A dozen employees are working through the pandemic on the assembly floor of First Line Tech in Fredericksburg, Virginia. They're seeing nursing homes around the country overwhelmed by COVID-19 infections, and racing to provide a way for fire departments to evacuate the elderly safely and quickly. "We took an old school bus and designed a kit that can go right inside of it to convert it over and handle six, 12, 18 patients," First Line Tech CEO Amit Kapoor said.
- PUB DATE: 4/24/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WVEC-TV ABC 13 Hampton

The U.S. military has long played a key role helping American communities respond to natural disasters and other public health emergencies. But the work it is doing during the coronavirus crisis is unique and may lead to a new blueprint for the way soldiers provide civilian assistance during a pandemic.
- PUB DATE: 4/24/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NJ Spotlight

A barn fire killed two horses and destroyed campers, cars, motorcycles and a boat Thursday in Rainier, authorities say. Columbia River Fire & Rescue said firefighters were called to the Dike Road blaze shortly before noon. No people were seriously hurt, though one suffered bumps and bruises while trying to rescue animals.
- PUB DATE: 4/24/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Portland Oregonian, Hillsboro Argus, Oregon Live.com

Firefighters responded to a blaze at the 100 block of S 6th Avenue in Yakima around 5 am Friday morning. They say when they arrived, flames were burning items outside of the Salvation Army thrift store. According to fire crews, flames were as high as 20 feet in the air. The fire was contained to outside the building, but it took fire crews about ten minutes to knock down the flames.
- PUB DATE: 4/24/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KIMA-TV CBS News Yakima

More than 500 firefighters and EMTs in the Pacific Northwest have been temporarily quarantined after suspected exposure to the coronavirus over the past two months. The Washington State Council of Fire Fighters and the Oregon Fire Service Coronavirus Response Team have been monitoring the number of first responders taken out of service.
- PUB DATE: 4/23/2020 7:35:27 PM - SOURCE: KUOW 94.9FM - Puget Sound Public Radio