With the retirement of Sven Pearson the position of deputy fire marshal for Capital City Fire Rescue is vacant. Fire Marshal Dan Jager was asked on Action about the plans for filling the position. "In the short term, it's going to stay open and vacant through July 1. And then after July 1, it is undetermined if, when, or how that will be filled. So, a lot of unknowns right now." When asked about the likelihood of filling the position from within the ranks, Jager said there have been a few members of the department expressing interest. If they obtain permission to fill the position, Jager said they will have to revisit the job description to see if there's anything that needs to be changed. "We just have to see if we fill it, is it still valid what we have on paper for the job description, or does it need to be updated."  

No injuries were reported after two vehicles were set on fire near the 23-mile marker of Glacier Highway early Sunday. Capital City Fire Rescue and the Juneau Police Department have been joined by the U.S. Forest Service and Alaska State Troopers in this investigation. The first report was made at 4:30 a.m. Sunday. The two vehicles were a Subaru and Scion. They were both in a parking lot at a local hiking trail. Both were listed as a total loss.  

On April 8, 2020 the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that T-Mobile could not meet the public safety requirements that were established in a Request for Qualification (RFQ) that was issued by Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency which is an independent Federal entity. This RFQ for cellular services had as a requirement "enhanced priority-type features" which the agency identified as "AT&T FirstNet or equal". T-Mobile challenged that the RFQ failed to "clearly identify the salient characteristic for the brand name item (FirstNet) and that requirements for a private network with priority and pre-emptive capabilities are unduly restrictive". The GAO concluded that the agency has shown that the restrictive specifications are reasonably necessary to meet its legitimate need and they denied the protest in a letter issued in early April.  

Information about the coronavirus is changing day by day, and that is why the state of Alabama has a team of state agencies working side by side to gather information and compile data about COVID-19 as the worldwide pandemic continues to unfold. Located in the RSA Tower in downtown Montgomery, Alabama's Unified Command for COVID-19 Response is a team comprised of four state agencies - the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH), Alabama Emergency Management Agency (AEMA), Alabama National Guard, and Alabama Forestry Commission. Together, they have joined forces to help fight the deadly coronavirus. "Unified Command has been driving this operation now for over a month," said State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris. "It's been extremely important for us in public health because we don't, we simply don't have the capacity to handle the problem of this size."  

When Chase Sherrard completed field training ride-alongs for the Frederick County fire academy in February, the novel coronavirus was far from the major global threat it has become when his class graduated last week. "Things are a lot different now than when we were doing ride-alongs, especially on [medical/sick person] calls," the probationary firefighter said. "Before we even go in to the residence, we're at the door asking, ‘Do you have a fever? Do you have a cough?' — That sort of thing. So it's definitely a different procedure than most other calls we run." As a newly-graduated probationary firefighter, Sherrard is currently relegated to an observational role on what the fire division refers to as "person under investigation" or PUI calls involving individuals suspected of having COVID-19.  

Recently published results of a survey of EMS providers from across the U.S. revealed inconsistent protocols, policies and training related to COVID-19 response could be contributing to the spread of the virus. Cody Vaugh Gibson and Dr. George Donald Collier of the Calhoun Community College Biological Sciences Research Group; and Christian Ventura, a researcher at the Center for Mind and Brain Studies at Bard College, published preliminary results of their study this week, with the goal to "investigate available resources, PPE availability, sanitation practices, institutional policies and opinions" of EMS providers through a self-reported survey. The results, which reflect provider responses from all 50 states, revealed: Limited access to N95 respirators; Little or no benefits for COVID-19-related work ; No institutional policy on social distancing practices.  

Police officers, firefighters and emergency medical services workers will be given an additional $300 weekly stipend to acknowledge their key role during the COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. Chris Sununu said in a news conference on Monday. Part-time employees in these categories will receive $150 stipends. Eligibility for this extra pay began Monday and will continue through June 30. "Those who are the front lines and those at risk — we want to be there for them," Sununu said. He also said that $40 million will be made available to help cover COVID-19-related expenses for municipalities. The money is not to backfill revenue shortfalls, but is for direct expenses related to the pandemic such as childcare for first responders, telework costs and expenses for the deep cleaning of buildings.