In the battle against coronavirus, first responders are stocking up on the tools they need to stay safe, including personal protective equipment and ultraviolet lights that zap the potentially deadly COVID-19. Upper Pine Fire Protection District began using two portable ultraviolet lighting devices, which cost about $6,000 total, to disinfect ambulances and fire stations.
- PUB DATE: 3/24/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Pine River Times

The California Highway Patrol has closed its academy because of the coronavirus pandemic, but Cal Fire says its training academy in Ione is staying open for classes for its recruits. “These are essential classes that we need to continue with,” Cal Fire spokesman Scott McLean said. “We are very cognizant of the situation and we will constantly re-evaluate the situation as conditions change.
- PUB DATE: 3/24/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Sacramento Bee

The state is trying to avoid depleting the ranks of police and fire departments – and the prison – after the governor activated the R.I. National Guard last week. Gov. Gina Raimondo said on Monday she has heard from city and town leaders concerned that activating the guard could make it hard for public safety officials to properly staff their police and fire departments, where personnel often serve in the armed services.
- PUB DATE: 3/24/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WPRI-TV CBS 12 Providence

While emergency response is needed even in the face of a global pandemic, area personnel are working to ensure they’re protected from possible exposure to the deadly virus that is spreading throughout the country. Baraboo Police Chief Mark Schauf said Monday protocol dictates limited exposure to people unless his officers are responding to an emergency, which takes precedence over social distancing and screening for fevers.
- PUB DATE: 3/23/2020 5:51:46 PM - SOURCE: Baraboo News Republic

Authorities are investigating whether a house fire and a car chase that occurred early Monday are connected. Emergency crews responded to a report of a structure fire near the 700 block of Smith Street around 6 a.m. Monday. During the incident, police officers noticed a suspicious vehicle near the property, according to the Stevens Point Police Department.
- PUB DATE: 3/23/2020 11:15:00 AM - SOURCE: Stevens Point Journal

While officers on the Reedsburg Police Department and paramedics with the Reedsburg Area Ambulance Service are taking necessarily precautions during the COVID-19 pandemic, they are ready to respond in an emergency. Reedsburg Area Ambulance Director and Emergency Management Director Josh Kowalke said dispatch is helping ambulance staff by screening people with a list of questions from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention anytime an ambulance is requested.
- PUB DATE: 3/23/2020 10:48:53 AM - SOURCE: Reedsburg Times-Press

Firefighters worked to put out flames at a house fire in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Sunday morning. Electrical wires could be heard popping, and bright lights flashed as crews fought the blaze. A person living near the house said there was an explosion, and right before that happened he smelled a gas leak outside the house near 79th and 30th.
- PUB DATE: 3/23/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: CBS Local - Chicago

When Hayward Fire Chief Garrett Contreras saw that San Jose had to quarantine many of its firefighters after they were exposed to coronavirus, he thought it could happen to his city, too. “We started to get concerned about taking care of our people,” he said. “Once I realized that there was a lack of testing for sick people in general, I realized there was a broader problem.
- PUB DATE: 3/23/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KQED-FM

Three Springfield Township firefighters are in quarantine after they learned through social media they had been exposed to a presumptive coronavirus patient. Chief Barry Cousino told The Blade neither the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department nor St. Luke’s Hospital informed his department of the potential exposure.
- PUB DATE: 3/23/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Blade

The unions representing cops, firefighters and EMS officers are urging Mayor Bill de Blasio to make them a higher priority for access to coronavirus testing given their front-line duties interacting with the public amid the pandemic. Ninety-eight NYPD officers and other employees and 17 Fire Department/Emergency Medical Service personnel have tested positive for COVID-19.
- PUB DATE: 3/23/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Post

North Branford Fire Chief William Seward was alarmed when he got the news: his department, which runs the town’s ambulance service, would only receive one box of 35 respirators from the strategic national stockpile. What’s more, all of those masks — which Seward picked up today in Essex — are expired.
- PUB DATE: 3/23/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New Haven Register

A house fire in Spring Brook Township Sunday afternoon left one person dead. The Dunn County 911 center received a call around 12:55p.m. on Sunday with reports of a house fire on County Road E. There were six people in the house when the fire started and five people made it out safely and are being treated for smoke inhalation.
- PUB DATE: 3/22/2020 8:54:05 PM - SOURCE: WEAU-TV 13 News

A former Milwaukee Firefighter and Navy veteran lost his battle with the coronavirus, after falling ill last week. The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner said 66-year-old Lawrence Riley died this week after testing positive for the coronavirus. Family says he leaves behind his wife, six kids and eight grandchildren.
- PUB DATE: 3/21/2020 8:54:03 PM - SOURCE: WTMJ-TV Milwaukee

Janesville firefighter Christopher “Chris” Lloyd rescued a woman stuck in an elevator a few years ago. The woman noticed the name on his jacket and asked if he was related to Gary Lloyd. Chris responded that Gary, a retired Janesville firefighter, is his father. The woman’s face lit up, and she told Chris that his father had saved her life.
- PUB DATE: 3/21/2020 4:18:42 PM - SOURCE: Janesville Gazette

Governor Tony Evers and state health officials gave an update to the COVID-19 epidemic on Friday. Andrea Palm, secretary designee at the Wisconsin Department of Public Health says the state will be getting a shipment of personal protective gear from the federal strategic stockpile, but it won’t be enough to protect all health care workers from the coronavirus if there is a surge in patients.
- PUB DATE: 3/20/2020 10:54:40 PM - SOURCE: WBAY-TV ABC 2 Green Bay

In their fight against the coronavirus, Milwaukee County first responders are also battling limited resources. “Our personal protective gear is in short supply, talking about gloves and masks and gowns, and it’s difficult to replace because there is a national shortage," Milwaukee Fire Chief Mark Rohlfing said.
- PUB DATE: 3/20/2020 8:40:16 PM - SOURCE: WDJT-TV CBS 58 Milwaukee

Knowing that firefighters have to protect themselves to help others, Worthington officials worried about having their 36 full-time staff working together in its single fire station. “We were hearing about these other stations being forced to shut down elsewhere. That would decimate our fire and EMS protection if we had to close our firehouse,” said Mark Zambito, assistant fire chief.
- PUB DATE: 3/20/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Columbus Dispatch

“If you see this message — this means your files are now encrypted and are in a non-working state!” That note was discovered on the Bluffton Township Fire District’s computer servers on Sunday, which were rendered inoperable by a hacker, according to a report from the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.
- PUB DATE: 3/20/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Island Packet

Fox's "The Resident" is doing its part to protect the residents -- and other health care workers -- at an Atlanta-area hospital amid the spread coronavirus. Dr. Karen L. Law, who is the program director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program at Emory University, posted a photo to Instagram on Wednesday showing off a donation of masks, gowns and other supplies made by the team behind the medical drama.
- PUB DATE: 3/20/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: CNN

More than 30 members of the Spokane Fire Department are in self-quarantine in an attempt to stop the spread of sickness amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The firefighters – representing about 10% of the department –were exposed to patients who had symptoms similar to COVID-19. As of Thursday morning, none of them had received a positive test for the novel coronavirus – though one firefighter is in the hospital.
- PUB DATE: 3/20/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Spokesman-Review