A new state law increases benefits for family members of first responders killed on the job. The legislation, signed into law Tuesday by Gov. Cuomo, increases the cost of living benefits by 3% for spouses of fallen police and firefighters. “Police and firefighters who lose their lives in the line of duty are mothers, fathers, husbands and wives – and the family members they leave behind must be properly cared for,” Cuomo said.
- PUB DATE: 10/23/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Daily News

Newport Fire Chief William Darin says the department made nearly 5,000 runs in 2018; that includes fire and medical responses. Darin says less than 1 percent of those are for big structural fires. Newport Fire Union President Jake Silvati says the department is understaffed. "We feel that it's not a matter of if something bad happens, it's a matter of when something that happens and we're very concerned about that or concerned about the safety of the citizens and the firefighters," Silvati said.
- PUB DATE: 10/23/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WKRC-TV 12

When a medical call came in on June 24, 2015, to assist an intoxicated man at a trolley station, San Diego firefighter Ben Vernon thought it would be a routine situation. He had been on this type of call several times in the past, so he was not too worried. Arriving on the scene, however, tensions started to rise between a bystander and several security guards, and a fight broke out.
- PUB DATE: 10/23/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Bakersfield.com

An Atlanta firefighter who lost his leg after getting struck by a vehicle while responding to a call on I-85 said he wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for the quick-thinking actions of his colleagues. Sgt. Darrow Harden was hit by a car in May while responding to a wreck near Cleveland Avenue in the interstate’s northbound lanes.
- PUB DATE: 10/23/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Atlanta Journal Constitution

An East Tennessee landmark is now completely gone after a fire late Tuesday night. Cumberland County Fire Rescue responded to a fire at Minister’s Treehouse in Crossville around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday. We’re told the entire building burned to the ground in about 15 minutes. No injuries have been reported.
- PUB DATE: 10/23/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WJHL-TV CBS/ABC 11 Johnson City