Four North Whidbey firefighters were part of the firefighting effort in California this past week, and smoke from the wildfires has tinged the Whidbey skyline in recent weeks. The North Whidbey Fire and Rescue crew left last week with an engine to assist in the firefighting efforts along with firefighters from several other agencies from Western Washington, according to Chief John Clark.
- PUB DATE: 10/3/2020 1:01:34 AM - SOURCE: Whidbey News-Times

PHOTOS: Islander Jim Whitney, medical services officer for the Redmond Fire District, said that keeping up morale among first responders has been a priority since day one of the COVID-19 pandemic. “The anxiety and fear associated with COVID at the onset were pretty high,” he said. But now, a tool designed by researchers working in the University of Washington’s Engineering Innovation in Health program (EIH) and manufactured on Vashon will allow emergency medical services staff to reuse invaluable N95 respirator masks, seen as the best line of defense against transmission of COVID-19 for essential workers and those on the frontline.
- PUB DATE: 10/2/2020 1:13:49 AM - SOURCE: Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

New Yorkers can now download a free app to their smartphones that will alert them if they come near people who test positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Thursday the launch of the state's new COVID Alert NY app. New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Delaware will offer their own versions of the app as well.
- PUB DATE: 10/2/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Nyack-Piermont Patch

Officers with the Riverside Police Department had a woman in a pink dress stand up outside their patrol car for witnesses to identify after she allegedly stole a fire truck and took it on a joy ride Thursday night. The 31-year-old woman is suspected of stealing a Riverside Fire Department truck and taking it on a joyride while first responders were handling a life-threatening medical emergency.
- PUB DATE: 10/2/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KCAL-TV CBS 9 Los Angeles

The City of Glendale has a new peer support program they hope will help end suicide growing rates among firefighters. The program is one of the first of its kind in the state, addressing nationwide statistics that firefighters are more likely to die by suicide than on the job. One hundred twenty times a day, that’s the amount firefighters here in Glendale are called to duty.
- PUB DATE: 10/2/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KASW-CW6 & KTVK-3TV (azfamily.com)