VIDEO/PHOTOS: It was a case of the right people being in the right place at the right time. On Tuesday, members of the King County Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit and Mercer Island Police were conducting water rescue training at Fish Lake in the Cascade Mountains when a man fell through the ice right in front of them.

“We saw a guy out of the corner of our eye walking back and one of our guys said ‘he just went through!’” said Sgt. Rich Barton, who works with the sheriff’s office marine unit. The team had just finished their training exercise, but was still in their water rescue gear and had their equipment with them. “My guys were falling in the ice trying to get to this guy,” Barton said.

KOMO-TV ABC 4 Seattle

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Coconut Creek (FL) will hire a mechanic for fire apparatus maintenance, costing $345,000, to reduce downtime and expedite repairs, as approved unanimously by city leaders.

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VIDEOS/PHOTOS: Firefighters were out Wednesday night and into Thursday morning battling a fire that broke out in a Dickson City hospital.

A Dickson City Fire Chief stated that crews were called to the Lehigh Valley Hospital in Dickson City for a structure fire just before 10:00 p.m.

He stated that after seeing the fire from the highway, he called in additional units from the surrounding area to help fight it.

Flames could be seen pouring out of the building as crews responded to the blaze.

The Chief states that the Orthopedic unit is a total loss, and that the cause of the fire is under investigation by a Pennsylvania State Police Fire Marshal.

Officials say there were no injuries, but that more than 70 patients were transported to hospitals and facilities across the area and that all EMS services within a 50-mile radius were utilized.

WBRE-TV NBC 28 Wilkes-Barre

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Following Snohomish Regional Fire and Rescue’s (SRFR) switch to safer type of foam, fire suppressants used at all central county fire agencies are now free of hazardous “forever” chemicals. SRFR stopped using AFFF (Aqueous Film-Forming Foam) in July 2023 after findings that the suppressant contains high concentrations of PFAs — chemicals that do not break down in either the environment or human body. “By transitioning to Novacool, a fluorine-free foam, we reduced long-term environmental risk while maintaining effective firefighting capability,” said Brett Fetcho, a SRFR deputy chief.

PFAs have been linked to thyroid disease, high cholesterol, birth defects, and several types of cancer. The chemicals migrate through groundwater, build up in the food chain, and are difficult to contain and clean up. The state banned the use of AFFF in 2018 for firefighter training, and the foam is no longer sold in Washington. But fire departments are allowed to use their existing stock. SRFR changed to Novacool in July 2023, removing 510 gallons of AFFF from its inventory.

Trimbune

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VIDEO: An early-morning fire forced a popular Fremont sports bar to close just days before the Super Bowl, leaving employees and fans waiting to see when it can reopen. Fire crews were called to Petoskey’s Sports Bar in the 120 block of N. 36th Street just after 6 a.m. Wednesday. Seattle Fire said crews found the fire burning in a crawl space beneath the building and were able to get it under control in about 20 minutes. No injuries were reported.

Firefighters said the blaze the damage extended into the interior. Employees at Petoskey’s said the damage appears to be concentrated in the back of the building where the kitchen is located. As a result, the bar is currently closed, including for Super Bowl Sunday. “We’re closed. We’re gonna be closed,” said general manager Garrison Highsmith, who added that plans for reopening remain uncertain.

KING-TV NBC 5 Seattle

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