Country music legend Dolly Parton on Saturday donated $200,000 to firefighters to wrap up a fundraising drive that she started shortly after the 2016 wildfires that destroyed large swaths of forest in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and surrounding area. On behalf of the Dollywood Foundation’s My People Fund, Parton presented the check to the fire chiefs of the eight volunteer fire departments located in Sevier County.
- PUB DATE: 3/20/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: AL.com

Less than three years after state officials concocted a plan to boost payments for ambulance services, emergency medical administrators say they're still struggling to keep their doors open. Leaders of ambulance organizations from across Vermont converged on the Statehouse Friday to talk about insurance reimbursement and workforce issues that continue to cause problems in the increasingly expensive business of emergency treatment and transport.
- PUB DATE: 3/20/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: VTDigger.org

The New Carlisle Town Council and Olive Township Board voted Tuesday to establish a joint fire territory in 2020. By increasing taxes, the move will enable several firefighters to be hired so that residents don’t depend solely on volunteers for service. The vote was 3-2 from the town council members, and the Olive Township representatives voted 2-1 on the measure.
- PUB DATE: 3/20/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: South Bend Tribune

A planned $9 million firehouse for the 60 or so firefighters at the 182nd Airlift Wing could be eliminated to help fund a proposed border wall. That’s according to a list released Monday by the Pentagon of military construction projects that could be delayed in order to pay for the wall along the country’s southern border.
- PUB DATE: 3/20/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Journal Star

VIDEO: The Hamilton Fire Department has announced major safety improvements following an internal investigation into the line of duty death of one of their own. Firefighter Patrick Wolterman died in December 2015 after responding to a fire believed to have trapped people inside a home. Wolterman was the first firefighter to enter the home.
- PUB DATE: 3/19/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WLWT-TV NBC 5 Cincinnati