FireLink

As a St. Paul firefighter, Ramon "Ray" Hain came in contact with a patient's body fluids in 1997. Doctors think he contracted a rare disease that weakened his heart. Hain, of Roseville, got a heart transplant in 1998 but had to retire in 2000 from the job he loved. In recent months, the 50-year-old Hain's heart began failing. He died last ...

FLORENCE, SC - A huge weight has been lifted off of Florence County’s Emergency Medical Services employees. Earlier this year, the county purchased 10 powered ambulance cots, which are powered by a hydraulic system that raises and lowers a patient with the touch of a button. The cots were purchased in an effort to reduce lifting injuries among EMS workers. “We ...

Cato, NY -- A 79-year-old Fulton driver has been charged with murder in connection with a Friday accident that killed a Camillus man.   Cayuga County Sheriff deputies said William L. Levea of 1471 County Route 6 repeatedly rammed his vehicle into the back of a pickup truck and caused it to crash into an  oncoming vehicle on Route 370.

WINSTON-SALEM, NC - For firefighters, the Scott Firefighter Combat Challenge is akin to the Olympics. The competition is a chance for them to test their physical fitness in an obstacle course that simulates some of the challenges firefighters see on the job. They haul water-filled hoses, drag mannequins and run up flights of stairs in full gear. [widget:news__training_center] Over the years, ...

NEW YORK (AP) - A would-be firefighter died after collapsing during training because he was singled out to repeat a dangerously grueling exercise without oxygen and other basic rescue equipment, his widow said in a $10 million lawsuit filed Tuesday. Jamel Sears passed a strenuous test that involved hauling a 100-pound dummy and running up and down stairs in heavy gear, ...

LAUREL, MD - Laurel volunteer firefighter Mike Sellner can relate to the ordeal that many overseas military service members face when calling home to the United States. Sellner, who served in the Navy and was stationed in Cuba in the mid-1970s, remembers the stacks of quarters and dimes sitting atop pay phones and the automated voice that told him to deposit ...

CHICO, CA - Becky Quigley, a 23-year-old Hotshot Firefighter, is in a Chico hospital where she battles a different kind of fight than the 23-year-old Weed resident is accustomed. Instead of fighting fires, Quigley now fights to recover from injuries that nearly killed her when a water-tender truck inadvertantly drove over Quigley - twice - on Sept. 21. Sue Tavalero, a ...

For one reason or another, sometimes we can spot images in the most unlikey places. We have a collection of photos where some have said they can spot a face - can you see them too? Test your detective skills and tell us what you see! An Easy Warm-Up → [page] Easy Warm-Up Did you find it? Check your answer ...

Sometimes the best stories are the ones you can't make up. When it comes to emergency dispatch, this tends to be the case. Sit back and enjoy this list of some of the most outrageous 9-1-1 calls we've ever heard. *Note: All videos may not be real First Video >>> [page] I Need A BambulanceWarning: Strong Language Next Video >>> ...

SEATTLE - Newly minted firefighter/EMT Gavin Rogers not only received his permanent badge in front of 100 people during a ceremony Sunday night -- he got engaged. Rogers picked the ceremony, which marked the end of the one-year probation for a half-dozen Jefferson County firefighters, to pop the question to girlfriend Kara Spray, according to the Peninsula Daily News. [widget:news__scholarships_and_videos] During ...

DETROIT - The 27-year-old businessman accused of paying a handyman $20 to burn a vacant house — a blaze that claimed the life of a Detroit firefighter — has been bound over for trial, the county Prosecutor’s Office said today. [widget:get_grants] Mario Willis is charged with felony murder and arson of a dwelling in the death last November of Walter Harris, ...

TAMPA - A man accused of hitting his estranged wife in the head with a hammer and setting her on fire will be held without bail at least until next week. Hillsborough Circuit Judge Walter R. Heinrich said he didn't have enough information to make a decision Thursday on whether to allow bail for Christopher Hanney. He set the case for ...

DENVER - Angela R. Cook became the highest ranking female officer in Denver Fire Department history Monday when she became division chief over crews, operations and training at Denver International Airport. She is one of seven members of Fire Chief Jim Sestrich's command staff. Cook was not available for comment after Monday morning's swearing-in at the Denver City and County Building. ...

MARION - A man was arrested early Wednesday morning after being accused of impersonating a firefighter. Trevor J. Willis, 29, 4891¼2 N. Prospect St., was in the 500 block of Oak Street knocking on doors, asking residents if he could get room dimensions because he was a firefighter, police reported. Authorities allege he tried to enter at least three homes. [widget:featured_career_firefighter] ...

TORONTO - Do paramedics like to clown around? Sure they do! In fact, most of the clowns driving floats in the Santa Claus parade are Toronto paramedics. "I'm Mrs. Santa Claus and I love it," says Maria Smyth, who works as a support assistant with Toronto EMS (Emergency Medical Services). "It is something I look forward to all year," says Smyth, ...

The granddaughters of a firefighter killed in the line of duty more than 70 years ago were presented with a tribute badge today to replace the original that was salvaged from the ruins of the devastating 2008 Sayre Fire in Sylmar. Firefighter George Damron died while responding to a call in Boyle Heights in 1935. His badge was a cherished keepsake ...

PRYOR, Okla. (AP) — The state Medical Examiner's office has ruled that the death of an Osage volunteer firefighter was a homicide. Michael Cobb's body was found inside after fire destroyed his home on Apr. 28. Mayes County Sheriff's investigator Albert McKee says the state Fire Marshal's Office determined that an accelerant had been used to start the blaze. A motorcycle ...

COMPTON, CA - A lot of reality shows featuring singers, actors and rappers are for those with a career on the way out, said actor-singer Tyrese Gibson. Not him. So, rather than go that route, Gibson is getting into reality as a producer and narrator of "First In," a 10-episode series launching Wednesday at 10 on BET that follows firefighters and ...

BOISE, Idaho — An Idaho woman who died after being pinned under a garage door at the paramedic building where she used to work first lured emergency workers away with a fake 9-1-1 call. KTVB-TV reports that 35-year-old Melissa Farris of Caldwell told dispatchers late last Thursday that a car had driven off a road. As an ambulance left the Canyon ...

ABINGTON -- A Boston EMT has been accused of shooting two of his friends after a night of drinking at a fund-raiser before grabbing his medical kit and helping to administer first aid. The EMT, Rhys Williams, 41, is accused of shooting two brothers during an argument early Sunday morning after he was thrown out of the party. Both brothers are ...