB DATE: 10/21/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Fox News

Fond du Lac Fire Rescue is adding another line of protection for its frontline workers. Since the Spring, when COVID-19 first appeared in Northeast Wisconsin, Fond du Lac Fire Rescue, like other first responders, implemented safety measures to keep its crews safe. Now, more than seven months later, and with the help of federal cares act funding, Fond du Lac Fire Rescue is adding powered air purifying respirators or PAPRs to all of its ambulances.
- PUB DATE: 10/20/2020 4:37:51 PM - SOURCE: WBAY-TV ABC 2 Green Bay

A barn fire in Watertown reportedly caused more than $200,000 in damages Tuesday morning. A news release said Jefferson County dispatchers received a report of black smoke and flames coming from a barn on N8350 High Road shortly after 8 a.m. Officials said the property owners reported the fire after a witness notified them.
- PUB DATE: 10/20/2020 3:46:45 PM - SOURCE: WISC-TV CBS 3 Madison

VIDEO: Authorities are currently investigating a massive fire that consumed a church in northeast Oklahoma City late Monday night. Around 10 p.m. on Monday, Oklahoma City firefighters were called to a large fire at a vacant church in the 2200 block of N. Prospect. As soon as firefighters arrived on the scene, portions of the roof and the masonry walls began to collapse.
- PUB DATE: 10/20/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KFOR-TV NBC 4 Oklahoma City

Second Alarm Brewhouse in Pasadena is pioneering a new business model: Great coffee that helps local volunteer firefighters. The shop has opened its doors in Pasadena and celebrated Saturday. But instead of cutting a ribbon, they cut a hose. The coffee shop was originally a coffee truck, and owner Duane McKee is a volunteer himself.
- PUB DATE: 10/20/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Capital Gazette - Metered Site

The city and its firefighters union have come to a contract agreement in which the International Association of Firefighters Local 974 agreed to a wage freeze for the first year of the three-year deal. City Council agreed to the new contract during its Zoom meeting held Monday, Oct. 19. With the city facing uncertainty as to its tax collections in a year in which COVID-19 has played havoc with communities' budgets, Mayor Michael Dylan Brennan was grateful for the union’s consideration.
- PUB DATE: 10/20/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Cleveland.com

PHOTOS: The city of Portage’s all-new Fire Station No. 2 went into service this October with a design that takes into account the health and wellness of the firefighters who will use it and offers some unique training opportunities. The new facility at 6101 Oakland Drive replaces the oldest of three free stations in the city.
- PUB DATE: 10/20/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: MLive

The Dodgers are headed to the World Series after clinching their third National League pennant in four years Sunday, and all of Los Angeles is celebrating a thrilling 4-3 win over the Braves in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series. That includes the Los Angeles Fire Department, whose chief announced via Twitter shortly after the Dodgers' victory that all LAFD firefighters are authorized to wear Dodgers caps while on duty through the end of the World Series.
- PUB DATE: 10/20/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: MLB.com

Two vehicles sustained fire damage after heavy winds blew burning leaves into the street Saturday. Officials were sent to the area of Traceway Drive and Post Road at about 12:45 p.m. regarding thick smoke that filled the street. Police closed the street while firefighters accessed a nearby hydrant.
- PUB DATE: 10/19/2020 8:34:41 PM - SOURCE: WISC-TV CBS 3 Madison

The City of Beloit and Town of Beloit have reached an agreement for Beloit Fire Department Chief Daniel Pease to also serve as chief for the Town of Beloit Fire Department, marking a historic move of shared services between the two municipalities. The Beloit City Council and Town of Beloit Board of Supervisors both met separately in closed session on Monday night to approve sharing Pease as chief for both departments.
- PUB DATE: 10/19/2020 8:34:27 PM - SOURCE: Beloit Daily News

Emergency crews responded Monday to a fire at a metal recycling facility on Madison’s east side after a flammable liquid was ignited by a spark inside an automobile shredder. Madison firefighters responded to Alter Metal Recycling in the 4400 block of Sycamore Ave. around 1:40 p.m. When crews arrived, they found flames engulfing a metal compactor that was located at the top of a large industrial conveyor belt.
- PUB DATE: 10/19/2020 4:56:37 PM - SOURCE: WISC-TV CBS 3 Madison