National News

  • 18 fire departments in California join forces during coronavirus outbreak
    To ensure uninterrupted service during the coronavirus pandemic, 18 fire departments in San Bernardino County have joined under a regional management team, an action usually reserved for fighting large wildfires. “COVID-19 has the possibility of affecting a significant portion of the fire and EMS workforce,” the San Bernardino County Fire Chiefs Association said Thursday, March 26, in announcing formation of the agencies that will cooperate with the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District Incident Management Team.
    - PUB DATE: 3/27/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: San Bernardino County Sun
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  • Georgia firefighters make face masks to help ease shortage in COVID-19 battle
    VIDEO: The staff at the Tybee Island Fire Department have been hard at work since Wednesday making masks for those that need them most. The dedicated team is one of several groups working to fill the nationwide mask shortage triggered by frightened Americans concerned about their respiratory health amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
    - PUB DATE: 3/27/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WSAV-TV NBC/CW+ 3 Savannah
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  • With 1 in 6 workers under quarantine, New Orleans EMS to run lower-level ambulances
    With 16% of its workers in self-isolation due to exposure to the coronavirus, New Orleans Emergency Medical Services will run ambulances to situations that are not life-threatening staffed solely with emergency medical technicians and not the more highly trained paramedics who are now required to be on board.
    - PUB DATE: 3/27/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NOLA.com
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  • Congress Passes Stimulus Bill: What's In It For Fire Chiefs
    The Senate approved more than $163 billion designated to assist local fire and EMS departments as part of an economic stimulus package to safeguard the U.S. economy and help the nation respond effectively to the 2019 novel coronavirus and its resulting illness, COVID-19. The House is expected to pass the $2 trillion stimulus bill on Friday.
    - PUB DATE: 3/27/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: IAFC.org
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  • New York City's 911 Overwhelmed With Record Number of Emergency Medical Calls
    Calls to New York City’s 911 medical services hit their highest levels since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to emergency workers’ unions, stretching staffs that have already seen their own ranks thinned by coronavirus infections. Medical emergency calls are up 40% to about 6,500 a day, according to Oren Barzilay, president of Local 2507, a union that represents emergency medical technicians, paramedics, fire inspectors and dispatchers.
    - PUB DATE: 3/27/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Bloomberg
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  • Baltimore Firefighters, EMTs, Police Officers and Other ‘Frontline Employees’ To Receive COVID-19 Stipend
    Mayor Jack Young will give employees in the city a stipend to ease financial burdens as they continue to work during the coronavirus pandemic. The COVID-19 Pandemic Mission Critical Stipend will be meant for “frontline public-facing employees” including firefighters, EMTs and police officers. They will receive an extra $200 bi-weekly.
    - PUB DATE: 3/26/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WJZ-TV CBS 13 Baltimore
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  • FDNY coronavirus numbers nearly double in one day
    With the number of people in the city testing positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) growing by the day -- 84 members of the FDNY have tested positive for the virus, according to an FDNY spokesman. The number of FDNY employees who have tested positive has almost doubled since yesterday, when FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro stated during an interview on Fox News that 46 members had tested positive for coronavirus.
    - PUB DATE: 3/26/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: SILive.com
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  • Connecticut fire department purchases new disinfecting device to battle coronavirus
    VIDEO: The New Haven Fire Department has a new weapon in the war against Covid-19. The department purchased an AeroClave device, which is a fogging system that disinfects on contact. “We are using it for firefighters or medics that go into a building of potential exposure. When they come out, we can actually decontaminate the firefighters gear and spray the firefighter right down on scene,” said Mark Vendetto, Assistant Chief Operations with the New Haven Fire Department.
    - PUB DATE: 3/26/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTNH-TV ABC 8 New Haven
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  • Few Kentucky firefighters get COVID-19 tests; Workers’ comp claims denied
    Kentucky firefighters say they struggle still to get COVID-19 tests and don’t get workers’ compensation for missed days while self-quarantining or waiting for test results. Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer announced Tuesday a Louisville firefighter was the first to test positive for the coronavirus. The man is self-isolating at home, Fischer said.
    - PUB DATE: 3/26/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Lexington Herald Leader
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  • Ohio fire chief orders staff to limit side jobs during pandemic
    Mansfield Fire Chief Steve Strickling has issued a directive to his employees to limit their exposure working at other jobs, including township fire departments and hospitals, for the time being due to COVID-19 concerns. Strickling said he does not know the exact number of his employees who work elsewhere too but said "there are quite a few.
    - PUB DATE: 3/26/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Mansfield News Journal
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