Spokane County Fire District 4 plans to place a levy lid lift on the ballot in August. If approved, the lift will allow the district to hire more emergency responders and replace a fire engine. According to the fire district, the Board of Fire Commissioners passed a resolution this week to bring the levy lid lift to voters. The district says that emergency calls have increased by 24 % in the past three years and that current revenues fail to cover the additional responses. In addition to hiring more emergency response and firefighting staff and replacing an engine, the levy lid lift would also fund the replacement of three vehicles used for wildfires and rural rescues. The Green Bluff fire station would also be remodeled to prepare for wildfire season according to the district. The district emphasized the importance of maintaining levy rates.  

VIDEO: A building fire caused by burning weeds at a business on Court Street in Pasco is now out, according to a press release. Pasco Fire Department Community Risk Reduction Manager Ben Shearer says the April 23 fire was reported on the 4400 block of Court Street at around 12:50 p.m. and was put out around 2 p.m. Franklin County Fire District 3, the Kennewick Fire Department and Pasco Police also responded when bushes on the outside of the building caught on fire and carried the flames into the building, according to a post from PFD. No one was inside at the time of the fire, according to PFD. Shearer says no one was injured. The fire was reportedly caused by burning weeds which spread to nearby bushes. The building, housing the W.R. Wilkins Tax Accountant business, is uninhabitable, according to Shearer.  

Black smoke billowing from the cold storage warehouse fire in Finley over the weekend carried burning plastic and other potentially toxic building materials into the air, including anhydrous ammonia. About 14,000 pounds of ammonia, which was used as a refrigerant at the frozen vegetable warehouse, was lost in the fire, the Washington Department of Ecology confirmed Tuesday to the Tri-Cities Herald. Benton County Fire District 1 fielded numerous questions from the public about a possible ammonia release, said Jenna Kochenauer, the district's public information officer. Ammonia is caustic and hazardous when released in large volumes, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, which notes that it is difficult to ignite and that its smell tends to drive people away before concentration levels become dangerous.  

VIDEO: Walk through most northern Michigan fire departments and you are bound to see a variety of trucks and vehicles they use to respond to emergencies. But one local fire department has a new addition unlike any other department around. "It's different every day. I get to meet different people every day. Unfortunately, sometimes I see them in their worst conditions, but it's different every day," said Fire Chief Paul Fabiano. Something different every day. For the firefighters at South Torch Lake Fire and Rescue, that means they have to be prepared for just about anything. A quick walk through the fire station shows you they are. "Every vehicle has a purpose," Chief Fabiano said. But their latest addition -- just a few weeks old -- might seem familiar in form, just not expected in this fleet.  

In a new partnership allowing firefighters to perform whole blood transfusions in the field, Colorado Springs firefighters predict they will be able to save more lives while out on calls. The partnership is with UCHealth. It gives firefighters the equipment they need to be able to give whole blood to patients suffering from blood loss while in the field. "This is the bridge between those patients dying in the field and living and making it through emergency surgery," Fire Chief Randy Royal said. Whole blood is a vital fluid that can be given in emergency situations to help those experiencing blood loss make it to the hospital to get more extensive emergency treatment. "What we also recognize from new research is that you have to give it in the first 15 minutes to 30 minutes of injury," said Dr. David Steinbruner, a doctor at UCHealth with experience in emergency medicine.  

According to Rochester firefighter and paramedic Mark Lawrence, having a good sense of humor is "almost a prerequisite" in his field of work. On Friday, May 17, Lawrence's sense of humor, which he described as "absurd," could help him take home a $5,000 prize. Lawrence will compete against five other New England firefighters in a stand-up comedy competition put on by the International Association of Fire Fighters. All proceeds from the event will go towards Firefighters vs. Cancer, a nonprofit organization that provides free cancer screenings for firefighters. "It's for a great cause — It's proven that the very equipment we wear to protect us in fires is slowly killing us over time," said Lawrence. According to former Boston Fire Department Lieutenant Mike Foley, about 40% of all firefighters working today will be diagnosed with cancer during their careers.