An investigation into a suspected arson in Amboy continues as two suspects in a fire earlier this October were released on charges as more information is needed. Valerie and Adam Gardner, 65 and 23, were initially charged with first-degree arson following an Oct. 12 fire at their residence off of Northeast Cedar Creek Road in Amboy.
- PUB DATE: 10/22/2019 4:10:18 AM - SOURCE: The Reflector.com

Mayor Bill de Blasio is being asked to do more to protect first responders in the wake of an attack on a 20-year-old emergency medical technician as he was transporting an emotional disturbed person to the hospital. The ambulance EMT Nicholas Cody used to transport an emotionally disturbed person on Friday night sat parked outside the emergency room at Lincoln Hospital on Monday, the decal warning that it’s a felony to attack a first responder, apparently not much of a deterrent in a city where the number of of mental health 911 calls have nearly doubled in the last decade.
- PUB DATE: 10/22/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WLNY-TV 55 Riverhead

Pennsylvania’s growing shortage of volunteer and career firefighters and EMS providers has reached a point where state lawmakers are calling for action to avert a crisis like the one Rep. Stephen Barrar described at a Monday news conference. “How would you feel if you had a fire or an accident or a life-threatening emergency and when you dialed 911, no one responded? These type of doomsday scenarios are not far-fetched,” said Barrar, R-Delaware County, who chairs the House Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee.
- PUB DATE: 10/22/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: PennLive

On the same day that a package of bills was introduced at the State Capitol to help Pennsylvania’s fire and EMS workers, one midstate community is applauding the decision. The Middletown Fire Department is 100% volunteer, so for about two years now, they’ve been offering a live-in program for young firefighters.
- PUB DATE: 10/22/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WHTM-TV ABC 27 Harrisburg

Gov. Kate Brown has appointed a financial oversight team and will hire an independent contractor to address a cash flow crisis caused by the Oregon Department of Forestry’s failure to promptly bill and collect money it is owed for wildfire costs. The 13-member team, chaired by the governor’s chief of staff, is tasked with identifying the structural changes needed to expedite and standardize how the agency processes financial transactions related to wildfires.
- PUB DATE: 10/22/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Portland Oregonian, Hillsboro Argus, Oregon Live.com