City public safety officials and Mayor Bill Peduto on Wednesday showed off a new “silent” alarm system that alerts only the fire and EMS stations that are being dispatched to the call, rather than blasting the call on a radio for every station and first responder on duty to hear. The $2.8 million, decade-in-the-making alarm system will cut down first responders’ stress levels and streamline services, officials said.
- PUB DATE: 6/25/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Pittsburgh Post Gazette

VIDEO: A man working atop the iconic Fresno State water tower had to be rushed to the hospital today after being overcome with heat, eventually going into cardiac arrest. "The extended work period up on top there, the strenuous work that they were doing with the heat and the high humidity today, it just overcame him," said Battalion Chief Mike Gibson of the Fresno Fire Department.
- PUB DATE: 6/25/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KFSN-TV ABC 30 Fresno

There are continued calls to keep two Baltimore City fire units from closing, the closures are proposed as part of city budget cuts. Firefighters and their families held rallies on Wednesday to voice those calls in public. Firefighters, both active and retired, held rallies outside two fire houses in the city, protesting the proposal to take two engine units out of service permanently, due to city budget cuts.
- PUB DATE: 6/25/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WBAL-TV NBC 11 Baltimore

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released its latest forecast of expected U.S. coronavirus deaths, predicting that between 130,000 and 150,000 Americans would die of the novel virus by July 18. The updated forecast put out by the CDC Wednesday consists of a combination of data from over 20 national models, which also predict an increase in fatalities in several states over the next four weeks, including Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Hawaii, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah, which the CDC says will exceed the number of reported deaths of the last month.
- PUB DATE: 6/25/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WITI-TV FOX 6 Milwaukee

The state Natural Resources Board has unanimously approved allowing the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to begin drafting regulations to enforce restrictions on firefighting foam that contains chemicals known as PFAS. Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly referred to as PFAS, are chemicals that are found in products ranging from firefighting foam to nonstick cookware.
- PUB DATE: 6/25/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Wisconsin Public Radio