Virginia State Police are investigating a two-vehicle crash in Russell County that sent one person to the hospital.

The crash happened at 7:50 p.m. Sunday on Route 19, less than a mile south of Route 58.

A Town of Lebanon fire truck was traveling south on Route 19 with its lights and sirens activated, as it was responding to a call. As the fire truck made a left turn into a gas station parking lot, it was struck in the side by a 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier that was traveling north on Route 19.

The driver of the fire truck, William B. Lambert, 28, of Lebanon (VA) was not injured in the crash. He was wearing a seat belt. The passenger was wearing a seat belt and was not injured either.

The driver of the Cavalier, Christopher L. Justus, 32, of Honaker (VA) was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment of serious injuries. He was wearing a seat belt.

Justus was charged with reckless driving.

For more information, view wsls.com

 

Spokane fire officials said a cell phone charger sparked a fire at an apartment on the lower South Hill Monday morning that killed two cats. Officials said the ceramic register in the charger overheated and started the fire. Fire crews said at least four tenants at the Madison Terrace Apartments are displaced and no one else was injured.
- PUB DATE: 12/1/2015 3:31:47 PM - SOURCE: Northwest Cable News

Spokane fire officials said a cell phone charger sparked a fire at an apartment on the lower South Hill Monday morning that killed two cats. Officials said the ceramic register in the charger overheated and started the fire. Fire crews said at least four tenants at the Madison Terrace Apartments are displaced and no one else was injured.
- PUB DATE: 12/1/2015 3:31:47 PM - SOURCE: Northwest Cable News

The way that public safety agencies communicate is changing dramatically. Expanded citizen connections, improved inter-agency collaboration, and a stronger public alliance are the new norm.

Motorola conducted a survey on the latest trends and technology that impact public safety agencies of all sizes. The results reveal that the use of data-driven communications--such as social media, text-to-9-1-1, GPS, video, and cloud technology--are growing rapidly. But there’s still work to be done.

Get the survey results to find out:

• How 55 percent of public safety respondents say they are using social media
• Why there’s a 300-percent increase of agencies able to receive text-to-9-1-1
• Which trends are transforming public safety communications to improve community interaction

Dowload the survey results HERE.

The Fire Department Safety Officers Association (FDSOA) will offer three popular keynote speakers during its annual Apparatus Specification and Maintenance Symposium and its concurrent Safety Forum in Scottsdale, Arizona, January 18-22, 2016.

The week will feature three of the fire services’ most popular straight-talkers. The three keynote speakers are: James (Jim) Juneau, Gordon Graham and Chief Billy Goldfeder.

James J. Juneau, of Juneau, Boll, Stacy & Ucherek in Dallas, Texas, will kick off the Apparatus Symposium on Monday, January 18. Juneau, a nationally recognized legal authority on issues relating to fire apparatus and emergency vehicle design and operational safety, is a straight-talking attorney on emergency vehicles and firefighter safety training across the United States and Canada. “We’re going to talk about fire apparatus and the law,” says Juneau. “We’ll deal with safety issues, we’ll deal with the kind of things that matter when you go to the court room, and we’ll talk about some of the things that can get you in trouble, like crazy driving, ignoring right-of-way intersections, railroad crossings, and intoxication on the job.” 

Gordon Graham, of Graham Research Consultants in Long Beach, California, will wrap up the Apparatus Symposium and kick off the Safety Forum conference with his comprehensive program: “What real risk management is all about.”.

Graham, a former California motorcycle police officer, is a police/fire service risk management expert and attorney, dividing his time between study, research, writing, speaking, and consulting in the discipline of risk management. “The focus is going to be on all the things that an informed fire department, informed firefighters, mechanics, and safety officers need to know about risk management and what they can do to reduce the injuries and the deaths through the specifying, acquisition, bidding, transport, and the training process,” says Graham. 

 

Billy Goldfeder, deputy chief with the Loveland-Symmes (OH) Fire Department, has been a firefighter since 1973, has served on several IAFC and NFPA committees, and is a prolific writer and outspoken critic of unsafe practices and stupid decisions. Goldfeder’s passion for firefighter safety and “Everyone Goes Home” program has made him the conscience for the North American fire service. Goldfeder, along with Graham, host and sponsor the Web site FireFighterCloseCalls.com. Goldfeder will wrap-up the Safety Forum conference on January 22 with his powerful presentation, “Why Things Go Wrong—And What Safety Officers Can Do About It.”

“There has been no greater time for fire department safety officers to arm themselves with the best information than now!” says Goldfeder. “Never has the fire service and it's leadership been so aware of the issues related to firefighter safety, health, and survival—and it's the fire department safety officer who can make the connection between their ‘awareness’ and the ‘reality’ and importance of leadership related to firefighter survival. Truly, the fire chief’s ‘right hand person’ w