The COVID-19 situation is getting so bad in MD that it’s affecting first responders’ ability to do their jobs, reports wmar2news.com. To help ease the strain, as of New Year’s Day, Baltimore County is allowing non-life threatening patients to be transported via fire truck or other non-ambulance vehicle.

Cases in the state continue to rise, and, as of Monday, 2,746 people were hospitalized with it, the report says. Due to this, local fire officials say they’re receiving an increase in EMS calls from patients who believe they’re experiencing COVID symptoms.

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Because of the lack of available hospital beds, ambulances are sometimes forced to wait at the ER with a patient for hours, preventing them from responding to calls. Thus, the new rule was instituted.

Officials say the vehicles are equipped with a trained EMT and basic life support equipment.

SVI Trucks—Houston (TX) Fire Department 26-foot walk-in heavy rescue. Spartan Gladiator cab and chassis; Cummins X15 505-hp engine; cab/body walk-through connection; crew area interior desk and storage cabinets; custom boat/motor storage system; OnScene Solutions heavy-duty aluminum cargo slides; Warn portable winch. Dealer: Brian Russell, Metro Fire Apparatus Specialists, Houston, TX.

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One person was hurt and several were left without power Tuesday morning when a truck hit the side of Hurst (TX) fire station 1, reports fox4news.com.

The accident happened just before 11 a.m. near the intersection of Precinct Line Road and Cannon Drive, the report says.

Police officials say the driver of a utility truck suffered a medical emergency, which led to the crash.

The driver was the only reported injury; he was taken to the hospital, but the severity of his injuries is unclear. Several utility poles were knocked down, according to the report.

The station was built in 1980 and remodeled in 2003; it contains eight bedrooms, a six-truck apparatus bay, kitchen, training tower, and also houses the fire administration offices. Engine 201, Medic 211, and BC 205 are the primary responding units out of this station.

A section of a wall collapsed in Lincoln County just feet away from where firefighters were battling an early morning blaze Tuesday. The Winfield-Foley Fire Department responded to the house fire around 7 a.m. in the 500 block of Highway Y. The fire caused the front stone veneer wall to collapse and nearly strike one of the firefighters.
- PUB DATE: 1/5/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTVI-TV FOX 2 St. Louis

As many as 4 million drivers are about to become safer, thanks to an over-the-air software update Stellantis will send to their vehicles — at no cost — in January. The Jeep, Ram, Dodge and Fiat and Alfa Romeo vehicles will receive alerts when they near an emergency vehicle with its flashers lit. The feature, called the Emergency Vehicle Alert System (EVAS), will initially be available in North America, but Stellantis could roll it out across the 14 brands the automaker sells around the world.
- PUB DATE: 1/5/2022 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Detroit Free Press - Metered Site