COVID-19 cases have continued to subside throughout the United States, while deaths have also settled after increasing rapidly amid surges of infections brought on by the Omicron variant. The United States reported a daily average of 178,705 new COVID-19 cases, down 67% over 14 days, according to data gathered by The New York Times, as individual states have begun to loosen masking mandates and other restrictions to mitigate the spread of the virus and health officials have indicated the peak of Omicron infections has passed.
- PUB DATE: 2/14/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Gephardt Daily

A scrap metal fire aboard a barge had firefighters rushing to Commencement Bay early Monday. The Tacoma Fire Department first reported the blaze at around 10:45 am., saying that it had mobilized crews and the Fireboat Defiance to contain the fire, which is burning near the 6300 block of Marine View Drive.
- PUB DATE: 2/14/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Puyallup Patch

A 69-year-old woman tragically passed away after a car accident along the west shore of Moses Lake on Wednesday evening. According to the Grant County’s Sheriff’s Office, the victim was driving east on Road 4 NE around 7:30 p.m. on February 9. She was traveling at high speeds in her 2018 Ford Explorer, approaching a T-shaped intersection at Edwards Drive NE.
- PUB DATE: 2/12/2022 10:55:13 PM - SOURCE: YakTriNews

Manheim Township Fire Rescue has officially unveiled its fourth fire station. The new station (202) is located at 600 Richmond Drive in Richmond Square, servicing the northwest/western parts of Manheim Township.

Station 202 will serve as the main headquarters for around the clock emergency response from one single engine and shifts of three firefighter units.

This location was picked from the northwest area of Manheim Township due to its central location to the area it wants to serve. The primary response area is north of Granite Run Drive to the Township border, north of Erb’s Quarry Road, and between the western Township boundary east to roughly Blossom Hill and Weaver Road.

Though it’s the smallest station in Manheim Township, the new location will instantly pay major dividends for the community in this region. Response times are expected to be reduced by 50% when responding from the Richmond Square station, as opposed to the East Oregon Road station and Fruitville Pike station.

“The opening of the Richmond Square Fire Rescue station will provide a significant increase in our ability to provide more timely service to this area of Manheim Township,” said Manheim Township Manager, Rick Kane. “With lower response times we expect a better outcome for residents when they are having a fire or medical emergency.”

The site selected was a commercial property that had been vacant for almost 3 years, which allowed for MT Fire Rescue to re-purpose a building rather than build a new one, or use open land to build new. The building itself was the appropriate size, and its location allowed for the single apparatus bay to be added to the existing footprint without major construction work.

An official open house to welcome the community is tentatively planned for spring, dependent on weather and any COVID restrictions at that time. 

According to a report from Grasslands News, a fire truck from the Davidson (Saskatchewan, Canada) Volunteer Fire Department (DVFD) rolled over on the way to a report of a major motor vehicle accident on Highway #11 between the towns of Girvin and Davidson at around 3:15 a.m. Thursday.

The drivers of three semitrucks suffered minor injuries when one of the trucks collided with a second truck that was stopped. Then, a third semi collided with both. The semis then caught fire. At about the same time, approximately five kilometers south of this, another semi collided with a second parked semi that was also stopped on the road. One driver was hospitalized with injuries described as “non-life-threatening,” and the second driver was not injured.

While responding to this incident, a DVFD truck rolled over with two firefighters inside. One member was transported to a local hospital with what are being called “non-life-threatening injuries”; the other was reported as being unharmed.

Craik RCMP Sgt. Robb Karaim said that icy road conditions that may have caused these accidents are improving. Despite this, he is asking motorists to drive with caution while emergency crews perform clean-up from these accidents and collisions.

The rollover of the DVFD truck is the second time in less than a week a fire department was involved in an accident while responding. On February 4, firefighter Castor (Alberta) Fire Department (CFD) Firefighter Stephen Rayfield died when his fire truck rolled over while responding to an accident. CFD Chief Patrick Kelly was also injured in the accident and taken to hospital.