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Posted: May 5, 2016

Montana and Federal Officials Make Deal on Firefighting Helicopters

Montana and federal officials have made a deal that will allow the state's five firefighting helicopters to respond to some blazes on federal lands, after they were barred from doing so last year as fires raging across the West led to equipment shortages.
The agreement allows the retrofitted Vietnam-era helicopters to be used when lives are at risk or when the governor declares a state of emergency, Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation spokesman John Grassy said Thursday.

Additional details about the deal, which was finalized this week, will be released during Gov. Steve Bullock's fire briefing in Butte Friday.

The helicopters were barred last year from responding to fires in national forests and U.S. Bureau of Land Management land because federal standards require they use smaller buckets to scoop water. The issue sparked tension between state and federal officials with a shortage of resources available to fight blazes during an active fire season last year across the West.

The five modified Bell UH-1H helicopters have increased power that enables them to carry 324-gallon buckets. However, U.S. Forest Service policy, developed after helicopter crashes in the past, requires aircraft of that type to carry water-scooping buckets 100 gallons smaller.

The issue is specific to Montana's helicopters and not any other state's aircraft of equipment, Forest Service officials previously said.

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Posted: May 5, 2016

Scott & White EMS (TX) Unveils New Ambulances

Scott & White EMS unveiled its newest ambulances that will be serving the Central Texas area.
This ambulance is one of three that will be put into service in the area. The new 2016 Dodge Ram 3500 with a Frazer 12-foot ambulance box will be the first vehicle to display a new design reflecting the Baylor Scott & White Health brand.

This ambulance is painted different, following the Baylor Scott &White scheme of blue and yellow. Chuck Pearson, director of Scott & White Emergency Medical Services, said the box is a little bit larger than current vehicles and allows 360-degree access to the patient.

Scott & White is moving toward this style of ambulance and has two others on order that will arrive in June, he said. Two or three more will likely be ordered in July to arrive in December.

These ambulances can be remounted where the box is taken off and placed on a new chassis.

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Posted: May 5, 2016

Driver Slams into Rear of Oklahoma City Ambulance

A driver was taken to an area hospital early Thursday morning after crashing into the back of an ambulance. The ambulance was traveling west shortly before 5:10 a.m. near North Portland Avenue and Northwest Expressway when a sport utility vehicle rear-ended it, officials said.
The SUV rolled over several times, crossed the median and came to a stop in the eastbound lanes.

The driver suffered minor injuries and was taken to an area hospital. That person is expected to be OK.

No one was in the ambulance at the time of the crash, officials said.

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Posted: May 5, 2016

Jefferson County rollover crash leaves car stuck upside down in trees 15 feet above ground

Two people survived a crash in Jefferson County that left their car upside down tangled in trees and hanging some 15 feet off the ground, Quilcene fire officials said. The two were driving down Mount Walker on Mt. Walker Road Thursday morning when the car hit the shoulder, flipped and landed upside down off an embankment.
- PUB DATE: 5/5/2016 1:45:16 PM - SOURCE: KOMO-TV ABC 4 and Radio 1000
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Posted: May 5, 2016

Jefferson County rollover crash leaves car stuck upside down in trees 15 feet above ground

Two people survived a crash in Jefferson County that left their car upside down tangled in trees and hanging some 15 feet off the ground, Quilcene fire officials said. The two were driving down Mount Walker on Mt. Walker Road Thursday morning when the car hit the shoulder, flipped and landed upside down off an embankment.
- PUB DATE: 5/5/2016 1:45:16 PM - SOURCE: KOMO-TV ABC 4 and Radio 1000
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