VIDEO: The source of the carbon monoxide leak in the Williamson County Jail has been located. Contractors and engineers believe the carbon monoxide came from a boiler that malfunctioned overnight. That boiler will remain shut down until all repairs have been completed and the system passed all tests. Williamson County Sheriff Bennie Vick says all inmates who were in the area of the jail impacted by the Carbon monoxide leak have been evaluated, and 15 inmates have been treated and released at local hospitals. Vick also says all staff that may have been exposed either have been or will be assessed. All staff members who have been assessed have been released. The Marion Fire Department and Ameren have released the building to return to normal operations.  

In the past year, OSF St. Paul in Mendota has requested around 500 patient transfers from its facility. Mendota Fire Department was only able to take five of them. "That is not where we would like it to be," said Mendota fire chief Dennis Rutishauser. "We used to do around 400 transfers a year." The city has three ambulances to handle patient transfers but they lack the manpower to take the calls. If one ambulance crew was out bringing a patient from OSF St. Paul to another hospital, there may not be a comfortable amount of EMT's in town to handle an emergency situation. So, the department has been turning down a lot of calls in recent months in favor of adequately covering the city of Mendota's emergency calls. Rutishauser said the situation is a direct result of ongoing staffing issues at the department.  

Eisenhower Academy student Angelina Schliessman was the first place, fifth grade winner of the 2019 Joliet Fire Department Fire Prevention Week Poster Contest. The first place winners were recognized at the Exchange Club Firefighter of the Year Banquet. Other Joliet Public Schools District 86 student winners included Josselyn Cordova, Eisenhower Academy: second place, fifth grade; Yestini Hernandez, Isaac Singleton Elementary: third place, third grade; and Melissa Vela, Eisenhower Academy: third place, fourth grade. Over 1,700 posters were submitted from 19 local schools.  

The Elgin Fire Department is giving away 100 smoke detectors -- the new kind with sealed batteries -- while starting the effort to educate residents about a new law going into effect in 2023. Firefighters knocked on the doors of about 100 homes Wednesday afternoon in the neighborhood near fire station 6, 707 W. Chicago St., asking people if they had working smoke detectors and if they wanted a new one. Most who answered said they did; some invited firefighters inside to double-check, Fire Chief Dave Schmidt said.  

More firefighters have died by suicide than in the line of duty over the past year, according to the Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance. The numbers are staggering. According to Jeff Dill, founder of FBHA, in the past seven days, eight firefighters across the United States have taken their own lives. One was right here in Fayette County, Georgia. Dill knows the pressure firefighters and first responders face. He wore the uniform for almost 30 years. That's why he travels the country now to educate and teach firefighters and EMS workers behavioral health. Unfortunately, he says, it is a difficult subject to discuss. Many factors affect a firefighter's ability to understand when a fellow brother or sister is suffering, but that does not make it any less critical an issue.  

It was a hot, windy day in Southern California when a trash truck caught fire and the driver dumped the burning garbage on the side of the road. Minutes later, powerful winds blew the flames across a hillside and into a mobile home community, killing two people and destroying dozens of homes. No California law governs how trash haulers respond to a fire in their truck, leaving it to the waste industry to provide guidance. The industry has long recommended drivers quickly unload burning garbage to ensure their safety, prevent explosions and limit damage to vehicles that can cost up to $300,000. Now, as California braces for several days of hot, windy weather, industry leaders are taking a second look at whether the guidance makes sense when the threat of wildfires is high.  

The state House has voted to exempt volunteer fire departments from Pennsylvania's Right to Know Law, which journalists and the general public can use to request information from public entities. Supporters of the bill say it is a needed correction to a burdensome system, but opponents say it just makes the departments needlessly opaque. The Right to Know exemption is one of eighteen bills the legislature is considering this week in a package intended to help fire departments and emergency medical services find more volunteers and get on firmer financial footing. Most aren't controversial. But the exemption prompted debate. Sponsor Lee James, a Venango County Republican, said volunteer fire departments should never have been subject to Right to Know in the first place.  

A free specialized plate proposed for firefighters and emergency responders was intended to be free for the duration of an individual's volunteer service, not just for the first year, according to an opinion just issued by Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem. The opinion was sought by Senate Transportation Committee Member David Rust, R-Tioga, and House Transportation Committee Chairman Dan Ruby after questions were raised during the 2019 biennium related to implementing Measure 4, approved by voters in 2018. Rust said the House first proposed an amendment limiting free registration to only the first year, saying that the measure was unclear. The Senate, meanwhile, decided to take the measure out, which led the two chambers to seek the Attorney General's opinion on the intent of the bill. Rust said he was pleased with the outcome, and that the opinion clarifies the matter for everyone involved.  

EMS structure in urban areas varies to fit the need of the community. It is often part of the Fire Department – but may be a third service separate from police and fire – or follow a public utility model privately contracted to provide EMS services. In more suburban and rural areas EMS often follows a fourth model, with volunteers providing part or all of the EMS care in that county. Responding to emergencies within an airport is a unique challenge that does not fit a traditional model of any kind and carries with it the need for a special response team. During 2017, the Nashville International Airport (BNA) saw 13.5 million passengers pass through its gates. With this influx of travelers comes a wide variety of associated medical emergencies and the need for rapid response. From 2016 to 2018, there was an average of 512 medical emergencies per year at BNA.