Weather and Sports

Nine people were hurt in a crash involving a fire truck and SUV in Harrisburg. Police think the SUV was traveling north on Cameron Street when it hit the fire truck at the intersection with Market Street around 6:45 p.m. Thursday. The vehicles then hit two other cars.

The vehicles then hit two other cars.

Three firefighters and a 3-year-old girl were among the people who were injured, officials said.

The fire truck was on an emergency call, according to authorities.

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Fire Chief Dru Tischer said crews continue to work on Shawnee's Fire Station No. 2, at 1401 N. Bryan St., expecting substantial work to be wrapping up by late spring/early summer. Repeated mold issues - caused by ongoing water leaks and drainage problems - had the city facing a decision whether to repair the site or remodel altogether.

Repeated mold issues — caused by ongoing water leaks and drainage problems — had the city facing a decision whether to repair the site or remodel altogether.

Choosing to tear the building down to the pre‐engineered “red‐iron” structure and concrete slab, expansion was designed to improve the apparatus bay and update the fire station from that point.

Though not all news has been positive, corrections are being made.

The U.S. Fire Administration has announced the official on-duty death of Fire Police Officer Grant L. Froman, 55, of the Dover Township Volunteer Fire Department on June 6, 2018.

Fire Police Officer Grant L. Froman was performing maintenance on Service 9, the traffic control unit, when he passed away from an apparent heart attack. 

Tribute is being paid to Fire Police Officer Froman at http://apps.usfa.fema.gov/firefighter-fatalities/

To date, 41 firefighter fatalities have been reported to USFA in 2018.  Year-to-date and annual USFA firefighter fatality reports are posted online at https://www.usfa.fema.gov/data/statistics/ff_fatality_reports.html

Fatality status is provisional and may change as USFA contacts State Fire Marshals to verify fatality incident information.

As we all now know, communications during the 9/11 terrorist attack became a vital, absolutely critical component of our reaction and response to this unprecedented national tragedy. And when the first responders experienced communications challenges that day, and even later on in the days that followed, the idea for a single public safety network was born. Now, nearly 18 years later, we’ve been introduced to FirstNet, built by AT&T.

About AT&T’s “FirstNet” Network

FirstNet is the nation’s first broadband network tailored specifically to meet the needs of local and national public safety officials. Simply put, it will help prioritize public safety messages, enabling first responders summoned in any type of event to save lives and protect property in the communities they serve.

At US Digital Designs, the company is ensuring that it is ready for this extraordinary new system. So, to learn more about FirstNet and its impact on fire station alerting, company representatives sat down and did a “Q & Andy” with product manager Andy MacFarlane, who also happens to be an expert in public safety networking and telecommunications.

Q: Why is FirstNet necessary?

Andy: In the event of a natural disaster—such as an earthquake, hurricane, fire, flooding, etc.—we know that the public network is likely to be overwhelmed. So, dispatch alerts and other critical messages sent through the new FirstNet network will bypass public network traffic and give public safety organizations “first” priority.

And then, at special events such as the Super Bowl, fire, medical and police responders will be given network priority over people using their mobile phones in and around the stadium. FirstNet devices and apps–like USDD’s FSA Mobile App–can serve as either a primary or backup way to communicate station alerting messages to first responders.

Q: What’s AT&T’s role in the development of this new system?

Andy: AT&T won its bid with the U.S. government to implement FirstNet. One of the many things they’re doing is to provide an “Application Ecosystem,” which consists of a mobile device management system. This will help government entities, such as fire agencies, manage their devices and applications. I think this is very good news for some agencies that do not yet have such a system in place. Additionally, AT&T offers a variety of FirstNet-enabled devices and accessories, ranging from purpose-built rugged units to smart devices and tablets.

One of the advantages of the FirstNet system is that it enables public safety customers to get the priority coverage and interoperability they need without sacrificing choice in the devices they require to get the job done. Plus, FirstNet is offering Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) capabilities to support volunteers and other personnel who use their personal devices for public safety work, as long as they meet the applicable requirements.

Q: What does it mean for automated fire station alerting?

Andy: All of US Digital Designs’ Phoenix G2 station alerting customers have a network connection for their station alerting. A growing number of our clients—including Phoenix and Mesa in Arizona and Broward County in Florida—have a data radio system as a means of secondary alerting. Agencies will be able to use wireless networking over the FirstNet system, to achieve reliable and prioritized alerting as either a primary or secondary alerting method. This system will work seamlessly with the Phoenix