Three new scientific studies published this month show that the COVID-19 virus can spread in more ways than we once knew. Research from various parts of the world considered three separate factors in each study: low humidity, public restrooms and airborne dust. The implications from all three of these studies? Mask up! A study just published in Transboundary and Emerging Diseases confirms an earlier study conducted in the Greater Sydney, Australia area during the early stages of the pandemic reported a link between low humidity and community spread of COVID-19.
- PUB DATE: 8/21/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Forbes

It was back to class for some area firefighters Wednesday night in Fall Creek. Fire & Industrial Response Enterprises - or FIRE - hosted an emergency response, live propane fire training session. Roughly 50 firefighters from the Fall Creek Fire Department and surrounding areas took part. The training included several fire scenarios - all of which are meant to prepare fire crews for what they can expect when a real call comes in.
- PUB DATE: 8/20/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WEAU-TV NBC 13 Madison

VIDEO: More than a hundred residents at a Buckhead apartment complex were displaced after a massive multiple-alarm fire broke out early Wednesday afternoon and quickly engulfed the building. As Chopper46 flew over the Avana on Main Apartments in the 500 block of Main St. N.E., heavy plumes of smoke could be seen billowing from the building as flames raged out of control.
- PUB DATE: 8/20/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WGCL-TV CBS 46 Atlanta

A new sense of urgency is emerging to get Seattle firefighters the gear they need at riots and other scenes of violence. Crews are being called upon to take bigger risks to help people who are hurt and this equipment is one way to keep them safe. “We're trying to be able to have every single firefighter be able to be protected,” said Debbie Steinhauer, founder and president of the Seattle Fire Foundation.
- PUB DATE: 8/20/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KOMO-TV ABC 4 Seattle

Alarms were going off for some Chicago firefighters this week. First, there was a COVID-19 outbreak at the Quinn Fire Academy, and now, hundreds are expected to gather in one spot to take a test. As CBS 2 Political Investigator Dana Kozlov reported Wednesday, some firefighters believe their safety is being put at risk, as well as the safety of the public they serve when it comes to potentially contracting and then spreading coronavirus.
- PUB DATE: 8/20/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WBBM-TV CBS 2 Chicago

When American Girl, the maker of American Girl Dolls, announced its “Heroes With Heart” contest to honor frontline workers, one girl knew exactly who to nominate. April O’Quinn, an EMT with the Richmond Ambulance Authority, was nominated by her niece, Lacey. Families were asked to nominate a hero who makes a difference in their lives and goes “above and beyond.
- PUB DATE: 8/20/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WWBT-TV NBC 12 Richmond

The COVID-19 pandemic has spread so rapidly since the first U.S. case was reported Jan. 20 that it’s now the third-leading cause of death in the country, Thomas Frieden, MD, former director of the CDC, told CNN. "COVID is now the number 3 cause of death in the U.S. -- ahead of accidents, injuries, lung disease, diabetes, Alzheimer's, and many, many other causes," Frieden said.
- PUB DATE: 8/20/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WebMD

Cambridge Area EMS is looking for community support and input to help generate more than 6 million dollars for a station remodel. According to Director Bob Salov, with an increase in population growth in the over 70 acres they serve the need for emergency services has increased but their facility simply can’t keep up.
- PUB DATE: 8/19/2020 8:37:56 PM - SOURCE: WISC-TV CBS 3 Madison

Firefighters from four counties were called to the scene of a large brush fire northeast of Pilgrim and Mequon roads on Tuesday afternoon. The fire was originally reported as an all-terrain vehicle on fire in a field near Vicksburg Avenue and Potomac Circle in Germantown. The first Germantown fire crews to arrive reported that the fire had spread beyond the ATV into a brushy area that included a cattail swamp, and that gaining access to the fire was going to be difficult, according to emergency radio traffic provided by Broadcastify.
- PUB DATE: 8/19/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Milwaukee Journal Sentinal

VIDEO: A massive fire at a plastics facility in Grand Prairie is likely to continue burning for several days and could knock out electricity in the area for some time, firefighters say. Meanwhile, officials are urging people to stay indoors because of the "toxic plume" rising from the scene that could be an irritant for people with respiratory issues.
- PUB DATE: 8/19/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KXAS-TV NBC 5 Fort Worth

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, motorists each day drove about 8.8 billion miles on American roadways, while the U.S. railroad system carried 85,000 passengers and 5 million tons of freight. Though travel habits have shifted since the coronavirus outbreak, transportation infrastructure remains vital to the health of the U.
- PUB DATE: 8/19/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: USA Today

Funding commitments are now in place for the Rescue Hose Co. to add paid firefighters for the first time in its 140-year history. Greencastle Borough Council agreed to develop a budget to support paid firefighters using a fire tax during a joint meeting with fire company representatives and Antrim Township supervisors last week.
- PUB DATE: 8/19/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Echo-Pilot

On Aug. 17, the United States recorded its fewest COVID-19 cases in nearly 2 months, with 35,112 new cases and 445 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker. The new cases raise the total to 5,469,604 cases and 171,344 deaths. Though the decrease in cases is a sign that early summer hot spots, including Arizona, Texas, and Florida, are showing falling case counts, reports from schools that have opened across the country, as well as nursing home data, show congregate living is still a major contributor to COVID-19 outbreaks.
- PUB DATE: 8/19/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: CIDRAP

The Grand Chute Fire Department announced on Tuesday the Town Board has unanimously voted to move forward with a referendum on the November ballot seeking a levy limit increase to fund nine additional firefighter/paramedic positions. Fire officials says this referendum was proposed after extensive discussion and careful evaluation of the current and future public safety needs within the Town of Grand Chute.
- PUB DATE: 8/18/2020 10:19:45 PM - SOURCE: WFRV-TV and WJMN-TV CBS 5 Green Bay

While assisting the Cudahy Fire Department with a deadly fire at Lake Shore Tower Apartments early Aug. 16, the South Milwaukee Fire Department also helped save a swimmer in Lake Michigan too tired to make it back to shore. While crews were assisting with the multi-alarm fire, other South Milwaukee Fire Department personnel rescued an exhausted swimmer from Lake Michigan that got caught up in rip currents, according to a statement from the department.
- PUB DATE: 8/18/2020 1:08:23 PM - SOURCE: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

A dwindling number of volunteers coupled with a lack of eligible recruits is forcing a 146-year-old fire department in rural Dodge County to shutter its doors. A large majority of Wisconsin’s fire departments are run mostly or entirely by volunteers. It’s getting harder for many departments to recruit those volunteers, fire service leaders said, especially in rural communities.
- PUB DATE: 8/18/2020 8:45:01 AM - SOURCE: Watertown Daily Times

The Chicago fire academy is closed until further notice after an apparent COVID-19 outbreak impacting both students and instructors. Officials said they are working to determine the source of the outbreak at the Robert J. Quinn Fire Academy, located at 558 W. De Koven Street in the South Loop. It's not clear how long the building will be shut down.
- PUB DATE: 8/18/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WLS-TV ABC 7 Chicago

New York City firefighters disarmed a stabbing suspect inside a firehouse in Queens Monday. Daniel Gomez, 27, was arrested and charged with assault after he was accused of stabbing a 26-year-old man in the leg Monday morning. Officials say FDNY Squad 288 encountered the victim and brought the man into the firehouse in Maspeth for treatment.
- PUB DATE: 8/18/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WABC-TV ABC 7 New York

Another day of dead marine life surfacing in Biscayne Bay as the swath of suffocated fish appears to be spreading. On Saturday, members of Miami-Dade Fire Rescue went out on the water to help the animals breathe. The effort was coordinated by Miami Waterkeeper after reaching out to Port Miami for use of their fireboats.
- PUB DATE: 8/18/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WPLG-TV ABC 10 Miami

VIDEO: No injuries were reported Tuesday after a fire damaged a tank at a Pasadena refinery. The fire was reported about 5:45 a.m. in an oil tank on the northeast corner of the property at Pasadena Refining Systems. According to Bill Stephens, a spokesman for Chevron, the fire was extinguished about 6:30 a.
- PUB DATE: 8/18/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Click 2 Houston