WEST CAPE, South Africa - The DA claims private paramedic college owners and working paramedics are furious at the government’s decision to terminate emergency medical services (EMS) short courses, which are responsible for training 99 percent of emergency medical personnel. The decision was to phase out short courses offered by private institution over the next four years, was taken by the ...

DALLAS -- The challenge for Hayden was to find Dallas fire Capt. Laurel Pitman in a pile of concrete blocks as smoke filled the air and strong winds blew. When his handler let him go, the 2-year-old Labrador-Chesapeake Bay retriever made just one circle around the debris. It took him eight seconds to sniff out Pitman. "Oh, he works so fast," ...

GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) - Authorities say a retired firefighter in Southern Oregon shot and killed his estranged wife when she came home to pick up some belongings, then turned the gun on himself as deputies arrived. The Josephine County sheriff's office told The Grants Pass Daily Courier newspaper that investigators found 59-year-old Ted T. Richardson and 52-year-old Susan C. Richardson ...

McLEAN, Va. - Rescue workers have temporarily suspended the search for a mother and daughter who disappeared in the Potomac River Monday afternoon. Montgomery County Fire and Rescue River Rescue and Tactical Services crews will resume the search later Tuesday, once the glare from the midday sun dies down. [widget:news__wtop] Helicopters using infrared technology and searchers in rescue boats combed the ...

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. (AP) ― Four Framingham firefighters have suffered minor injuries after their fire engine crashed and rolled over. The fire truck was returning from a call when the driver hit a pole before rolling over onto an Edgell Road front yard. The firemen were taken to a local hospital for treatment. A fireman who answered the phone at the station, ...

NORTH BELFAST, UK - A man accused of stabbing a teenage boy to death also threatened an off-duty firefighter as he left the scene of the attack, it has been alleged in court. Testifying at the Thomas Devlin murder trial, witness Laurence Kelly said two men walked past him on a road, moments before he found the dying boy. Mr Kelly ...

TAMPA - It's a dessert. Bananas, ice cream, cinnamon and butter. You wouldn't exactly imagine having to save someone from bananas Foster. But for the finishing touch, it's a flambé. Most recipes call for a quarter-cup of dark rum, brought to the table and ignited. On Saturday night, a fun dessert went terribly wrong and five customers at a Palm Harbor ...

HOUSTON, TX - Overtime pay for police and firefighters cost Houston taxpayers $67 million last year, including 714 employees who each earned $20,000 or more, and four officers who pulled down more than $100,000. A Houston Chronicle analysis shows that most of the money — $50 million — went to the Houston Police Department, long bedeviled by staffing shortages while trying ...

FERNLEY, NV--This Thursday, residents will start seeing yellow ambulances operated by North Lyon County Fire Protection District. The District was awarded the ambulance franchise by the Fernley City Council in September of 2009. While obtaining the licenses and permits, service has been provided via a mutual aid agreement between Central Lyon County Fire Protection District, and fire districts in Storey and ...

Los Alamos, N.M. -- Thousands of residents fled the town that's home to the Los Alamos nuclear laboratory as a rapidly growing wildfire approached, sending up towering plumes of smoke, raining down ash and charring the fringes of the sprawling lab. The blaze, which began Sunday, destroyed 30 structures south of Los Alamos and forced the closure of the lab while ...

[gate] ATLANTIC CITY — Next year, the city’s skyline will grow taller with the completion of Revel’s 710-foot casino — 200 feet higher than Harrah’s, which is now the city’s tallest building. Only the 781-foot Goldman Sachs Building in Jersey City will be taller in the state. The towering plans raise the question: Can the city’s fire department handle a blaze ...

SUSSEX, UK - A three-year-old girl from Sussex was rescued by her firefighter father after becoming stuck in a bed headrest. Watch manager Bob Beard was on duty when he was called to his own house in Crowborough after his daughter's head became wedged on Wednesday morning. The toddler was freed by the fire crew who rotated her head to release ...

HAVERHILL, Mass. — Prosecutors have charged a 10-year-old Massachusetts boy with involuntary manslaughter for allegedly starting a fire that killed two relatives, including a 6-year-old boy. A not guilty plea was entered for the boy Monday in Lawrence Juvenile Court. His name was not released because of his age. Prosecutors say the boy used a lighter to start the fire in ...

NEW YORK - After many years of costly litigation, the news broke this week that lawyers for thousands who were injured in the World Trade Center attacks have reached a settlement with the City of New York and others that could provide more than $650 million to those who sustained illnesses or injuries in rescue and recovery operations at Ground Zero. ...

Firefighters work hard and play hard. If you're gearing up for your summer vacation, but aren't sure which direction to go check out FireLink's top 25 cities list. When it comes to vacationing in the U.S., each city is unique. We thought about places that are good for both families and singles, reunions with both friends and relatives. Which city ...

HOUSTON - Her small frame consumed by 60 pounds of firefighting gear, 18-year-old Andreina Rodriguez paused to steal a moment on the steps after escaping a burning building. Her expression masked by her helmet, Andreina quietly pumped her fists in the air. She was celebrating guts; that her grit had overpowered fear. Moments later, the sweat-soaked Sterling High teen freed her ...

WAYNE COUNTY, TX - Susan Marie Bates told state police she wanted to get boyfriend Timothy Wood's attention when she wrapped herself in a Dallas Cowboys fleece and set the blanket ablaze. The fire was the third that Ms. Bates is accused of setting Saturday afternoon at the rented home she and Mr. Wood shared in Wayne County's Texas Twp. Mr. ...

TUCSON, Ariz. — An evacuation order has been lifted for residents of three communities near a southeast Arizona wildfire. The Forest Service said Friday that fire crews will stay around Paradise, Cave Creek and the Southwest Research Center to patrol the area for fires. Meanwhile, the Horseshoe Two fire has risen to nearly 50,000 acres and is 40 percent contained. Fire ...