VIDEO: “Grandma Elsie” can’t stop bragging about the firefighter who changed her life. She’s in her 90’s and said a dramatic life twist came after accidentally setting off her Life Alert pendant. She wears it in case of emergency and one press will alert and dispatch help. The Monroe resident admits she didn’t realize she had activated her pendant when she was attempting to mow her lawn.
- PUB DATE: 8/26/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KING-TV NBC 5 Seattle

VIDEO: A police car caught fire on the street in Renton. The fire broke out along Powell Avenue at SW 7th Street shortly before 10:30 a.m. The fire department, which knocked down the flames, said it received calls about explosions coming from the car. There is no word yet if it could have been ammunition or what sparked the fire.
- PUB DATE: 8/26/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KIMA-TV CBS/CW+ 29 Yakima

Washington State Patrol has shut down a portion of I-5 in Thurston County for a large brush fire. Not much is known at the time, but both the north and southbound lanes were shut down near State Route 12. The northbound lanes have since reopened. A photo posted by WSP Trooper Robert Reyer shows a view from the highway, which is covered in dark gray smoke.
- PUB DATE: 8/26/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KOMO-TV ABC 4 Seattle

The cost to build four new fire stations in Middletown has increased by $3 million, or about 18 percent of the total cost of the project, according to a report published by Journal News.

According to the report, voters overwhelmingly approved $16.8 million for the project based on costs estimates from 2020 and inflation affected the cost significantly.

City officials are saying the extra money can come out of American Rescue Plan Act funds or a $10 million surplus on the books, the report says.

Other options include building just three station to reduce the costs, or reduce the quality of the stations, having them last 25 years instead of 40 years, the report says.

No decisions were reported by the newspaper.

An ambulance with two firefighter-paramedics inside overturned during a crash Wednesday afternoon, the Litchfield (IL) Fire Department said in a Facebook post.

The ambulance was operating with its lights and sirens responding to a call when it collided with a car on Old Route 66 and Sargent Street. The collision caused the ambulance to land on its roof before coming to rest on a car parked nearby.

Both firefighter-paramedics were able to self-extricate and notify dispatch about the crash. They then began treating the driver of the car that hit them. The driver had to be extricated by additional crews on scene.

There was no patient onboard the ambulance. The person in the car and both firefighter-paramedics were sent to the hospital. The condition of the driver was not released. The two first responders were treated for minor injuries and released from the hospital.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.