Weslaco Firefighters Association is asking for an improved response to COVID-19 to ensure the safety of firefighters. According to the release, Weslaco firefighters have not been provided with adequate safety measures to protect themselves, such as proper personal protection equipment (PPE). "Without better coordination and cooperation, the health and safety of Weslaco citizens and firefighters will be put at risk. This is life and death. We urge the fire chief to work with us, not against us. Our requests for better COVID-19 protocols are intended to keep our fire department strong and the citizens safe. This is not a time for political retaliation or attacking the messenger. Our focus must be on ensuring public safety and making the most of the resources we have in Weslaco," said John Peña, president of the Weslaco Firefighters Association in the release.  

Two abandoned Sherman homes were destroyed and another occupied home was damaged in a fire Tuesday morning police are now investigating as arson. Authorities said it happened around 11 a.m. in the 300 block of West Middleton near Rusk. "Upon arrival of Sherman Fire and Police units, an abandoned home was found fully engulfed in flames," Sherman Police Sgt. Brett Mullen said. "The fire from the initial structure spread to the two neighboring homes, one that was also abandoned and one that was occupied." Mullen said Sherman firefighters were able to quickly extinguish the fire on the occupied home, saving it from major damage. The two abandoned homes were a total loss. No one was injured as a result of the fire. Two of the houses were unoccupied, and one family has been displaced.  

Police and firefighters were dispatched after a report of a possible structure fire Tuesday in a chemical room with people still inside. At 11:25 a.m. Tuesday, April 14, 2020, police were dispatched to Lone Star Beef Processors, 2150 E. 37th Street. "A container of acid was compromised due to the fire," Jay Neely, San Angelo Fire Department Battalion Chief said. "It leaked out about 50 gallons. We didn't know what is was, but it turned out to be a concentrated cleaning solution. We are more relaxed now." The fire was extinguished, and the solution will be diluted with 1,000 gallons of water. "After that, the fire marshal will inspect and see what actually caused the fire," Neely said. Neely said there were no injuries reported.  

A second San Antonio firefighter has tested positive for COVID-19. Both firefighters diagnosed with the novel coronavirus were assigned to the same station, but they worked different shifts. The contact tracing for the second firefighter is underway, and crew members who worked with this individual have been sent home to isolate until the process is complete. The firefighter in the second COVID-19 case began to feel ill at work April 11th and was immediately sent home. Those identified as close contacts will be quarantined if necessary, following the recommendations of Metro Health. "There are fire departments all over the country that have hundreds of positives, so this is something that we have really tried to prepare for, but it's something that is not unexpected," San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood told the City Council Tuesday. He said the number of potential COVID-19 emergency calls is on the rise. Monday, they responded to 28 calls, and 17 patients were transported to hospitals.  

Austin-Travis County EMS is performing a high-angle rescue near the 3918 block of S. MoPac Expressway service road after a hiker fell off a "20 foot cliff" under a MoPac bridge near the Barton Creek Greenbelt. ATCEMS says contact with the hiker has happened and they are currently setting up a high angle rope system to extricate and haul the patient to the topside of the cliff. The hiker was declared trauma alert and treatment and packaging are underway. ATCEMS is being assisted by the Austin and Westlake fire departments.  

As they continue to work on the front lines during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, some Austin firefighters received a surprise Friday from one of Austin's most famous residents. Actor Matthew McConaughey and his wife, supermodel Camila Alves, visited AFD Station 32 in west Austin with a special announcement. The celebrity couple is giving several thousand N-95 masks to the station as part of their donation of 80,000 masks to frontline healthcare workers, firefighters and police working in Austin and New Orleans.  

For the first time, a Princeton company is offering military-grade technology to first responders that they hope will save lives during this pandemic. They are called the X2 MR Glasses. "What these glasses are essentially are basically a phone on your face," said Nick Cherukuri, the CEO of ThirdEye Gen. ThirdEye Gen says the glasses have a thermal sensor that allows a paramedic to take a patient's temperature without ever touching them. And they send real-time audio and video back to the hospital. "And a doctor located 100 miles away could see exactly what the medic sees live from the camera point of view of the glasses. So the medic is handsfree, they can still be helping out the patient," said Cherukuri The glasses can show multiple screens with face recognition technology that can link to a patient's medical history within seconds.  

The Town of Hanover has launched a mobile integrated health program, which is described as an innovative approach toward meeting the health needs of residents during the COVID-19 pandemic. The program is in partnership with South Shore Health, which obtained a temporary license from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health for the Town of Hanover to take part. Hanover is the first municipality in Massachusetts to launch such a program. "The Hanover Fire Department has been looking for quite a while to participate in the mobile integrated health program," Hanover Fire Chief Jeffrey Blanchard told Boston 25 News. "The COVID-19 emergency opened the door to move things along." When the coronavirus started to spread in Massachusetts, South Shore Health reached out to local municipalities to see if they wanted to take part in the program and treat COVID-19 patients in their city or town.  

California has evacuation plans for earthquakes, floods, mudslides and, of course, wildfires, but what if one of those disasters occurs as the state is dealing with the coronavirus outbreak when everyone is being urged to stay home? State and local officials are trying to figure that out. "That's something that is being looked at, but it's challenging," said California Office of Emergency Services' spokesman Brian Ferguson. Kim Zagaris, longtime fire and rescue chief for the emergency services agency, came out of retirement to help with planning during the virus crisis. "One of the basic premises is to plan and be prepared for all types and kind of emergencies," he said. "We're disaster-prone, so you have to be prepared for multiple things at multiple times." But as officials scramble to catch up, there is a disconnect between local and state authorities on who should be developing the guidelines.  

To protect themselves from coronavirus, firefighters in Jefferson have a new way of wiping down their equipment after making runs. They're applying a mixture of bleach and water to the insides their ambulances and fire engines as well as on the surfaces of their gear. "Any of the equipment that is actually in the ambulance -- the cot, the monitor -- is available to be decontaminated with the same product," said Jefferson Assistant Fire Chief Jerry Wendt. Wendt says it was protocol before coronavirus to disinfect everything after a run. But the wipes they were using were getting hard to come by. So they switched to the water and bleach concoction the Centers for Disease Control has recommended. Wendt believes it's turned out to be more effective.  

The global novel coronavirus pandemic has claimed more than 120,000 lives around the world. The United States now has more than 600,000 diagnosed cases and suffered at least 25,000 deaths. The death toll in New York, the epicenter of the pandemic in the U.S., has surpassed 10,000. Since the novel coronavirus hit the U.S., John Moore, a senior staff photographer and special correspondent for Getty Images, has documented several aspects of the crisis. His work has included stories on the impact of the pandemic on undocumented Honduran immigrants, virus testing, families isolating at home, as well as the initial outbreak in Washington state. This month the photographer spent time documenting the work of Empress emergency medical services personnel in Westchester County and the Bronx in New York. Empress EMS has 575 EMTs and paramedics treating and transporting patients to hospitals throughout Westchester County and parts of New York City.