The last thing a firefighter needs is to worry about arriving on scene safely. That’s where Wayne Tuttle comes in. As lead mechanic for the Spokane Valley Fire Department, he has spent the past 15 years making sure fire trucks are ready to get the job done. Tuttle was about to start a job working long hours on the Coeur d’Alene River when he saw the fire department mechanic job in the newspaper.
- PUB DATE: 5/1/2020 5:03:21 AM - SOURCE: Spokane Spokesman-Review - Metered Site

First responders have now been added to a list of those eligible for high priority COVID-19 testing. This means first responders who are showing symptoms of the virus are now eligible for high-priority testing, joining hospitalized patients, healthcare workers, and residents and employees in congregated or long-term care facilities.
- PUB DATE: 5/1/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KUSA-TV NBC 9 Denver

Over the last few months, Massachusetts has received and purchased tens of thousands of masks for first responders and health care professionals amid the coronavirus pandemic. According to a test performed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, some of those masks, like the KN95s from China, have proven to be defective.
- PUB DATE: 5/1/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WHDH-TV 7 Boston

Medical providers were recently abuzz about a new treatment for respiratory distress that includes a high flow of oxygen entering through a patient’s nose, said Braden Frame, a seven-year firefighter and paramedic with Lake Travis Fire Rescue. The action stems from COVID-19 complications encountered in the field by first responders.
- PUB DATE: 5/1/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Austin American-Statesman

It's a mission to get 5,000 Valley first responders coronavirus antibody tests. The United Phoenix Firefighters Association and the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association are helping their members get those tests. This week, the focus was on testing firefighters. Next week, they'll transition to testing police officers.
- PUB DATE: 5/1/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KNXV-TV ABC 15 Phoenix