Alachua County Fire Rescue celebrated its largest pinning ceremony to date as the department welcomed nearly 45 new firefighters, EMTs and paramedics to the team. The new recruits are preparing to hit the road and serve the community, just in time for the implementation of the department’s three-week Kelly Day.
- PUB DATE: 3/2/2023 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WUFT-TV PBS 5 Gainesville

VIDEOS: Wednesday marked the one-year anniversary of a devastating home explosion in O’Fallon, Missouri. On March 1, 2022, a family was inside their home on Millers Court when they smelled gas. They managed to get out before an explosion across the street completely destroyed their home. The explosion was the result of a Gateway Fiber contractor striking a Spire natural gas line while digging to install fiber optic cables in the O’Fallon subdivision.
- PUB DATE: 3/2/2023 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KSDK -TV NBC 5 St. Louis

Austin-Travis County EMS on Wednesday began housing medics inside Austin-Bergstrom International Airport to improve response times as a record-high number of passengers are flying in and out. EMS officials said that due to the increase in call volume to the airport, ambulances were unable to respond to other emergencies in the areas.
- PUB DATE: 3/2/2023 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Austin American-Statesman - Metered Site

A community on the North Shore is discussing an idea that would have police officers trained to become volunteer firefighters. The goal of the proposal is to help with recent staffing shortages in Manchester-by-the-Sea, but the firefighters union doesn't think it's a good idea. "The police department is understaffed," union president Bob Cavender said.
- PUB DATE: 3/2/2023 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WBTS-TV NBC 10 Boston

The Moses Lake Fire Department has been awarded a $3.3 million grant from the Department of Homeland Security to employ a number of new firefighters and paramedics over the next three years, according to MLFD Chief Brett Bastian. Speaking to the Moses Lake City Council during a regular meeting on Tuesday, Bastian said the grant – which the city council unanimously voted in favor of – under DHS’s Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) program has no strings attached and no requirement for city matching funds, so long as the grant money is spent solely on salaries and benefits over the next three years.
- PUB DATE: 3/2/2023 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Columbia Basin Herald - Metered Site