Twenty-four states have seen an uptick of at least 10% in COVID-19 cases over the past week, Johns Hopkins University data shows, as health experts and the federal government keep pressing for more people to get vaccinated. The rapid spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus has only ratcheted up the pressure.
- PUB DATE: 7/9/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: CNN Health

The Yakima City Council addressed the problem of the Yakima Fire Department's aging fire trucks at their meeting Tuesday night. The council held the first reading of a budget amendment that would allow them to move funds from the general budget to fund the purchase of two new fire trucks for the department.
- PUB DATE: 7/8/2021 10:42:28 PM - SOURCE: KNDO-TV NBC 23 Yakima

Port Angeles firefighters quickly doused a fire Thursday morning at the Panorama Apartments on East 5th Street. No one was hurt, as the residents of the apartment were not home at the time of the fire. Their cat was retrieved unharmed. Captain Bryant Kroh reports the call came in just before 9:00am.
- PUB DATE: 7/8/2021 5:35:34 PM - SOURCE: KONP-AM 1490 Port Angeles

The Athens Cultural Affairs Commission (ACAC) is pleased to announce the installation of the new public art work for Athens-Clarke County Fire Station #2. “Hero’s Path”, by Baton Rouge-based artist Aaron Hussey, was installed by the artist and funded by Athens-Clarke County (ACC) SPLOST.

“Hero’s Path” is a 16ft aluminum and steel sculpture with upward-reaching ladders, and castings of a helmet and coat used by firefighters. The base features the ACC EMA logo on one side and the “Firefighter’s Prayer” (written by A.W. “Smokey” Linn, a Kansas firefighter, in 1958) on the other.

Hussey’s proposal was selected by a panel of ACC firefighters and approved by the Mayor and Commission in Spring 2019. A dedication ceremony is planned for Friday, July 23 at 10:30AM at Fire Station #2. This ceremony will serve as a ribbon-cutting for the new artwork and a memorial for ACC firefighters who gave their lives in service.

A fire truck that responded to the scene of a crash was hit by a car, reports 11 Alive.

DeKalb Fire said that no firefighters were hurt but there were injuries, some were critical.