The City of Amarillo has announced Jason Mays as the new fire chief of the Amarillo Fire Department. Mays succeeds former AFD Chief Jeff Greenlee. Greenlee recently announced his retirement, which will be effective April 8. Mays has been with AFD since March of 1999. He has served in various roles, included as AFD Deputy Chief of Operations. "The city conducted an extensive and thorough search for the next fire chief," said City Manager Jared Miller. "This was a competitive process with a strong field of candidates. Jason Mays possesses the experience, leadership and qualifications that have made the Amarillo Fire Department one of the top fire departments in the entire nation. Chief Mays will continue the Amarillo Fire Department's long standard of excellence and public service."  

More than 65 percent of first responders from Texas emergency service districts surveyed say they do not have enough personal protection equipment to handle COVID-19 exposure. The survey was administered by the State Association of Fire and Emergency Districts, also known as SAFE-D. The association represents roughly 75 percent of Texas' 334 emergency service districts, or ESDs. First responders representing 138 of those ESDs - approximately 41 percent of the 334 - responded to the survey. An ESD is a political subdivision funding fire, and or, emergency medical services. "The real issue is that if we don't have [PPE] and all of a sudden our folks start to come down with COVID-19 - then we don't have EMTs, we don't have firefighters when we need them," said Cliff Avery, executive director of SAFE-D.  

VIDEO: This is no April Fool's joke. A semi tractor-trailer carrying a load of toilet paper caught fire in North Texas on Wednesday morning. It was around 4:00 a.m. when the big rig crashed and burst into flames along Interstate-20, near the I-45 interchange. Thousands of rolls of toilet paper went up in smoke, causing police to close all lanes of westbound I-20 in southern Dallas County. A CBS 11 News crew spoke with the truck driver who said he hit a bump, lost control, and hit a highway barrier before the big rig rolled over. The trucker said he was taking the load of toilet paper to San Antonio. Firefighters were able to quickly douse the flames, but are expected to spend hours at the scene putting out hot spots. Crews are also being brought in to clean up the mess. Investigators are still trying to find out what sparked the fire.  

As first responders battle COVID-19, an Austin-Travis County EMS staffer and a Lake Travis Fire Rescue squad are trying to resolve an issue that arose between the departments over the weekend. Paramedic Damon Fogley recently posted a blog stating that he was told to leave his fire station by the department's staff "simply because I'm an EMS provider." In the post, Fogley alleged the relocation was discriminatory and made out of fear that he might spread COVID-19 to other first responders. He wrote in the post that neither he nor his partner have ever tested positive for the disease. Fogley's unit, which includes his partner and an ambulance, was housed at Station 605 of Lake Travis Fire Rescue, also known as Travis County Emergency Services District No. 6, located in Steiner Ranch.  

The McKinney Fire Department (MFD) Fire Station 10 will be fully operational with staff starting at 6:30am on Thursday, April 2nd. The new station located at 1150 Olympic Crossing will protect the quickly growing Trinity Falls area. McKinney Fire Station 10 includes a fire engine, on-site training facility and the latest technology for preventing cancer among firefighters. We are excited to meet our new neighbors but ask residents not to drop by for visits at this time. MFD plans to hold a dedication ceremony and open house after the COVID-19 social distancing ends "McKinney is growing quickly, and our fire department is growing right along with it," said McKinney Fire Chief Danny Kistner. "Trinity Falls can be proud of this facility and the men and women who will be working there."  

PHOTOS: Last Friday, Canyon Lake Fire & EMS transported a second suspected COVID-19 patient in a special unit — ingeniously and inexpensively outfitted to protect against spread of the virus. "Earlier this month one of our back-up (reserve) ambulances was outfitted with a plastic liner inside the patient compartment area of the truck," Chief Darren Brinkkoeter said. "On March 19, our unit was the first in our district used to transport a patient meeting the COVID-19 criteria." Brinkkoeter said the department's Infectious Disease Response Unit, or IDRU, which was staffed by two paramedics, sped that patient to an Austin hospital. Upon returning, the ambulance area, lined with thick plastic, was quickly decontaminated. "The IDRU utilizes an expedited decontamination process and prevents spread of the virus," he said. "What we've done is added a protective layer — thick plastic — lining the inside of the patient area of the unit.  

VIDEO: N95 masks are ideally single-use, which contributes to the shortage felt by first responders amid the COVID-19 pandemic. That's why one southern Colorado fire department sought out a way to extend the life of each mask. South Fork Fire Rescue in the San Luis Valley says it's developed a way to safely reuse a mask up to 10 times. "This UVC Chamber allows the use of an N95 to be extended to 10 times vs a single-use," said Captain Tyler Schmidt with SFFR in a Facebook post. "It doesn't cure the current shortage being experienced during the COVID-19 Pandemic, but it will help us stretch our masks a little longer until the factories can keep up with demand." Schmidt posted a video explaining how to build the UV light chamber and the department's calculations.  

A partnership between FEMA and New York City is aiming to bring aid to an overburdened FDNY EMS system that has received an "unprecedented" influx of calls due to the coronavirus (COVID-19). Mayor Bill de Blasio, FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro, NYC Emergency Management Commissioner Deanne Criswell and FEMA Region II Administrator Tom Van Essen announced the partnership, which will bring more than 250 ambulances and approximately 500 more EMTs to the city. "When I heard that this was actually a real thing, that people would come from around the country and help us out with ambulances, I almost didn't believe it — but, seeing is believing" said Nigro. "All I can say is thank you so much for the people of the city of New York," said Nigro, at Fort Totten in Queens — where EMTs from across the U.S. were gathered on Tuesday.  

The police and fire departments have gone full Star Wars on battling the coronavirus. Cops and firefighters are using electrostatic guns to disinfect cruisers, cells, fire apparatus and equipment. "It looks like something out of Star Wars," Police Chief Brian Clark said Tuesday, adding that the gun quickly and evenly coats a surface with a chlorine solution. The applicator gives a negative charge to the disinfecting solution as it exits the nozzle. It allows the sanitizer to wrap around and evenly coat all types of surfaces for a better cleaning job, Clark said. In addition, the surfaces that are already covered repel the spray, making the method extremely efficient. "It cleans more. It's more efficient and you don't have to touch the surface," Clark said.  

As lawmakers prepare a fourth round of stimulus relief in response to the coronavirus pandemic, a Michigan lawmaker plans to introduce a bill this week calling for a federal income tax holiday for doctors, nurses and first responders. Rep. Bill Huizenga, a Zeeland Republican, said the proposed tax holiday for three months is modeled after how the federal government excludes income taxes from members of the military serving on the front lines in combat zones. It's targeted at first responders like police, firefighters, paramedics and emergency medical technicians. The holiday also would cover hospital staffers such as nurses, doctors, physicians assistants and nurse practitioners who work in a county with at least one case of COVID-19 or are providing direct services to COVID patients in a hospital. "If we're viewing this as sort of a war-like footing, then let's try to treat it that way," Huizenga said.  

VIDEO: A group of first responders in Palmdale expressed their appreciation to those on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic Monday night. The salute to doctors, nurses and medical staff at Palmdale Regional Medical Center took place around 7:30 p.m., coinciding with the setting sun, according to a post on the Palmdale sheriff's staton's Facebook page. Sheriff's deputies, as well as personnel from the Los Angeles County Fire Department and California Highway Patrol, took part in the salute. They parked their patrol cars and fire engines outside the hospital, located at 38600 Medical Center Drive, then turned their emergency lights on. Numerous first responder vehicles were lined up at the curb outside the facility, and many had their sirens turned on, video of the demonstration showed. The bright, flashing lights, as well as the many sirens blaring, caught the attention of the emergency room staff.