When Andy Astells saw his boyfriend overdose and collapse following a shot of heroin in the neck four years ago, he was terrified that it might be the end for his companion. It wasn’t, and an increasingly popular drug called Narcan, which is being used to combat potentially fatal opioid overdoses, may have been the life or death difference.
- PUB DATE: 12/11/2017 4:46:51 AM - SOURCE: Centralia Chronicle

When a firefighter responds to the scene of an emergency, there are often risks — from smoke and fire to active shooters. Over the past several years, fire departments and emergency medical providers throughout the country have started to consider another risk — the increasing rate of suicide among firefighters and emergency personnel.
- PUB DATE: 12/11/2017 4:22:12 AM - SOURCE: Skagit Valley Herald (GoSkagit.com)

Authorities say an FBI agent and a state fire marshal were struck and killed while standing on the shoulder of I-270 in Montgomery County. At about 10 p.m. Friday, one of the officers was at the scene of a single-vehicle traffic crash on southbound I-270. Police say he requested assistance and used his car to block the damaged vehicle from oncoming traffic.
- PUB DATE: 12/11/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WJZ-TV CBS 13 Baltimore

Charles Patterson, a firefighter with the Bowie Rural Volunteer Fire Department since its inception in 2007, died on Thursday after experiencing a cardiac event on Dec. 1 while fighting a house fire. A graveside service for the 60-year-old is planned for 2 p.m. on Dec. 9 at Lindale Cemetery north of Bowie.
- PUB DATE: 12/11/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Times Record News

Kokomo’s fire union is taking the city to court in the latest development of what’s become a months-long battle over the two sides’ collective bargaining efforts. The Professional Firefighters of Kokomo Local 396, in a civil suit filed this week in Howard Superior Court 4, is requesting that Judge George Hopkins prohibit the city from terminating the existing fire contract at the end of this year and "until such time that the matter can be arbitrated.
- PUB DATE: 12/11/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: News and Tribune