Quality Fisheries in Niota, Ilinois, in Hancock County was burned to the ground following a Tuesday morning fire overnight. The building and all the equipment are a complete lost. The brother-in-law of the owner says the fire is a tough loss for the family and area fishermen. "We'll just have to sit down and talk about it and hope something works out for the best, everybody, the community as well the fishermen, we have fishermen that do this full time and they are out of work right now because of this , so this affects everyone," The owner's brother-in-law Douglas Ray said. Hancock County fire authorities have not issued a statement regarding the fire at this time.  

The Rockford Fire Department will hold a promotional swearing-in ceremony at 2 p.m. Dec. 5 in the University of Illinois college of medicine auditorium, 1601 Parkview Ave. The ceremony will be for the following personnel: Capts. Luis Duran, William Hyde and Slade Berry to district chief; Lts. Trent Bass, Matthew Lawrence and Rodriguez George to captain; firefighter/paramedic Brian Park to emergency medical services coordinator; drivers/engineers Kevin Mottor and Curt Beilfuss and firefighter/paramedic Rebecca Tyo to lieutenant; and inspector Sonny Chanthaphone, fire prevention coordinator Timothy Morris and firefighters/paramedics James Eichenberger, Andrew Bolhous, Brett Beaman, Jody Bausic and Miguel Holland to driver/engineer.  

The FirstNet public safety communications platform – built with AT&T* in a public-private partnership with the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority) – is growing in a big way. More than 10,000 public safety agencies and organizations across the country have subscribed. And over 1 million FirstNet connections are in service, bringing first responders and those that support them the reliability, capability and accountability they trust to carry out their mission. "Public safety is called upon to handle emergencies every single day. They have to be ready for the worst with the best tools to help them respond safely, efficiently and effectively," said Jason Porter, senior vice president, FirstNet Program at AT&T. "We're honored to see FirstNet play a supporting role in that response for thousands of agencies across the country.  

Bob Nicks, president of the Austin Firefighters Association, and Austin Fire Chief Joel Baker are locked in a battle over whether the city should sign on to a new mutual aid agreement with emergency services districts in both Travis and Williamson counties and several small cities. While Baker appears to have the winning hand, he says he has worked hard to compromise with the union, giving it nearly everything it was seeking. The city currently has what is called an auto aid agreement with Travis County, and Austin firefighters say it should continue as is. Baker and Council Member Jimmy Flannigan, whose district covers the part of Austin within Williamson County, are particularly anxious to move forward with the agreement, which includes the two counties as well as Leander, Cedar Park, Round Rock and Georgetown.  

Los Angeles County firefighters on Tuesday won approval to ask voters for more money to help their sprawling department tackle increasingly destructive wildfires and a growing volume of medical calls. The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to place a proposed parcel tax on the March ballot. The tax would apply to residents in the department's coverage area, which spans 58 cities and the county's unincorporated areas. Fire Chief Daryl Osby, who has led the 4,600-member department and its $1.3-billion annual budget since 2011, told the supervisors before the vote that the money was critical to maintaining service amid added strain from wildfires and emergency calls. He has overseen the launch of a public campaign to raise awareness about the stresses facing the department.  

The union representing Portland Fire & Rescue firefighters says reduced staffing at one of the city's 31 fire stations is putting public safety at risk. According to Isaac McLennan, vice president of the Portland Firefighters Association Local 43, only two on-duty firefighters are currently regularly staffed around-the-clock at Station 23, located on Southeast 13th Place. Staffing at Portland's 30 other fire stations is currently on par with firefighters' training: crews of at least four, McLennan said. "I feel like the city of Portland is kind of playing roulette with the people that live there," McLennan said. Despite a near 12 percent increase in population over the past decade in the Rose City, the total number of on-duty firefighters at any given time also decreased from 169 in 2007 to 165 in 2019.  

There are too many medial calls in the city of Albuquerque and not nearly enough paramedics or trucks to handle them. Now, Albuquerque Fire Rescue is asking the state public regulation commission to change the rules so they can help patients. "We've had a significant increase in calls in 5 years, last year ran 90,000 medical calls 110 total calls system here in the City of Albuquerque… it's just really busy right now," said Deputy Chief Emily Jaramillo with AFR Emergency Services. Last year AFR was the twenty-sixth busiest fire department in the country and that's not per capita. AFR has been working to come up with creative ways to reduce call volume but they're still overwhelmed. Now they're asking the PRC to grant them the ability to transport any patient they choose to the hospital.