Precautions to protect vulnerable volunteer firefighters from COVID-19 could lessen some retirement benefits for those going on fewer calls during the pandemic, according to fire officials. Some fire departments are asking older volunteers or those with underlying health conditions — those most likely to suffer serious medical problems or death from the coronavirus — to stay home.
- PUB DATE: 4/21/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Newsday

With a nationwide shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE), Roanoke Fire-EMS has come up with creative ways to provide the same protection to their personnel with reusable materials. They say this including the use of new Frogg Togg coats in place of disposable medical gowns. This new personal protective equipment uses a specific material that is impervious to bloodborne pathogens and other bodily fluids, giving their crew the same protection of a disposable medical gown, according to the department, They say the coat is easy to decontaminate, gives their providers a better range of motion and is reusable, alleviating our need for disposable medical gowns.
- PUB DATE: 4/21/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WSET-TV ABC 13 Lynchburg

The COVID-19, a global pandemic that caused more than 164,000 deaths and infected more than 2 million people worldwide, make us rethink how governments, organizations, and societies around the world can work with minimum or without physical contact. Today, the frontline warriors and heroes of the nation are doctors, medical staff, local police, and private security guards and refuse collectors.
- PUB DATE: 4/21/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Geospatial World

Fire camps are a hotbed of social un-distancing. “Going to a fire camp is like a huge summer music festival,” Vandehey says. This year, fire camp could be as dangerous as the wildfires, and top Western managers are deep in planning how to make fire camps Covid-19 ready for fire crews. Hilary Franz is Washington’s commissioner of public lands.
- PUB DATE: 4/20/2020 6:44:00 PM - SOURCE: KUOW 94.9FM - Puget Sound Public Radio

A 30-year-old Edmonds man was arrested Sunday night after witnesses spotted him lighting an object on fire underneath a Lynnwood Police Department vehicle, police said. Just after 10 p.m. Sunday, witnesses reported seeing a man bent down near a police vehicle in the Lynnwood Police Department parking lot, located at 19321 44th Ave.
- PUB DATE: 4/20/2020 3:11:10 PM - SOURCE: Lynnwood Today