Adding more dispatchers and switching how they assess medical emergencies could allow the city to absorb possible cuts in staffing without anyone really noticing. That's the message from Fitch & Associates, a Missouri-based consulting company hired by the city to assess the Peoria Fire Department's response times and how to navigate tough times while not reducing service to Peoria residents. Fitch consultants say hiring 12 dispatchers and call takers would reduce the time a 911 call would take to go out to the fire department or to Advanced Medical Transport, the private ambulance service that covers the city. Last March, the consultants told City Hall the fire department shouldn't go out on as many "low-priority calls," such as falls or basic life support. Instead, they recommended overhauling the dispatch center by installing new software and hiring more staff.  

The Tonica Volunteer Fire Department and ambulance service receives no local tax funding, but does receive a great deal of community support. This month, the ambulance service took possession of a new ambulance, purchased completely from savings built through direct donations from villagers and residents within the ambulance district that stretches from Cedar Point along Route 71 on the west and north to Leonore on the south and east. Fire chief Al Stremlau said residents also support fundraisers such as chili night and pork chop dinners. The ambulance replaces a 1999 model. The department had applied for grants for the ambulance for three years, each time denied. The old ambulance was having maintenance issues and undercarriage deterioration and became a major cause of concern. "We had to move forward," says Stremlau.  

Hundreds of packages lost in a truck fire at UPS in East Peoria. Just after 12:30 Tuesday afternoon, East Peoria firefighters responded to a possible structure fire at UPS on W Camp St. When the companies arrived they saw that one truck was on fire said Deputy Chief Ryan Beck. "The crew was able to quickly determine that the fire was confined to a truck on the backside of the building," Beck said. "The fire had not gotten into the structure. There was some smoke that got into the building, but no damage on the inside of the building." While it looks like the fire may have started in the engine compartment of the truck, investigators will take the time to identify the cause. Crews had the fire out quickly after arriving. "Anytime we get a structure fire we have all of our personnel respond because we don't know what we are going to end up with," Beck said.  

A house is considered a total loss after it caught fire in Danville, responders said. Capt. Jerry Sparks with the Danville Fire Department said crews responded at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday to a home in the 500 block of West Clay Street, which had the front and back engulfed in flames. The vacant house is considered a total loss and was demolished. Sparks said responders moved to protect those living in a next door house, which included two people, two dogs and two cats. All of them were successfully evacuated. There were no injuries. The cause remains under investigation.  

VIDEO: A large, deadly fire consumed the Porterville Library Tuesday evening and claimed the lives of two firefighters. "We are still working on notification," Tulare County Fire Chief Charlie Norman said as he fought back tears. The names of the firefighters killed have not been released. Both work for the city of Porterville, Norman said. Earlier, Norman confirmed one firefighter had died but that another was "unaccounted for." "When it's safe to operate we will be back in the building," Norman said. "Hopefully, we'll find that firefighter. We are here for the city of Porterville. We are here for the fire industry." Confirmation of the second fatality came late Tuesday night. "Prayers for the Porterville City Fire Department," Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux said on social media. "They have lost two brave men in a library fire this evening. The city of Porterville mourns their loss and we as a community grieve with them and their families."  

Representatives from the city's firefighters union say a new public administration software system designed to streamline payroll for the department has instead burdened the force with extra duties. The union has filed a grievance on behalf of its 911 dispatchers claiming the software has not only created more work, but shifted payroll responsibilities to their supervisors who they say haven't properly been trained to administer it. "This has placed unfair expectations and an unfair burden on the members of the unit," according to the grievance signed by four members of IAFF Local 740, the Portland Firefighters union. It violates the union's agreement with the city, they say, because it alters pay and working conditions, which is protected under their collective-bargaining contract.  

Any first responder knows in an emergency, time is of the essence. Bruce Bechtold is a former Stearns County deputy. He says cutting minutes or even seconds off response time can make all the difference. That was the case when his cousin Mark suffered a heart attack nearly a decade ago. "Firefighter just happened to be nearby with an AED and shocked him and he's alive today," said Bechtold. "If that wouldn't have been there, he wouldn't have survived." There are more than 500 AED's scattered throughout Stearns County according to the nonprofit Advocates for Health. St. Cloud based mapping firm GeoComm mapped all of them. The Stearns County Sheriff's Office now has that information in their system. "Shows up on our screen here so we know where it's located," said dispatcher Megan Kampa.  

The Fire Department's Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) responded to more than 1.5 million medical emergencies last year, saving countless lives in the process. But many of these first responders — who endure high stress in a job where mere seconds may mean the difference between life and death — barely have anything left to save once they get their paychecks, according to unions representing them. City Hall and the EMT unions — including FDNY EMS Local 2507, EMS Superior Officers Association of the FDNY and DC 37 Local 3621 — began negotiations Tuesday on a new collective bargaining agreement. The unions hope the de Blasio Administration will give a significant boost to the entry-level salary for an EMT, which is just above the minimum wage — $33,320 annually, or about $16 per hour. New York City's hourly minimum wage is $15.  

Just because you call an ambulance in Montgomery County, Maryland, that doesn't mean you'll skip the lobby wait in the emergency room. Maryland's ER wait times — the time spent in the emergency room before being admitted to the hospital or being sent home — are the longest in the country: an average of 376 minutes, in the latest data, from 2017. The national average was 281. The only hospital in the county that scored above the national average for how long it took to see a health care professional once a patient arrived at the emergency department was Adventist. However, it was still below average on most other emergency department-related metrics. Walk-ins aren't the only people waiting — ambulances are waiting, too. That means emergency responders can't get back to work answering other calls.