VIDEO: Typically, to be hired at Lubbock Fire Rescue, you had to be both firefighter and EMT certified. Now applicants don’t have to be certified in either to apply. LFR Captain Phillip Grandon says the traditional model worked for a while but times are changing. LFR used to receive up to 400 applications in a given hiring season but lately, it has been getting under 100.
- PUB DATE: 3/17/2023 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KCBD-TV NBC 11 Lubbock

Before he was a “Joker,” Brian “Q” Quinn was an FDNY firefighter. The internationally known comedian, 47, spent nearly a decade at Ladder Co. 86 on Richmond Avenue in Graniteville. It’s a chapter the “Impractical Jokers” star looks back on fondly, both for the work he did keeping Staten Islanders safe and for the local causes he joined that still remain important to him.
- PUB DATE: 3/17/2023 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: SILive.com

Lawmakers should view America’s staggering opioid crisis, including the rise of illicit fentanyl, through an “ecosystems” approach, argues a massive RAND Corporation report published Thursday. That means they should examine the gaps and interconnections among emergency response, data collection, education, treatment, housing and law enforcement, the report advises.
- PUB DATE: 3/17/2023 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Tennessee Lookout

VIDEO/PHOTOS: A man, woman and their dog were found dead after an apartment caught fire in Seattle’s Miller Park neighborhood Thursday night. According to the Seattle Fire Department (SFD), crews responded to the Elizabeth James House just before 11:40 p.m. Thursday after receiving reports of flames coming through the window of a unit on the third floor of the complex.
- PUB DATE: 3/17/2023 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KOMO-TV ABC 4 Seattle

Horton Emergency Vehicles, a subsidiary of REV Group Inc., and a leader in ambulance safety, announces the launch of Horton Occupant Protection System™ (HOPS) featuring MBrace™, the first of its kind protection for first responders.  MBrace is a patent-pending advanced airbag safety system designed specifically to protect emergency care providers inside the patient compartment during frontal impacts, in addition to ambulance rollovers. Horton is the first and only brand in the ambulance industry to offer MBrace.  All Horton vehicle orders placed on or after April 1, 2023, will include the MBrace system as standard equipment. 

Independent data indicates that nearly 80% of accidents with ambulances that resulted in fatalities and serious injuries were frontal impacts*. MBrace was developed to provide more protection against head and neck injuries during frontal impact collisions, in addition to ambulance rollovers.  MBrace integrates an airbag into an innovative multi-point restraint that both protects emergency care providers while allowing them the mobility and freedom to work. Designed and engineered by IMMI and tested extensively with Horton ambulances at the Center for Advanced Product Evaluation (CAPE), MBrace takes EMS protection to a new level.

“Pioneering safety is in Horton’s DNA, and our partnerships with industry leaders, such as IMMI, have enabled us to keep advancing the level of safety that is available to emergency care providers”, stated Mike Albers, Vice President and General Manager for Horton Emergency Vehicles. “We are excited to offer MBrace as standard equipment. Improving the safety of our ambulances is one of our highest priorities.”

Customers who already have a Horton ambulance on order can work with their Horton dealer to add MBrace to their order, depending on how far along it is in the design process.  In addition, MBrace will be available for Horton remounts that are performed at the REV Remount Center in Grove City, OH. 

“The launch of MBrace is the culmination of years of research and development with partners such as Horton, who share our goal of raising the bar on safety through innovation,” said Larry Gray, CEO of IMMI.  

The MBrace system will be on display in the Horton Emergency Vehicles booth #4920 and the IMMI booth #4632 at FDIC International in Indianapolis, Indiana from April 27 – 29, 2023.  Find out more information about MBrace at www.hortonambulance.com.

*Source:  NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System 1991-2000; Green J. et al, “Reducing Vehicle Crash-Related EMS Worker Injuries Through Improvements in Restraint Systems”, World Congress on Safety & Health at Work. 9/05.