Legislators in Texas are mulling a bill that would make illegal to “impair or degrade” mobile data in any declared disaster zone, in an apparent response to telecom giant Verizon’s decision last year to tell California firefighters busy tackling the deadly Mendocino Complex fire they needed to upgrade their plan or continue to suffer slow speeds.
- PUB DATE: 2/12/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Gizmodo.com

During his early days as a firefighter, Stan Morse sometimes battled flames without a breathing apparatus, choking down the smoke. Over his 40-year career, he also cleaned the underside of firetrucks with a toxic chemical that has since been taken off the market. Morse also breathed in diesel engine fumes powerful enough to blacken the fire station walls.
- PUB DATE: 2/12/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Virginian-Pilot

VIDEO: When first responders arrive at a scene, sometimes what they encounter is so horrific the incident has lasting psychological impacts. Other states are taking action to address mental health issues these heroes sustain on the job and there is a push in Idaho to follow suit. On Sunday, a town hall was held in Meridian to discuss why the Gem State needs to act now.
- PUB DATE: 2/12/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTVB.com

VIDEO: More than a decade of neglect put thousands of San Diego firefighters at risk for a serious, and sometimes deadly disease. Those firefighters were repeatedly exposed to asbestos and lead in the floors, walls, and ceilings of buildings used to train San Diego firefighters. Documents obtained by NBC 7 Investigates reveal in past years, the city minimized the danger and failed to act quickly to protect first responders training at San Diego’s Fire Academy.
- PUB DATE: 2/12/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KNSD-TV NBC San Diego

A Clark County fire chief who warned lawmakers months before a 2017 mass shooting at a music festival that Nevada should bolster its emergency management planning says he wants to bypass state lawmakers to get changes made. Six months before the Oct. 1, 2017, shooting on the Las Vegas Strip that killed 58 and left hundreds injured, Clark County Fire Department Chief Greg Cassell testified before state legislators in favor of a bill that would have required more coordination of emergency medical resources ahead of such a large event.
- PUB DATE: 2/12/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: News3LV.com