Some residents of a Kenai Peninsula town are concerned for their safety as their only emergency services infrastructure sees big changes. The Fire Chief at Ninilchik Emergency Services, David Bear, was terminated on Tuesday as part of a restructuring process for the small, non-profit volunteer station. The NES Board of Directors says the restructuring is necessary in order to take advantage of grant funding and comply with labor standards. Along with his role as fire chief, Bear was also the most experienced of the four EMT's at NES; the only certified to apply Advanced Life Support measures. Bear has agreed to stay on temporarily as NES transitions. However, if they get overwhelmed with calls Anchor Point Fire and Emergency Services is the closest service to respond.  

Anchorage Police Officers are encouraging the public to do a small housekeeping chore which could potentially save your life; properly maintaining your address numbers. Sgt. Steve Childers has been working with APD for going on 12 years. He said over the years, he and his fellow officers have been late to many calls simply because they can't find the right place. "Out of everyone on patrols here, it's several times a week," he said. He said it can get frustrating for the officers and the people who get help late, but much more importantly it gets in the way of responding to an emergency. "Whether it's the police or firefighters or paramedics it's about being able to find your house or business as fast as possible," he said, "because life and death can be the difference between minutes. So the faster we find you the faster we can help you."  

Some Sacramento city leaders up in arms over the airing of a reality television show that follows Sacramento firefighters and paramedics on the job. A&E's "Live Rescue" features first responders in cities and towns across the country -- and the Sacramento Fire Department is one of them. The show is now in its second season. Things changed this week with Sacramento City Councilmember Steve Hansen calling for the city to stop participating in the show because he said it exploits people. Sacramento Fire Capt. Keith Wade said the show helps educate the public about what their crews do.  

Just 10 miles from Findlay, Ohio is a small town called Vanlue. That's where you'll find the Fighting 600 Firehouse where a half dozen firefighters volunteer to save lives. "At any given moment," says volunteer firefighter, Ross Wentling, "we get pulled from our families and family events to help people we don't even know." Some of the men working at the station pull double duty as Vanlue Volunteer Firefighters and University of Findlay Police Officers. Steve Baum is one of them. In addition to his job as the University of Findlay Police Captain, Baum also serves as Assistant Chief of the firehouse. In 2009, Baum had surgery on his neck to fix a softball injury. Little did he know, his life would never be the same. Baum has paralysis on his right side but he doesn't let it slow him down.  

Bill Compton, senior vice president for Grady Emergency Medical Services, is happy to deliver data on response times for his ambulances in one of the most vulnerable corners of the state: south Fulton. And why wouldn't he be pleased? Grady, he said, has shaved off 10 minutes from the previous ambulance service's response times. "That's my Reader's Digest version," he recently told an Atlanta committee of evaluators.Meanwhile, not everyone is buying it, especially a competitor.Compton's data is "self-reported and not vetted,'' Terence Ramotor, regional director for American Medical Response, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. That's why he cautions against using the data to compare AMR's performance of a year ago to Grady's. Amid public uproars over long waits for emergency transport, debates over the accuracy of reported response times for ambulances are common across the state.  

Mike Kitsock never thought he'd still be fighting fires as a sexagenarian. But such is life for Kitsock, 66, in a land where volunteer ranks have dwindled and old wooden homes can quickly turn to ash. "We get a daytime call, I'm hoping there's two or three others who show up with me," said Kitsock, who still runs with the Seltzer Hose Company in Norwegian Township in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. In the early days, he had to jostle with 20 to 30 other volunteers just to get on the engine. Now, comparatively, it's a ghost town. Fifty years ago, Schuylkill County had 10,000 volunteers. Today, it still has 100 fire houses, but fewer than 1,000 volunteers. Longer working hours, longer commutes and the rise of dual-income households have left less time for volunteering. Firefighters are aging and not being replaced. Pennsylvania is the birthplace of the volunteer fire company and to this day most firefighting in the state — and in the country — is done by volunteers.  

The Department of Natural Resources is asking fire departments around the state to report their use of any firefighting foam that contains perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substances. A news release said the University of Wisconsin-Madison Survey Center is conducting a statewide survey on behalf of the DNR to locate the usage of PFAS in firefighting foams. The survey began on Jan. 13 and will end March 17, with results expected in early April. "All PFAS-containing foams have the potential to create an adverse environmental impact if released into the environment, particularly if the foam solutions reach drinking water sources, groundwater or surface waters," said Secretary-designee Preston D. Cole. "Knowing where this foam is will help us ensure that the environment is protected from its damaging effects."