Ron Fonger
mlive.com
(TNS)

FLINT, MI — The city is upgrading emergency response tools for firefighters on Flint ambulances that went into service just nine months ago.

Mayor Sheldon Neeley and Fire Chief Theron Wiggins unveiled two pieces of new equipment — a chest compression system and cardiac monitors/defibrillators during a news conference on Wednesday, July 2.

“When a person is fallen with a stroke or heart attack, seconds matter,” Neeley said. “Seconds matter in sustaining lives.”

Since the city launched its transport ambulances on Oct. 1, firefighters have answered roughly 4,000 calls, Wiggins said, showing the need for the service.

The chief said Wednesday that the new equipment will help first responders deliver faster, more effective care during cardiac emergencies.

“When you give chest compressions for half an hour, 45 minutes, that takes a lot out of person …,” he said. “This machine is going to do it” for them.

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The chest compression system is a hands-free device used to deliver compressions to cardiac arrest patients. The cardiac monitors and defibrillators deliver automated shocks to restart a normal heart rhythm.

Wiggins said the chest compression system will be available in the city’s three ambulances starting this week and the cardiac monitors and defibrillators are expected to be put into service by the end of July.

City officials have said they had no choice but to bring back an ambulance service because the existing private ambulance system in Genesee County is often operating with too few rigs on the road.

Before restarting its ambulance program, Flint had last provided hospital transports in 2002. The program ended because of funding and staffing issues, according to Flint Journal files.

Neeley has said the ambulances and equipment have been funded with the city’s portion of a national opioid settlement and ARPA funds.

Ambulances are being staffed by firefighters who are certified emergency medical technicians.

The mayor has said Flint-owned ambulances will operate only inside the city, and private ambulances will still make runs in Flint if they are the nearest available unit dispatched by Genesee County 9-1-1.

©2025 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit mlive.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Gail McCarthy
Gloucester Daily Times, Mass.
(TNS)

ROCKPORT — The artistic legacy in Rockport runs deep, surfacing in many facets of town life, including the Rockport Fire Department.

Ken Knowles, an award-winning artist and gallery owner, hand-paints the town seal — a picturesque ocean view of Thacher Island’s twin lighthouses — on the town’s fire trucks.

He does it in memory of his father, Sheldon O. Knowles Jr., a Rockport firefighter who died in 1993 at the age of 53.

“The reason why I do this is simple,” Ken Knowles said. “My father was a major part of the Fire Department for more than 25 years. He was one of the first EMTs back in the early 1970s. He was very proud of that and I was very proud of him. Growing up with a scanner in the house was interesting, always hearing all the fire calls and police calls, and he’d get up in the middle of the night when a box alarm came in.”

In the wake of his death, Knowles was asked if he would paint the town seal on a new truck, and ever since then, he has continued to volunteer his talents. If one looks closely, the brush strokes can been seen as well as his signature near the bottom edge.

This week, Knowles painted the town’s emblem on a new Combination A fire truck for the Pigeon Cove station.

The unusual twin lighthouses are a favorite subject of the Rockport artist and often appear in his paintings.

Fire Chief Mark Wonson said it is special to have these town seals hand-painted on the trucks and it is appreciated.

For those who worked with the late firefighter, he was remembered for his love of the Rockport Fire Department.

“Sheldon loved Rockport and he was dedicated to the Fire Department,” former Fire Chief James Doyle said. “He loved his kids and his friends. He went way too soon.”

Ken Knowles, who has been painting since he was 15, has been an artist for 43 years, and continues to donate his artworks for a fundraising raffle or auction to help nonprofits make money. These organizations include Care Dimensions, Lights of Love to benefit cancer care services, and Rockport Illuminations, when he donates a painting to raise money for the annual town fireworks display.

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Locals and visitors can take in the hand-painted town seals during the annual Rockport Firemen’s Parade on the Fourth of July. The parade kicks off at 6 p.m. from the Rockport public school complex on Jerden’s Lane, continuing down South Street to Dock Square, to Main Street to Beach Street, concluding at the American Legion bandstand near Back Beach.

An 8 p.m. concert at the bandstand will be followed at 9 p.m. by the annual bonfire at Back Beach under the watchful eyes of firefighters.

Gail McCarthy may be contacted at 978-675-2706, or gmccarthy@northofboston.com.

© 2025 the Gloucester Daily Times (Gloucester, Mass.). Visit www.gloucestertimes.com. Distributed by Read more

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