Stanislaus County will seek competitive proposals from ambulance providers for the county’s exclusive response zones, and that could change the landscape of emergency medical response for years. The ambulance company with the winning bid will be expected to partner with city and rural fire departments, which often arrive at the scenes of medical emergencies and start treatment for patients before an ambulance arrives.
- PUB DATE: 2/13/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Modesto Bee

Once in a blue moon, the little guys get a break. Like what happened last week when a Lake County judge sided with the family of a deceased Buffalo Grove firefighter, upholding his full pension benefits. The downside to Judge Diane Winter’s ruling is that Buffalo Grove officials may appeal her decision under the guise of their “fiduciary responsibilities” to residents whose taxes help fund the village’s public employee pension fund.
- PUB DATE: 2/13/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Chicago Tribune - Metered Site

The deer was standing in the middle of a frozen pond, too exhausted to move. A passerby spotted it just before 9 a.m. Thursday and knocked on the door of the property owner on 152nd Street East.The owner immediately summoned the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Pierce County Sheriff’s Department and Central Pierce Fire & Rescue’s swift water rescue team.
- PUB DATE: 2/13/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The News Tribune

Voters on Tuesday gave strong support to a levy for the Spokane Valley Fire Department that will fund salaries, equipment, fire engines and capital projects. The $113 million maintenance and operations levy, approved by 74 percent of voters, will be spread across four years and replaces an expiring levy passed by voters in 2015.
- PUB DATE: 2/12/2019 9:26:16 PM - SOURCE: Spokane Spokesman-Review

Ignoring the advice of Spokane’s mayor, voters overwhelmingly approved a $5.8 million-a-year tax that will pay for more police and firefighters. Spokane City Council President Ben Stuckart said voters decision to tax themselves reflected what he had heard from neighborhoods for the last several years.
- PUB DATE: 2/12/2019 9:26:02 PM - SOURCE: Spokane Spokesman-Review