The Fairbanks Fire Department (FFD) responded to a call early Wednesday morning about a fire at 785 8th Avenue. Arriving on the scene, FFD found the first floor of the house engulfed in flames, and took three hours to extinguish the fire with the help of the University and Ft. Wainwright fire departments. One FFD firefighter sustained minor injuries and was treated at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital. According to a press release from the City of Fairbanks, the structure appeared to be a vacant home with reported squatter activity. Evidence at the scene suggests the fire might have been set intentionally. This incident marks the latest in a series of fires around the city which have occurred under suspicious circumstances, and are suspected to have been set intentionally. It also marks the latest in a series of fires which have occurred in locations known or suspected to experience transient activity.  

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. He said other "mission critical employees will receive an additional $100 bi-weekly. "It is critical that we provide any relief we can to our front line employees to ease burdens at home while they continue to go to work on behalf of the city and its residents," Mayor Young said. The stipend becomes effective on Monday, March 30, and will be on employees' first scheduled payroll checks.  

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. According to a spokesman for the FDNY, the department has taken several countermeasures to ensure that the virus isn't transmitted. Firefighters in each firehouse are broken up into four shifts. Each shift will work a 24-hour tour and each firefighter will only work with those people who are on their shift in order to avoid transmission of the virus.  

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. It takes about three minutes for the machine to disinfect an ambulance. Assistant Chief Vendetto said, "right now we are doing routine cleaning around all the fire stations around the city, including our emergency operations center, also including our 911 center." The department bought it in response to COVID-19.  

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. But the firefighter was fortunate. He got tested almost immediately because of a relationship with a physician who waived the Centers for Disease Control guidelines restricting who can be tested due to limited test kits available nationwide, said Joe Baer, the president of the Kentucky Professional Firefighters Association. The group represents 44 unions and 3,000 professional firefighters statewide.  

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." He asked his employees, firefighters, EMTs and paramedics to devote their interest to their primary job for now. The directive raised concerns for firefighters union, said Scott Miller, president of the International Association of Firefighters Local 266. "Obviously it's a very significant decision by the chief and the administration and the union feels it affects the bargaining union and the administration to negotiate and bargain those terms," he said.