False alarms continued to sap resources for Jacksonville firefighters last year, although improved safety standards have led to a better classification for the community. In the department's 2019 annual report, presented Monday to the City Council, Fire Chief Doug Sills said the department's total responses have doubled since 2014 — when the department had just more than 1,500 calls. It responded to 3,288 calls in 2019. False alarms accounted for 432 of those 2019 calls, about 229 more than in 2018. The bright spot for residents was that the city's rating by Insurance Services Office improved for the first time since the 1990s. The rating, often known as the ISO fire score, denotes how equipped a department is to fight fires in the community.  

The City Council voted Monday to approve purchasing a new ambulance for the Bloomington Fire Department and replacing the city's older water meters. The city will purchase a 2020 Horton ambulance through the Suburban Purchasing Cooperative from Foster Coach Sales Inc., Sterling, for $275,103 and dispose of a 2012 International ambulance through an online auction. The ambulance was among items on the consent agenda that passed unanimously without discussion during the council's short meeting. The ambulance will be based at Station No. 2, at 1911 Hamilton Road in southeast Bloomington. "This is a replacement for an ambulance that is going on eight years old," Fire Chief Brian Mohr said after the meeting.  

She's only 4 months old, but Scarlett Soeder was the star of the show at Monday night's Barrington village board meeting. It was just two months ago that Barrington firefighters and police rushed to Scarlett's home when her mother, Claudia Del Fiacco, called 911 to report Scarlett didn't have a pulse and was not breathing. The first responders who saved Scarlett were honored at the village board session. Scarlett's father, Jon Soeder, thanked everyone involved in saving Scarlett on behalf of his wife and two other children, 10-year-old Luca and Cristian, 6. He held Scarlett while he spoke in the packed board room. Reading from an account by the Northwest Community Emergency Medical Services System, Barrington Fire Chief Jim Arie said a police officer started CPR on Scarlett just before firefighters arrived Nov, 20. The officer, John McGowan, then handed Scarlett to Assistant Fire Chief Bruce Peterson, who continued chest compressions.  

Two Jacksonville firefighters stabbed by a patient in their ambulance are back on the duty and speaking about the ordeal for the first time. Three and a half months after a violent attack, Capt. Latorrence Norris and Engineer Vincent Harper said they were dangerously close to losing their lives at the hands of someone they were trying to help. The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department partners, assigned to Rescue 2 in Springfield, were taking a patient to the hospital in October when they said he started attacking them. The patient, whom the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office identified as 38-year-old Tony Harris, grabbed a box cutter from Norris and began to stab him with it, the firefighters said. First responders often carry box cutters or knives on emergency calls, in case they need to free someone from a seat belt or a rope.  

More than a handful of firefighters shared personal, powerful stories about the challenges they've faced while diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. Their families and mental health experts joined them in asking Nebraska state senators to champion first responders and a new bill, which they say will help them better serve communities by providing guarantees and options for mental health treatment. Nebraska state Sen. Tom Brewer, who introduced LB 963, wrote the following language in the bill he introduced to the Business and Labor Committee at Monday's public hearing: "First responders face unique and uniquely dangerous risks in their sworn mission to keep the public safe. It is imperative for society to recognize occupational injuries related to post-traumatic stress."  

VIDEO: Operators at 911 centers across southern Arizona are screening calls for possible cases of coronavirus. The Arizona Department of Health Services confirmed the state's first case of the illness on Sunday, Jan. 26. The following day, experts offered resources and guidelines from NHTSA Office of EMS for first responders to limit their exposure to coronavirus. Before those emergency crews respond to a situation, 911 operators will ask some additional questions to people who mention respiratory issues. "There's already been one case here in Arizona and we're doing this for our providers safety as well," said Mike Thompson, Communications Center Manager for American Medical Response in southern Arizona. He said AMR teams across the country rolled out the safety measure Friday following a recommendation from the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch and local medical directors.  

This Wednesday, Jan. 29, KRDO will once again team up with Shield 616 for an all day telethon. This time, it's to buy rifle-rated vests for Colorado Springs firefighters. KRDO has been working hand in hand with Shield 616 for years. Tonight, we're looking back at what the non-profit stands for, where it came from and what's next. A former Colorado Springs police officer, Jake Skifstad, had a vision. As a first-responder himself, he knew what they needed. As an officer with CSPD, Jake responded to two active shooter situations -- New Life and Planned Parenthood. "I tell people, when we strip off that badge, we're the same as you. We have the same stresses, the same emotions. We have families at home but we just have to train ourselves to go against human nature. And that's still hard. And it is terrifying sometimes."  

Pelham author Jeanne LaSala-Taylor has written a just-released children's book, "Just Bunny and the Great Fire Rescue." Based on a true story of her daughter's stuffed bunny being rescued from a burning building, this book provides a special thanks to firefighters everywhere for saving lives – and stuffed bunnies, too. LaSala-Taylor was also rescued from a fire in her apartment building in 2007, and wrote this book in recognition of the service and sacrifice of the brave men and women of the FDNY. Part of the proceeds from the sale of this book will benefit the New York Firefighters Burn Center Foundation. "Just Bunny" is Francesca's right-hand stuffy who has been with her through thick and thin since day one. Nothing can tear these two apart – except, maybe, a fire. Thankfully, one of New York's bravest is on the scene to prove that selfless acts of kindness happen every day.