Waco's new Fire Chief was sworn in today. Chief Gregory Summers was officially sworn into the Waco Fire Department. He was joined by his wife, Jeanette, "in front of a small, socially distanced crowd." Chief Summers was confirmed by the Waco City Council on March 17, 2020. He will be Waco's eighth Fire Chief in the department's more than 100-year history and is a distinguished Fire Service leader with strong leadership and management skills with over 34 years in the fire service. Gregory comes to Waco after nine years as the Fire Chief of the Little Rock Fire Department, leading them to achieve both ISO Class 1 and International Accreditation through the Center for Public Safety Excellence- a dual distinction held by only 0.29% of all fire departments in the United States.  

One person has died and five others were hospitalized after an accident involving an ambulance Sunday morning in Pleasant Grove. At 6:20 a.m., the Dallas Fire-Rescue ambulance was parked at the stop sign at Scyene Road and Glover Pass tending to a patient in the back on the way to the hospital, police said. At the same time, a 15-year-old boy was driving at a high rate of speed down Scyene Road with two passengers — a 16-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl. The driver lost control of his vehicle, which left the roadway, spun and hit a sign and DART concrete bus stop bench, police said. The vehicle sunk into the ground, flipped over and landed on the roof before hitting the driver's side door of the ambulance, spinning it about 90 degrees, police said.  

Houston Fire Chief Sam Pena said as of Saturday afternoon, there were 83 firefighters in quarantine because of coronavirus exposure. One firefighter has tested positive for the virus, and another 14 have been tested with no results yet. The department is now changing its procedures to better protect firefighters. The chief said he needs the public's help. "When you call 9-1-1, what we ask is that you let us know if anyone in the household is having flu-like symptoms, or definitely a cough, a fever or shortness of breath," Chief Pena said. He said firefighters will be wearing more personal protective equipment: gloves, protective goggles and masks when responding to any medical call. "And if they're within 6 feet of a patient that's confirmed or suspected of having coronavirus, then they're going to wear the gloves, goggles, the mask plus the disposable gown," Chief Pena said.  

VIDEO: Firefighters battled a large brush fire that sparked on the island's east end late Saturday. The fire started around 8 p.m. on East Beach south of Seawall Boulevard, according to Galveston police. Several agencies were called to battle the big blaze. No injuries were immediately reported. The Galveston County Daily News reported the fire occurred in a large, grassy area between Seawall Boulevard, Apffel Park Road and Boddeker Road, Galveston Fire Chief Charles Olsen said. About 20 acres were on fire. No evacuations were called for as the wind was blowing the fire away from any structures. The Daily News reported firefighters were careful when attacking the fire because the area has uneven terrain along with snakes and coyotes.  

Two firefighter-paramedics were potentially exposed to COVID-19 after transporting a patient Friday night. The city is now putting them on quarantine because of the potential exposure. The firefighters were in full protective gear including safety glasses. Earlier this week the CDC changed guidelines for protective equipment. They recommend goggles instead of safety glasses. The fire department is following these recommendations. The patient who was transported was tested for COVID-19, they are waiting for the results. This is the second group of firefighters that have been quarantined within the last month. Here's what we know about the first group that was quarantined on March 19. A Corpus Christi Fire Department firefighter who was tested for COVID-19 after coming into contact with a positive case during a service call has tested negative for the virus, according to Nueces County officials.  

An arson investigation is underway after a house fire broke out on the North Side, according to San Antonio Fire Department. The fire happened around 2 a.m. Saturday morning in the 1500 block of Pasadena Street. According to SAFD, the fire started on the outside of the home. Firefighters were able to prevent the flames from spreading inside, but the front of the home did sustain damage. SAFD says a family of three was inside of the home when it happened but they made it out safely. Damages to the home are estimated at $5,000 and the investigation is still ongoing.  

The Rowlett Fire Department has a long history of providing innovative solutions to complex issues. Continuing that legacy of care and commitment to our community, the Rowlett Fire Department has implemented a TeleMedic program in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. TeleMedic embraces current technology and allows the online one-on-one video assessment of non-critical patients to reduce the risk of provider- or patient-borne exposure to contagions. Accessed via FaceTime for Apple users or Google Duo for Android users, the Rowlett Fire Department staffs the program around the clock, seven days a week with a firefighter/paramedic. The program targets the approximately 80 percent of patients who contract COVID-19 and experience only mild symptoms of the illness.  

At exactly 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday evening, thousands of New Yorkers in quarantine stood on their porches and near their windows to applaud first responders and health care workers on the frontlines of the coronavirus outbreak. This powerful act of solidarity, which lasted several minutes, came about after a call on social media to #clapbecausewecare. "That gave me chills!" Chris Henken, who recorded video of the applause, tweeted. Accounting for nearly a quarter of the nation's COVID-19 cases, New York City is battling to keep its hospitals from being overwhelmed. Health care workers are already facing overcrowded emergency rooms, and a nurse recently died from coronavirus after working nonstop for weeks at a hospital The virus is also taking a toll on the New York City Police Department. More than 500 NYPD personnel have come down with COVID-19, including 442 officers, and two employees have died.  

The Laurel County Fire Department has launched a new phone app this week that includes two sections pertaining to COVID-19. "To our knowledge it's one of the first ones in the area," said Laurel County Fire Chief Terry Wattenbarger. "We're the first emergency service to actually have a mobile app like that." Wattenbarger said the fire department's main focus with the app is public information. The Laurel County Fire Department will be able to send the public push notifications through the app, informing them of accidents, fires, and other emergencies happening within the Laurel County Fire Department's service area. "We can't push every callout that we get, but we do work a major part of the interstate," explained Wattenbarger.  

Chief Diana Matty has heard the cries of doctors across the country: They need ventilators. As Palm Beach County braces for a potential spike in coronavirus cases, the West Palm Beach fire chief has coordinated efforts with the county's 10 other fire departments to let hospitals know they are poised to loan ventilators, should the need arise. Together, the departments have about 70 ventilators available to loan to hospitals to help treat patients with the respiratory virus, said Matty, who also serves as president of Palm Beach County Fire Chiefs Association. "It's a stopgap measure in a time of crisis," she said. The ventilators are simple versions of high-tech machines at hospitals, "a rotary phone in a world of iPhones," she said.  

A program conducting home visits with vulnerable patients after they have been checked out of the hospital is doing its best to go online, both for the sake of the paramedics and patients. Racine's Mobile Integrated Health program went into a trial phase in the fall of 2018 and was fully implemented in 2019. Paramedics with the Racine Fire Department underwent training on how to carry out home visits to patients who had recently been discharged from the hospital. The goal of the program is to ensure the patients are following their discharge instructions, taking their medications and watching for any red flags of circumstances that could risk that person needing to return to the hospital. Brian Wolf, the Fire Department's division chief of professional standards and head of the MIH program, said that because of the COVID-19 outbreak, most of the those check-ins and other services to help with recovery are now being done over the phone, sometimes with video chat or online.