News
Here you will find all of the latest news from our department.| Tech officer: Seattle FD ignored years-old equity warnings before deploying AI on 911 calls | Thursday November 5th, 2026 |
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A 2019 memo warning that AI could introduce bias based on accents, disabilities and race went unaddressed before the department began using the technology on live 911 medical calls in 2023, prompting experts to call for suspending its use until a public evaluation is completed |
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| 3 Ohio county communities approve fire, EMS tax levies | Thursday November 5th, 2026 |
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Strongsville voters approved a new levy to hire 12 firefighter-paramedics, North Royalton passed a renewal and increase generating $2.27 million annually, and Olmsted Falls renewed its existing fire levy while rejecting a separate income tax hike |
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| Calif. county voters reject sales tax for hospital, fire funding | Thursday November 5th, 2026 |
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El Dorado County voters rejected the proposed 30-year, three-eighths-cent sales tax increase, which would have raised an estimated $13 million annually for hospital upgrades, fire agencies, and wildfire prevention |
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| Mich. voters approve 911 fee hike to fund new radios for first responders | Wednesday November 4th, 2026 |
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Jackson County’s measure, which passed 36,228 to 26,783, will fund roughly $5.5 million in new 800-megahertz radios for all 641 fire and police radios countywide |
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| Election day 2026: The votes are in. The EMS challenges haven't changed. | Wednesday November 4th, 2026 |
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From Washington's political shakeup to local EMS tax levies — what election results may mean for the future of emergency medical services |
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| Maine EMT returns home after 168-day recovery from mill explosion | Wednesday November 4th, 2026 |
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EMT Lily Robbins, injured in the explosion at Robbins Lumber Mill that killed two first responders and severely injured EMS Chief Sarah Tompkins, was escorted home by volunteer first responders to a community welcome in Searsmont |
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| Ohio voters approve tax increase for EMS, cut fire levy | Wednesday November 4th, 2026 |
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Wadsworth’s five-year measure raises the EMS levy from 3 to 4 mills, generating about $2.52 million annually, as voters also approved cutting the city’s fire levy to help offset the increase amid surging emergency call volumes |
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| N.Y. voters narrowly reject tax for full-time ambulance coverage | Wednesday November 4th, 2026 |
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LaFayette’s advisory measure failed by just 36 votes, with town leaders saying they won’t pursue the roughly $1 million tax that would have funded round-the-clock EMS staffing and cut average response times from 14 minutes to about six |
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| Man faces felony charges after confrontation with Chicago police, firefighter caught on video | Tuesday November 3rd, 2026 |
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Police say a TASER was ineffective before a firefighter struck the advancing man with a Halligan tool during a South Side response |
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| 6 injured in Del. school bus, minivan crash, fire | Tuesday November 3rd, 2026 |
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Wilmington firefighters found all six people already out of their vehicles when they arrived at the scene, and all were taken to the hospital with minor injuries following the crash |
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