Greensboro firefighters could find out what toxins they’re being exposed to just by wearing wristbands. Greensboro, Raleigh and Durham fire departments are partnering with the Duke Cancer Institute for a study analyzing chemicals that could put firefighters at risk for cancer. “I've been very involved in training firefighters my whole career and I've been exposed to a lot of different things and it's really crossed my mind an awful lot,” Greensboro Fire Department Assistant Chief over Health & Safety Alex Gossett said.
- PUB DATE: 9/12/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WGHP-TV Fox 8 Greensboro

More first responders in the US lose their lives to suicide than in the line of duty, according to a study by the Ruderman Foundation. In Chicago, a little known treatment for depression and PTSD is rescuing first responders desperate to find help for themselves. The treatment almost looks like hypnosis, but the patient is entirely awake and able to tap into traumatic memories like never before.
- PUB DATE: 9/12/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WFLD-TV FOX 32 Chicago

A state lawmaker has proposed legislation that would require Ohio fire departments to stop training with foam believed to cause health problems. The foam would still be used for extinguishing fires when necessary. But Rep. Brian Baldridge, R-Winchester, says it’s time to stop needlessly exposing firefighters to the group of chemicals called PFAS.
- PUB DATE: 9/12/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Dayton Daily News

For the first time since pay raises were re-instituted for city employees two years ago after nearly a decade without them, not everyone will be given the same hike to base pay in 2020. An agreement with the members of Richmond Professional Firefighters Inc. Local 1408, the union that represents the city's firefighters, calls for a pay raise of 5% next year while the proposed 2020 budget includes a 2% increase for all city employees who aren't part of a bargaining unit.
- PUB DATE: 9/12/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Palladium-Item

A fire at a community center in Racine caused major damage to the building and left one firefighter hurt. The Lakeview Community Center in Racine is damaged after a fire in the building Wednesday. The center is located across the street from the Racine Zoo. The Racine Fire Department says the Lantern Festival workers from China, who are putting up decorations at the zoo, were cooking inside the community center when they stepped out for a smoke break.
- PUB DATE: 9/11/2019 9:00:06 PM - SOURCE: WDJT-TV CBS 58 Milwaukee

Area first responders are remembering the victims and families impacted by the September 11 attacks. Eighteen years ago today, 19 people associated with the Islamic extremist group al Qaeda hijacked four airplanes and carried out suicide attacks against the United State A total of 2,977 people were killed in New York City, Washington, D.
- PUB DATE: 9/11/2019 8:41:09 PM - SOURCE: WMSN-TV Fox 47 Madison

The Chippewa Fire District is set to change after a town decided to branch off on its own. The town of Wheaton town board voted 4-1 on Tuesday to leave the Chippewa Fire District at the end of 2020, a partnership consisting of the village of Lake Hallie and the towns of Lafayette, Hallie and Howard.
- PUB DATE: 9/11/2019 2:57:17 PM - SOURCE: Chippewa Herald

The Madison and Fire Departments are continuing their tradition of hosting their 'Never Forget' blood drive at the new Fire Station 14. This year marks the 8th year for the blood drive and the 18th anniversary of 9/11. The departments will also hold a special memorial ceremony to honor and remember those first responders who paid the ultimate sacrifice on this day.
- PUB DATE: 9/11/2019 6:11:52 AM - SOURCE: WMTV-TV NBC 15 Madison

A firefighter who died on September 11 was laid to rest Tuesday after his remains were identified 18 years later. Firefighters and loved ones gathered to mourn Michael Haub after his remains were conclusively identified, the Uniformed Firefighters Association said in a statement. It said the service was to provide his family with closure and a peace of mind after the medical examiner last week identified more of his remains that were recovered at Ground Zero.
- PUB DATE: 9/11/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: CNN

The Crisis Center of Tampa Bay is teaming with the advertising agency ChappellRoberts on a new initiative called “First to Respond, Last to Ask for Help.” The program, which promotes suicide awareness for Tampa Bay’s first responders, was announced during a Tuesday conference. The campaign includes a video which addresses the importance of reaching out and talking with health care professionals.
- PUB DATE: 9/11/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WGCU Public Broadcasting Fort Myers

Outside of professional athletes, first responders may just be the most often injured while on the job and like athletes, they often face a grueling rehab process. The training regimen at Results Sports Institute in Sacramento is specifically designed to help firefighters who have suffered injuries on duty and get them ready for the grueling challenges they will face when they return to work.
- PUB DATE: 9/11/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTXL-TV FOX 40 Sacramento

For students from elementary to high school, the Sept. 11 terrorist attack isn't a memory. It's history. A new HBO documentary that debuts on the event's 18th anniversary treats it that way. The necessity of her project, "What Happened on September 11," struck filmmaker Amy Schatz when a third grade girl told her about a playdate where she and a friend Googled "Sept.
- PUB DATE: 9/11/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: ABC News

Wildfire smoke has been an unwelcome guest in Puget Sound the past two summers, with acrid, yellow smoke polluting the air and clogging lungs. Warnings about the health risks have been issued. Seattle is setting up filtered air "breathing rooms." Mayor Jenny Durkan has declared that Seattle be "Smoke Ready" as residents are told to expect more smoke, more frequently as the climate warms and Northwest summers get hotter and drier.
- PUB DATE: 9/11/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Crosscut

The Town of Wheaton Board voted Tuesday night to leave the Chippewa Fire District, which would happen at the end of 2020. However, that vote is contingent on the town being able to secure EMS services from either the City of Eau Claire or the City of Chippewa Falls. According to Fire District Board President Dave Staber, the Town of Wheaton must give formal notice of leaving the fire district by October 1, at which time the town will still be part of the fire district for another 15 months.
- PUB DATE: 9/10/2019 11:24:06 PM - SOURCE: WEAU-TV 13 News

Wisconsin fire departments are seeing a shortage of firefighters. In Baraboo, a "Firefighters Wanted" sign hangs from one of the firehouses. The chief there says only four of the 34 firefighters he has on staff are full time. He says firefighting just isn't a lifelong career anymore. One challenge is pay, another is the time commitment.
- PUB DATE: 9/10/2019 3:44:11 PM - SOURCE: WDJT-TV CBS 58 Milwaukee

A recent rash of fire calls caused by spontaneous combustion has area fire officials shaking their heads at the rarity of several in a row. The act itself seems mysterious and complicated — a fire starting with no apparent source of ignition — but it's all very scientific. Combustion happens when a fuel combines with oxygen to produce heat from a recognizable source, like a match.
- PUB DATE: 9/10/2019 6:07:08 AM - SOURCE: Wausau Daily Herald

State officials have detected toxic firefighting foam from a Marinette manufacturer in the basement of a nearby home — a finding that prompted the Department of Natural Resources on Monday to warn other residents to be on the lookout for similar signs of contamination. The potentially harmful foam containing perfluorinated chemicals had seeped into the basement earlier this year through cracks in the floor and walls, likely as a result of water saturating the ground due to wet weather conditions, the DNR said.
- PUB DATE: 9/10/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Journal Sentinel

As the first woman to lead the Kansas City Fire Department, Donna Maize doesn’t shy away from being a role model and an inspiration to girls and young women who may consider a career like hers. “They will be able to see that from a young age, and realize that just like a police officer or any other nontraditional female role that there are people out there that look like them,” Maize said Monday on her first day as fire chief.
- PUB DATE: 9/10/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Kansas City Star

Ahead of the 18th anniversary of 9/11, the head of the city’s firefighters’ union asked Americans to “Take a moment. Think about it. Say a prayer. “Just remember what happened that day. Remember how we felt and remember how far we’ve come since,” Uniformed Firefighters Association President Gerard Fitzgerald said Monday.
- PUB DATE: 9/10/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Daily News

Dr Emil Chynn says he was walking his dogs through New York when he saw the Twin Towers burning on September 11, 2001, prompting him to put his rollerblades on and rush to see what was going on. Nearly 3,000 people died in the terror attack, in which aeroplanes were hijacked and flown into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon outside Washington, DC, and another crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
- PUB DATE: 9/10/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: UNILAD