First responders in Wheaton who need to self-isolate from their families during the new coronavirus crisis can now do so for free at Wheaton College. The college is offering 58 units in its Terrace Apartments to accommodate police, paramedics, firefighters and other first responders. Wheaton College President Philip Ryken said in a statement, "Since our founding, Wheaton College has enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship with the City of Wheaton. We are eager to support our first responders as they work selflessly to save lives in this community." Wheaton College shifted to remote campus operations as of March 19, though some students are still on campus. The Terrace Apartments are three blocks from the Wheaton College campus and are not "contiguous to" other residences, according to city officials. This will help ensure the safety of anyone still on campus, officials said.  

A Danville man who allegedly set several fires in that city since April 1, including two where people were present, remains jailed in lieu of $300,000 bond. Vermilion County State's Attorney Jacqueline Lacy said Shane Wombles, 39, who listed an address in the 400 block of North Beard Street, was charged Thursday in three separate cases following his arrest Wednesday morning. Danville police were called just before 6 a.m. Wednesday to the Circle K gas station, 1212 N. Bowman Ave., for a car fire. The vehicle's owner was working there when another employee told her someone was in her car. She saw a man get out the passenger side and something on fire in the car. She pulled the items out and smothered the fire.  

No one was injured Thursday morning when a fire damaged the cafe in the lobby of the Bloomington-Normal Marriott Hotel & Conference Center. The hotel remains open and operations will not be affected by the damage or restoration work. The cafe had "heavy" fire damage and the lobby was damaged by water. A cause and dollar estimate were not immediately available. The Normal Fire Department was called to the hotel at 201 Broadway St. at 7:33 a.m. for a fire reported in the Caffeina's Marketplace Cafe inside the lobby. Before firefighters arrived, a hotel employee tried to put out the fire using a fire extinguisher, but the fire sprinklers were triggered within a few moments "and began flowing water to slow the spread of the fire," according to a news release from Normal Fire.  

Starting Thursday, the Hendersonville Fire Department will be handing out important cleaning protocols for residents who may have come into contact with COVID-19. The three-page fact sheet covers deep cleaning and disinfecting and other CDC-approved protocols. The information will be disseminated every time Hendersonville Fire and EMS crews go out on a COVID-19 call, whether the patients are positive or not. The campaign covers many topics from how to deep clean a house, to how to disinfect surfaces, to how to make CDC-approved cleaners. The information is especially beneficial if someone in the house has been sick. "We'll start handing those out on the calls we go on, whether it is suspected or positive case, we feel like if someone was transported from the house, it was a perfect opportunity for us to give them the paperwork and for them to decon the house before that patient came home," said Hendersonville Fire Chief Scotty Bush.  

The U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron "Thunderbirds" will show their support for frontline COVID-19 responders with a flyover the Las Vegas Valley on Saturday. "The flyover is to show appreciation and support for the healthcare workers, first responders and other essential personnel in Las Vegas and around the nation who are working on the front lines to combat the coronavirus," the Thunderbirds said in a news release. Saturday's flyover will feature eight F-16 Fighting Falcons, soaring throughout Las Vegas starting at 2:30 p.m. and will last approximately 25 minutes, officials said. "It is an honor to fly for the Americans at the forefront of our nation's fight against the coronavirus," said Lt. Col. John Caldwell, Thunderbirds commander and leader.  

Gov. Charlie Baker is taking steps to shield doctors, nurses and some health care facilities on the front lines from liability as a possible surge in coronavirus cases is expected. Existing federal and state laws already provide some protections to health care workers and volunteers against civil lawsuits, but a bill Baker filed Wednesday "would provide broader liability protections appropriate to the scope of the challenge our health care providers are confronting," Baker wrote in a letter urging legislators to act quickly. "During this pandemic, we're in unprecedented times where our providers may be asked to make difficult choices and we're asking them to operate in conditions that they've never planned for. We need to make sure that fear of getting sued doesn't prevent them from being able to do what they need to do to treat as many people as possible," Baker said at a press conference Wednesday at the State House. In addition to doctors and nurses, the bill would also protect EMTs and facilities like the field hospitals at Worcester's DCU Center and South Boston's convention center.  

Uncertainties over how long the coronavirus restrictions on public gatherings and interaction will be in place has prompted the Kentucky Fire Commission to allow fire departments and firefighters to conduct "virtual" training. Virtual training is conducted in real time and differs from online training classes, which are pre-posted training sessions available at any time, executive director Larry Potter noted. The new regulations take effect Friday. "The Kentucky Fire Commission recognizes that virtual classrooms/learning/meetings have become the norm due to the current COVID-19 state of emergency," Potter wrote, listing several online platforms fire departments can use. The new rules are in effect until the coronavirus state of emergency is lifted. But the new rules will allow departments to continue valuable training hours.  

Because of the COVID 19 pandemic, Personal protective equipment is in high demand. That creates a challenge to the U.S. healthcare system for people like Brian Hambek who is the Executive Director of the Spearfish Ambulance Service. "We're worried about what we call burn rate on PPE, Personal Protective Equipment, and that is a one time use thing that you throw away," said Hambek. "Well we don't have the back-up for this, we don't have the supplies coming in. So we have to re-use whatever we can." The Spearfish Ambulance Service found an answer at Black Hills State University, an autoclave. It's like a medical-grade steam cleaner and it works like this. Masks are taken out of brown paper bags labeled with the responder's name and put onto shelves that slid into the autoclave. One of the people in charge of the autoclave is Assistant Director Facility Services at Black Hills State University Mike Overby.