Fairbanks Emergency Communication Center has been recognized by The International Academies of Emergency Dispatch as an "Accredited Center of Excellence" for emergency dispatching. Worldwide, FECC ranks as the 309th center for Emergency Medical Dispatch, 66th for Emergency Fire Dispatch, and 31st center for EMD and Fire combination. IAED is the standard-setting organization for emergency dispatch services worldwide. According to a City of Fairbanks press release, accreditation (and subsequent re-accreditation) from the IAED is the highest distinction given to emergency communication centers, certifying that the center is performing at or above the established standards for the industry. Centers who earn ACE status are the embodiment of dispatch done right, and have demonstrated strong local oversight, rigorous quality processes, and a commitment to data-driven continuous improvement. FECC has been working towards accreditation goals since 2013.  

After the Yukon Creek Fire (#296) burning north of the Salcha River picked up new life over the weekend, 12 smokejumpers deployed Monday night to protect nearby cabins. Aided by a helicopter from the Alaska Division of Forestry and Fire Protection's Delta Area, the BLM Alaska Fire Service smokejumpers are keeping an eye on the fire as it slowly backs against an easterly wind. DOF will also occasionally use an airplane to monitor the 13,000-acre fire burning north of the Salcha River since June 17. Thanks to warm, dry weather, the fire became active as it burns in black spruce trees and toward a cabin ¾-mile to the southeast. Weather conditions are predicted to turn cooler and wetter today through the weekend to hopefully moderate fire activity. While it won't be enough to put the fire out, it won't likely be as active now that the daylight hours are getting shorter and fall moves in to the Interior.  

A patient was killed and a paramedic left critically injured on Wednesday night when an apparent explosion ripped through an ambulance outside Adventist Health Castle hospital. An EMT in the front of the ambulance was also treated for injuries and is in stable condition. At a news conference outside the Kailua hospital late Wednesday, a visibly shaken city Emergency Services Director Dr. Jim Ireland said it remained unclear what caused the ambulance to erupt in flames. "This is something I've never seen before," he said. Ireland said the patient who died was in the back of the ambulance with the paramedic, an eight-year veteran of the city. The paramedic has been transferred to the Straub Medical Center, he added. "It's just very hard to be in the situation where our team is the one who is injured," Ireland said.  

When Oakland Fire Chief Reginald Freeman responded to a report of a fire at the Wood Street encampment in July, he first noticed the heavy, black smoke that had drifted into the air. The encampment had reported many fires in the months before, but this one was unusual — bringing traffic on the nearby highway to a standstill. Dozens of firefighters searched for a fire hydrant. Eventually one was found nearly 1,000 feet away from the fire. Under city code, fire hydrants should be within 500 feet of homes, but the encampment's location isn't meant to house people, so the hydrants are tough to reach. As firefighters doused the flames with water, propane canisters exploded, reminding Freeman of the time when a firefighter lost part of his jaw after a canister exploded at a different Wood Street fire.  

VIDEO/PHOTOS: The city of Asheville, specifically Asheville Fire Department, is represented at 19,341 feet! Lindsey Glover summitted Mount Kilimanjaro last week, and when she got to the top, the Local 332 Executive Board member and senior deputy fire marshal proudly posed with her Asheville Firefighters Flag. "It was definitely challenging. It's one of those things, being in the fire service, we do a lot of things and push our bodies -- but this was something for such a long period that it was really challenging," Glover shared with News 13 on Aug. 24. "You also get this amazing sense of accomplishment when you finish it. I thought it was important to represent North Carolina, Asheville, Asheville Fire Department because it's such a big part of my life, and I probably, honestly, wouldn't be able to have done that hike without the support from the fire department, the training from the fire department."  

VIDEO/PHOTOS: Cedar Rapids Firefighters underwent special training throughout the day Wednesday at the fire station on 1st Avenue. Situation in Motion or SIM-IA is a mobile education program from the University of Iowa to train emergency health care workers hands on skills that could prepare them for trauma and unexpected situations. Brian Rechkemmer, the SIM-IA coordinator, said the simulators have been around for a few years, but update when there is new technology. "I think it's great that we can go out and do this training for EMS providers across the state of Iowa," Rechkemmer said. "It's always been a passion for me because I think there's a lot of these rural departments that, like I said earlier, they cannot get out to do this training, so if we can bring the training to them, we can provide better care for the patients that we serve across the state of Iowa."  

The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), in partnership with Pierce Manufacturing Inc., announced the 2022 IAFC Fire Chief of the Year honorees. Volunteer Fire Chief, Marshall Turbeville, of the Northern Sonoma FPD in Sonoma County, California, and career Fire Chief, Gary Ludwig, of the Champaign Fire Department in Champaign, Illinois, have been named this year's honorees. The IAFC begun recognizing one volunteer and one career Fire Chief of the Year in 1996. A selection committee appointed by the IAFC reviewed nominations for active chiefs of departments who have shown exemplary contributions in the areas of leadership, innovation, professional development, integrity, public service, and contributions to the fire service. The annual "IAFC Fire Chief of the Year" awards were presented at Fire-Rescue International (FRI) in San Antonio, Texas on August 24.