President Joe Biden made history March 6 when he addressed hundreds of IAFF members at the 2023 Alfred K. Whitehead Legislative Conference. It was the first time in 25 years that a sitting president spoke at an IAFF conference. Biden, a longtime supporter of the fire service, expressed his profound appreciation for firefighters and EMS professionals, remarking, “People don’t appreciate you until they need you.
- PUB DATE: 3/7/2023 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: IAFF.org

VIDEO: Mitchell LeRocque’s 6-month-old son has a big smile on his face, and hair that’s almost as red as the fire truck daddy rides in. He doesn’t yet know how close he came to losing his father on Friday in those powerful storms that ripped through central Kentucky. “It’s very unfortunate that it had to come to this with our station, but I feel very fortunate,” LeRocque said 72 hours after his near-death experience.
- PUB DATE: 3/7/2023 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WLEX-TV NBC 18 Lexington

VIDEO: A St. Lucie County firefighter is breaking barriers and making history in the male-dominated sport of spearfishing. “I have been spearfishing since I was a kid,” said Julie Higgs, a firefighter and paramedic with St. Lucie County. “I was 7 years old. I shot my first fish when I was 13.” ulie Higgs comes from a family of first responders.
- PUB DATE: 3/7/2023 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WPBF-TV ABC 25 Tequesta

The city of Sedro-Woolley plans to ask voters to approve additional funding for the city’s fire department. City staff told the City Council in a work session last week that what is called a levy lid lift is the best option to address staffing shortages and equipment upgrades. How much money the city asks from voters through such a property tax increase is still to be decided.
- PUB DATE: 3/6/2023 8:00:00 PM - SOURCE: Skagit Valley Herald

Fire officials are working together to thin at least 1,000 acres of urban forest in and around the city of Spokane. Spokane is one of many communities across Washington at extremely high risk of catastrophic fire because of development into natural, or forested, areas and climate change. Spokane Public Radio’s Rebecca White visited an urban forest area that needs to be treated to protect the surrounding homes and apartments from wildfire.
- PUB DATE: 3/6/2023 2:00:00 PM - SOURCE: Spokane Public Radio