Ketchikan Fire Department has announced the promotion of Gretchen O'Sullivan from Senior Medic to Fire Marshal, effective Nov. 1, 2020. O'Sullivan started with KFD as a volunteer in 1993 and has held many different positions within the department including Volunteer Firefighter, Firefighter/EMT, Firefighter/Medic, and Senior Fire Medic. "Gretchen possesses a strong resume of experience, education, and professional achievements," the department said in a statement. During her tenure with KFD, O'Sullivan has been involved in many aspects of the organization and often volunteers to take on projects beyond her normal scope of responsibility, including establishing recruit academies, providing training to adjoining agencies, advanced training within KFD, and conducting fire investigations.  

VIDEO: A crash that sparked a brush fire forced the closure of part of Interstate 80 in Placer County for several hours Thursday. A vehicle slammed into a power pole on westbound I-80 at Highway 193 in the Newcastle area, knocking powerlines onto the highway and Ophir Road and igniting a fire, according to the Placer County Sheriff's Office. I-80 was closed in both directions between Highway 49 at Auburn and Highway 193 at Newcastle. The roadway reopened around 10:50 a.m. No one was injured in the crash and crews were able to contain the blaze.  

On Thursday, Brittani Rawls became Passaic Fire Department's first female tillerman. That's the firefighter who sits in a seat in back and steers the tail end of a firetruck. It's the kind of challenge she relishes, because in a city crammed with traffic, tight streets and double-parked cars, life for the tillerman is never dull. There are no brakes. Instead the job requires a feel for how the back of the truck swings and for what the driver is doing so that the tillerman can adjust the movement of the back end. Rawls often has to steer one way and then quickly recover. "It kind of glides," Rawls said, adding that often people don't realize how far the rear of the enormous ladder truck might have to swing out. "I love it. I live for the thrill of things." Becoming certified as a tillerman requires nerves of steel and lots of training. It's a big achievement, fire officials say.  

This is the first year the Victoria Fire Department will administer flu shots for the homeless and low-income families and it's all part of a long-range plan for the department to have more public health outreach. "Due to COVID-19 we felt this was a great year and a great opportunity to start that," said Tracy Fox, VFD Chief. …and they're not just doing it to help the most vulnerable members of our community. "Well we also want to reduce the impact on the hospitals are going to be faced with COVID-19 and then flu after that," Fox said. It's clear the homeless community's health needs are not being met, Fox said, which makes outreach important. "This is just one of those ways where we can also help our response by improving the health of our homeless and vulnerable populations," Fox said. "By vaccinating them for flu, we won't have to take care of them during the flu season."  

Tifton fighters are trading in their boots for high heels to show support for the fight against domestic violence. Kiefer Daughtry is an engineer at the Tifton Fire Department, and right before the interview, he traded in his work shoes for a pair of fuchsia-colored high heels. "What's going through your head right now? How does it feel?" asked Poitevint. "It feels terrible. I'm ready to put shoes on," said Daughtry. "How long have you been in them right now?" asked Bobby. "Five minutes," replied Daughtry. Daughtry said it's nothing like anything he's ever worn before. "Oh, absolutely not. The boots we wear are steel-toe and pretty sturdy. These shoes are way worse," explained Daughtry. This is all part of an outreach initiative by Ruth's Cottage and the Patticake House.  

Have you ever heard of a fire truck being raffled off? That's what one Schuylkill County fire company is doing. "We've gotten some messages. I've gotten some messages from people saying, 'what are you guys thinking?' But honestly, it's a good truck, and we're going to give it a shot," said Sam Detweiler of Liberty Fire Company No. 4 in Schuylkill Haven. "Wherever it goes, it'll get a good home." Liberty Fire Company is raffling off this 1992 Pierce Arrow Pumper fire truck. "We had this apparatus for sale three months ago, and it's been for sale ever since," said Aaron Schimpf of Liberty Fire Company. "I think because of the pandemic, fire companies just not interested in making an investment at this time, so we decided to raffle the truck." If you want it, you'll be facing some competition. It's $100 a chance, and the fire company is only selling 250 tickets and a good chunk of those are already sold. Bids have come in from all across the country, including Oregon.