Maine fire departments are moving toward shorter workweeks for first responders under new union contracts. Orono and Old Town are two of five communities where firefighters recently have approved contracts that reduce their workweek from the traditional 56 hours to 42. The reduction is part of an effort to create better work-life balance for first responders and attract new firefighters to the field, according to the Professional Firefighters of Maine union.
- PUB DATE: 3/29/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Bangor Daily News - Metered Site

VIDEOS: Monday marked the 43rd anniversary of the accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant, the nation’s worst nuclear accident. A combination of human error and malfunctioning controls resulted in a partial meltdown of the Unit 2 reactor and caused tens of thousands of Central Pennsylvania residents to be evacuated or to flee the area for several days in 1979.
- PUB DATE: 3/29/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Lancaster Online

Firefighters from Fall River and Hyannis joined their colleagues on Nantucket Monday in an effort to begin understanding just how much of the PFAS chemicals in their turnout gear is absorbed into their bodies. “My involvement really stems from having to bury two 30-year-old firefighters from cancer,” said Jason Burns of the Fall River Fire Department.
- PUB DATE: 3/29/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Inquirer and Mirror

U.S. regulators on Tuesday authorized another COVID-19 booster for people age 50 and older, a step to offer extra protection for the most vulnerable in case the coronavirus rebounds. The Food and Drug Administration’s decision opens a fourth dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines to that age group at least four months after their previous booster.
- PUB DATE: 3/29/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KDAF-TV FOX 4 Kansas City

VIDEO: Vancouver firefighters battled a large fire early Tuesday morning. Crews were called to Northwest Packing Company near West Mill Plain Boulevard and Thompson Avenue at around 4:30 a.m. According to the Vancouver Fire Department, crews arrived to find a truck, wood pallets, and multiple 50-gallon barrels on fire.
- PUB DATE: 3/29/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KATU-TV ABC 2 Portland