Manpower and resources are at a premium inside the Tucson Fire Department. The city is looking to minimize the high call volume firefighters face. “We are doing this for firefighter safety,” interim Tucson Fire Chief Joe Gulotta said. “It’s having an impact on their health. We’re seeing higher levels of sick leave, we’re seeing increase response times because crews are out of service in different areas all over town.
- PUB DATE: 5/20/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KVOA-TV 4 Tucson

Officials in California are crying foul over a Trump administration plan to slash firefighting assistance payments to the state, which could amount to millions of dollars in lost income for fire departments. The U.S. Forest Service, in turn, is accusing the local fire departments in the state of over-billing the federal government as part of a federal-state partnership, the California Fire Assistance Agreement (CFAA), that was inked in 2015 and expires in 2020.
- PUB DATE: 5/20/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Tribune

There’s controversy over a bill that restores worker’s compensation for post-traumatic stress disorder for police and firefighters. The bill, as it stands now, does not include the state’s EMTs, and they’d like that to change. They say they want to be included in the PTSD legislation. When tragedies occur in any community, whether it be a mass casualty incident, a deadly fire, or a vehicle wreck, many see police and fire fighters as first responders.
- PUB DATE: 5/20/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WFSB-TV CBS 3

The job of paramedic conjures up the image of a someone rushing to an emergency in an ambulance, lights flashing and siren blaring — not Shelly Brown. She's a certified community paramedic with Regions Hospital in St. Paul who drives a Volkswagen Beetle, stops at red lights and leisurely enters clients' homes for check-ins.
- PUB DATE: 5/20/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: MPR News

Pueblo Fire Departments crews will soon be getting new technology to help them navigate through situations where fires create limited or no visibility at all. The city has set aside $30,000 from a public safety grant match fund to purchase thermal imaging cameras that will attach to firefighters’ self-contained breathing apparatuses.
- PUB DATE: 5/20/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Pueblo Chieftain