Firefighters respond to Burrillville house fire

6 adults and two children are being assisted by the Red Cross after a fire broke out in a Burrillville home Thursday morning. Burrillville firefighters responded to a second alarm house fire. The fire was reported just before 3 a.m. on Victory Hwy in a residential basement of a single family home. According to officials, upon arrival smoke was seen traveling to the first floor of the home. Officials do not believe the home is a total loss. Firefighters said that the homes in the area are old, and fire can spread easily. One firefighter was taken to the hospital for an injury to his arm. The Red Cross said the individuals affected will connect with Red Cross caseworkers in the coming days to work on a longer-term recovery plan. It is unclear how the fire started at this time.
WLNE-TV ABC 6 New Bedford

East Bay ambulances shake up response strategies amid Washington Bridge crisis

In the months following the closure of the westbound side of the Washington Bridge, East Bay fire departments relied more heavily on emergency rooms at hospitals outside of Providence in an effort to avoid traffic jams and increased travel times. Bristol Fire Chief Michael DeMello said before the bridge closed abruptly in December, roughly 65% of his department’s rescue runs went to Providence-area hospitals, including the level one trauma center at R.I. Hospital. After the bridge shuttered and traffic became squeezed down to two lanes, the run rate fell to about 50%, he said. “You’re stuck in that traffic just like everyone else,” DeMello said. “There’s definitely been a little bit more of a tendency to transport south and east as opposed to north and west.”
WPRI-TV CBS/MyNetworkTV 12 Providence