Volunteer fire and EMS departments in Dubuque County have a new avenue to fund first responders — and possibly a helpful tool for recruitment and retention.

The state recently allocated $1.5 million to volunteer firefighters, emergency medical service providers and reserve peace officers through a program that requires a local match. First responders can receive an up-to-$500 benefit each, but the amount depends on how many departments apply.

“The Length of Service Award Program was designed as a way to enhance recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters,” said Mike Lambert, director for the Key West Community Fire Department. “Once our firefighters realize that this could be a benefit, maybe it’ll increase participation from our volunteers. With any organization, we always want to increase the participation.”

The Gazette

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VIDEO: Around 40 people are dead and around 115 others were severely injured after a fire broke out during a New Year’s Eve celebration at a bar in a Swiss Alps resort, authorities said Thursday.

Calling it an “unprecedented tragedy,” Valais canton police commander Frédéric Gisler said many of the injured are in critical condition.

“The priority will be to identify those who lost their lives,” Gisler said at a news conference. Swiss President Guy Parmelin said that many of the victims were young people and the victims include Swiss residents as well as tourists from neighboring countries and elsewhere.

“Behind these numbers are faces, names, families, destinies brutally interrupted,” Parmelin said at the press conference.

The new year was less than two hours old when the fire that devoured the Le Constellation in the town of Crans-Montana was first reported around 1:30 a.m. (7:30 p.m. ET Wednesday), Gisler said.

NBC News

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Thirteen people were forced from their homes after a building in Spanaway caught on fire. It happened around 2 p.m. on Thursday at Military Road East. One person was taken to the hospital. Firefighters with Central Pierce Fire & Rescue had the flames under control in about an hour. Three apartment units were affected. Pierce County Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause of the fire.

KIRO-TV CBS 7 Seattle

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The Marysville Fire District says that a firefighter was injured while fighting an early morning house fire. Fire crews received calls about smoke coming from a house on 61st Dr. NE near 88th St. NE. The fire spread quickly, destroying the house and an RV in the backyard.

The family living in the home escaped with no injuries and is being assisted by the American Red Cross. The firefighter who was injured was treated for minor injuries at Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett and is recovering at home. The cause of the fire and the damage it caused is currently under investigation.

KIRO-TV CBS 7 Seattle

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The Tacoma Fire Department (TFD) says a house in Central Tacoma was severely damaged after a couch that was on the porch caught fire. Firefighters received a call that a couch was on fire on the porch of a house on S. Ainsworth Ave. near S. 19th Stat around 1:05 p.m. The fire had spread to the rest of the house by the time fire crews arrived. All people and pets in the home escaped the house safely, and no injuries were reported. TFD is investigating the cause of the fire.

KIRO-TV CBS 7 Seattle

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