Paramedics are running into often hour-long wait times when transferring patients from an ambulance to a hospital, Houston Fire Chief Sam Peña said Thursday. Peña said the department has been receiving a 20 percent higher call volume over the last three weeks, and that when paramedics arrive at the hospital with patients, the time it takes to get the person into the hospital is taking double or triple the normal amount of time. "The longer it takes us to service those critical calls, it is going to cost us in lives," Peña said. "Our system is getting strained." He said at least 560 calls for service resulted in hour-long wait times or longer within the past three weeks, straining a department that is already short-handed by about 300 firefighters, with another 241 "out of service" due to either quarantine or positive COVID-19 tests.  

An investigation is underway after a burned body was found outside a warehouse Saturday morning in northeast Houston, police said. The discovery was made at 6:27 a.m. in the 4800 block of Moore Street. Houston firefighters went out to the location to put out a trash fire and found the man's body in the dumpster, Houston police said. Witnesses reported that they heard gunshots, police said. The medical examiner has to determine whether the victim died of gunshot wounds or from the fire, police said. It is unknown if any suspects were involved. The scene is under investigation.  

An investigation is underway after a motel fire over the weekend. The call came in Saturday at 1:09 p.m. for a fire at the Royal Inn in the 3100 block of Seymour highway. Firefighters found smoke coming from a doorway, as well as a dumpster on fire near the end of the building. Crews were able to break into the room and rescue a man inside who was taken to United Regional for severe burn and smoke injuries. The damage is estimated at $22,000.  

Houston political and medical leaders joined forces Friday to ramp up the push for everyone to do their part in fighting the coronavirus pandemic. The numbers speak for themselves. More than 10 percent of Houstonians being tested for COVID-19 are positive, according to Dr. David Persse with the Houston Health Department. That's a 30 percent increase from three months ago. The virus is taking its toll on our first responders. At the same time, 911 calls are up 20 percent, the Houston Fire Department has 186 firefighters currently in quarantine. Hundreds of firefighters and police officers have tested positive for coronavirus. He said transferring patients from an HFD ambulance to a hospital ER oftentimes takes an hour or more. "We have 104 ambulances in the system, and we need each one to be as efficient as we can," said Chief Pena.  

Houston Arson Bureau is investigating a large fire Saturday morning at an automotive business in the Acres Homes area. Houston Fire Department received a call at 10:05 a.m. and fire engines were on the scene within three minutes. Investigators said the fire happened at an automotive business in the 5600 block of Shepherd Drive near W. Montgomery Road. Heavy smoke could be seen billowing from the building as crews worked to subdue the fire, officials said. HFD said the fire was tapped out at 10:29 a.m. No injuries were reported.  

Every JFRD firefighter will be tested for COVID-19. Testing started Saturday after 14 tested positive for the virus. The city said more than 200 firefighter are in self-quarantine. COVID-19 tests are underway on everyone in the Jacksonville Fire Department after 14 firefighters tested positive for the virus. Mayor Lenny Curry tweeted out the news earlier Saturday evening. He said, "while this could lead to more of our first responders sidelined through quarantine, my top priority remains slowing the spread of the virus." Right now, 214 firefighters are sidelined. There are approximately 1,550 firefighters, so about 14% of the department is off the streets right now. Action News Jax asked Randy Wyse, president of the Jacksonville Association of Firefighters if this is going to impact the department's response. His response: "No. I don't think anybody on the streets will see an altered response."  

A car slammed into the living area of a Rialto fire station Friday night, June 26, almost striking a firefighter and leaving a stew of smashed furniture, broken glass and vehicle fluid behind as it reversed out of the building. The firefighter, an engineer who is a veteran of 15 years, was sitting about 3 feet from where the front quarter of the car went into the building, Battalion Chief Cory Cisneros said Saturday. The firefighter was treated at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton for minor injuries and released. He is expected to spend two weeks recovering at home, Cisneros said Saturday. "If it was a foot to the north, we'd be having a funeral," Cisneros said. Cisneros said the driver appeared to be about 19. He also was hospitalized with minor injuries, Cisneros said. Rialto police could not be reached for comment on the circumstances of the crash Saturday. The station remained open Saturday, Cisneros said.  

A conflict is brewing between the Oneida County Department of Emergency Services and a handful of local fire chiefs who do not want to give up their 3-digit identification numbers. The county 9-1-1 Center is planning to switch from number identifications to plain language in order to better serve an impending upgrade to a digital radio system. But the local chiefs say they do not want to give up their 3-digits because of tradition and other technical concerns. "There's a lot of history that goes with the identification," said Western Fire Chief Michael Anania, who has been ‘650' for more than 20 years. Anania said he has no plans to change that identification, and he is also worried about what will happen if every chief in the county suddenly becomes "car one." "If you go to a fire scene, when somebody talks on the radio, the majority of the time the first part of the transmission gets cut off. So if we have six ‘car ones' there, they're all the same identify. But if you have six different chief numbers there, they're individuals. It's less confusing at a fire scene."  

Startup Allerio announced that its easy-to-use Mobile Hub broadband platform designed for EMS use and the healthcare community has been certified for use by the FCC and multiple U.S. carriers—FirstNet/AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and U.S. Cellular. "One of the unique things about this is that there's one button on it—it turns the device on, and it turns the device off," Allerio CEO TJ Kennedy said during an interview with IWCE's Urgent Communications. "Everything else—setting up the unit on the multiple networks, engaging with VPNs and everything else, from a security standpoint—happens automatically for you. There's nothing you have to do." Introduced last fall and available immediately, the Allerio Mobile Hub has been redesigned to be even more portable while maintaining the ability support three LTE broadband connections, Kennedy said. Weighing 1.96 pounds, the Mobile Hub is 8.9 inches by 7.4 inches, with a thickness of just 1.2 inches, based on the company's specification sheet about the Mobile Hub.  

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday expanded its list of risk factors that make people more likely to develop severe illness or die from COVID-19. The update comes as the number of confirmed coronavirus infections rises to record levels in the United States, driven by alarming spikes in Florida, Texas and other states across the South and West. The agency also said that pregnant women might be at higher risk, though more research is needed on that and a number of other underlying health conditions that may affect risk. The chance of severe illness from COVID-19 increases with age, with older adults at highest risk, but the CDC noted that the risk doesn't begin suddenly at age 65. Instead, "people in their 50s are at higher risk for severe illness than people in their 40s. Similarly, people in their 60s or 70s are, in general, at higher risk for severe illness than people in their 50s. The greatest risk for severe illness from COVID-19 is among those aged 85 or older."