Electric vehicle fires pose safety risks to first responders and guidelines from manufacturers about how to deal with them have been inadequate, according to U.S. investigators. There are also gaps in industry safety standards and research on high-voltage lithium-ion battery fires, especially in high-speed, severe crashes, the National Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday.
- PUB DATE: 1/14/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: ABC News

To the known risk factors for developing severe COVID-19—age, male sex, or any of a series of underlying conditions—a new study adds one more: high levels of the virus in your saliva. Standard COVID-19 tests sample the nasal passage. But several new tests look for SARS-CoV-2, the pandemic coronavirus, in saliva, and the new work finds a striking correlation between high virus levels there and later hospitalization or death.
- PUB DATE: 1/14/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Science Magazine

Broadview Heights Fire Chief Jeffrey Hajek is giving 19 News a first-hand look at a new piece of technology his department uses to save precious seconds when getting to an emergency. It’s called the HAAS Safety Cloud System. The device alerts drivers to move over because emergency vehicles are coming through.
- PUB DATE: 1/14/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WOIO-TV CBS 19 Cleveland

The thin ice covering Newman Lake last week was weak, fragile and prone to collapsing under people’s feet – perfect for some ice rescue training for Spokane Valley Fire Department crews. The idea was that each crew was to head out to a hole in the ice about 150 feet off shore, rescue a dummy under the ice, then move to another hole where they would take turns rescuing each other.
- PUB DATE: 1/14/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Spokesman-Review - Metered Site

While there were no human injuries, two pets, a cat and a turtle, were lost in a house fire north of Tenino on Tuesday morning. The fire started in the garage and then spread to the main structure, according to S.E. Thurston Fire Authority Chief Mark King. The cause of the fire is still unknown. S.
- PUB DATE: 1/13/2021 7:13:46 PM - SOURCE: Centralia Chronicle