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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: emergency responders

emergency responders stories: 17 news summaries

 Firefighters Play 
 ER Docs to 
 Uninsured 

Medical calls have more than doubled since 1980

Sep 4, 09 9:32 AM CDT
(Newser) - Operating in a poor area where many lack health insurance, a DC firehouse battles far more than just flames: Some 80% of its calls are for medical emergencies. Because it is believed to respond fastest, Washington’s fire department zooms to almost all the city’s emergency calls alongside EMS,... More »

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health care • health insurance • firefighters • primary care • emergency responders • Washington, DC • ambulance

(Newser) - In the chaotic traffic of Bangkok, the first to arrive on the scene of an accident is often not an ambulance but a Toyota pickup packed with volunteers in blue jumpsuits. These are the controversial workers of the Por Tek Tung Foundation, who haul the injured to hospitals and the... More »

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Thailand • Bangkok • volunteerism • emergency responders • traffic accidents

(Newser) - The incidence of multiple myeloma in 9/11 responders appears to be higher than in the general population, according to what one researcher calls "very preliminary" stats. Eight cases of the blood cancer were diagnosed in 28,000 emergency personnel followed between 2001 and 2007; statistically, that number should be... More »

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law enforcement • police • Ground Zero • World Trade Center • September 11 • emergency responders • multiple myeloma • medical study • 9/11 attacks • blood cancer

 Iowa 911 Now Accepts Texts 


Aug 5, 09 2:18 PM CDT
(AP) - An emergency call center in the basement of the county jail in Waterloo, Iowa, today became the first in the country to accept text messages sent to 911. "I think there's a need to get out front and get this technology available," the county's police chief says, adding... More »

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technology • Iowa • 911 call • emergency responders

NYC Gives Jumpy Citizens Heads-Up on Emergency Drill 

'Lots of sirens' Sunday in Lower Manhattan

May 15, 09 5:02 PM CDT
(Newser) - Mindful of the panic caused by the Air Force One flyover, New York is giving its residents fair warning of a massive emergency drill scheduled for Sunday, Reuters reports. The heads-up is “not necessarily” because of the scare, a spokesman said. But “people will see and hear lots... More »

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New York City • Ground Zero • Lower Manhattan • emergency responders • Port Authority of New York and New Jersey • 9/11 attacks • Air Force One • drill • flyover • train tunnel

 3 Dead in Ark. Tornado 


Apr 10, 09 1:49 PM CDT
(AP) - A tornado that swept through the mountain community of Mena, Ark., killed three people and injured at least 30 others, authorities said today after a house-to-house search. The twister descended quickly on Mena shortly after 8 last night after a series of siren blasts warned residents of tornadoes in the... More »

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tornado • severe weather • National Guard • Arkansas • death • death toll • natural disaster • emergency responders

Police Hunt Silicon Valley Phone Vandals

50K lose service in attack that highlights systems' vulnerability

Apr 10, 09 11:50 AM CDT
(Newser) - Authorities in Silicon Valley are hunting for saboteurs who cut fiber-optic telecom cables, leaving more than 50,000 customers—including police and hospitals—in parts of three counties without phone and internet service, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Ten cables were severed, crippling 911 operations, cellphone service, and businesses depending... More »

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Internet • Silicon Valley • San Francisco • cell phones • sabotage • telephone • emergency responders • cellphones

analysis

 911 Centers
 Easy Targets
 for Pranksters

Services not updated to handle fake caller ID

Feb 2, 09 2:58 PM CST
(Newser) - Using VoIP Internet-calling services, pranksters are easily duping outdated 911 call centers to disastrous consequences, Ars Technica reports. Using easy-access online services, callers can cover up their real locations, make up stories, and mobilize emergency teams anywhere. Updating call-center systems could fix the problem, but most such places can’t... More »

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Internet • crime • VoIP • crank call • prank • emergency responders • 911

 Kenya Oil Tanker Blast Kills 111 

Explosion occurred as resident scramble for free fuel

Feb 1, 09 4:49 AM CST
(Newser) - At least 111 people were killed when a truck transporting oil crashed and exploded in central Kenya last night, reports Reuters. The explosion, one of the worst recent disasters in eastern Africa, occurred just as Rift Valley residents crowded around the crippled tanker to gather spilling fuel. Rescuers speculated that... More »

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Kenya • petroleum • explosion • emergency responders • Rift Valley

Pot-Growing Dad Busted After Baby Calls 911

Mounties led to operation by toddler playing with phone

Jan 22, 09 4:38 AM CST
(Newser) - Mounties responding to an aborted 911 call from a Vancouver home discovered a cute baby playing with a cordless phone upstairs—and 500 marijuana plants downstairs, the Globe & Mail reports. The boy's pop was arrested and the baby was returned to his mom, who is separated from the... More »

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911 call • marijuana • toddler • drug dealer • emergency responders

 Storms Test New FEMA System 

'Dynamic' approach distributes response burden

Sep 8, 08 10:04 AM CDT
(Newser) - With three big storms hitting the US within about a week, FEMA is attempting to stay a step ahead, planning emergency response strategies and deploying supplies. The agency's new "dynamic regrouping" plan represents a real-time collaboration between military, civilian, and volunteer personnel, the Christian Science Monitor reports. "The... More »

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military • FEMA • evacuation • Red Cross • volunteer • hurricane • emergency responders • community • Hurricane Ike

UPDATED

Reaction to Medication Put Winehouse in Hospital: Rep

Troubled singer to be released tomorrow after ambulance trip

Jul 28, 08 6:00 PM CDT
(AP) - Amy Winehouse was hospitalized this evening for a reaction to medication and was expected to be released in the morning, representatives for the Grammy-winning singer said. An ambulance took Winehouse from her north London home to University College Hospital, spokesman Chris Goodman said. "Amy Winehouse suffered a reaction to... More »

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celebrity • Amy Winehouse • emergency responders • hospitalization • ambulance

Satellite Tech Plays Larger Role for Emergency Crews

First responders use GPS, other tech to find victims

May 20, 08 5:19 PM CDT
(Newser) - Emergency workers are increasingly turning to global-positioning and vehicle-tracking systems to find their way to victims and dispatch crews more efficiently, USA Today reports. "Clearly, we're in a business where seconds count," an Arizona fire official said. "If you're using GPS or automatic vehicle locator, it's a... More »

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GPS • emergency responders • satellite navigation

FCC Tries Again With Unsold Spectrum

Officials will take public comment before issuing revised plan

May 15, 08 4:56 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Federal Communications Commission will try again to sell broadband spectrum space intended to include a national network for emergency workers, Ars Technica reports.The D Block failed to garner the required minimum bid from commercial interests during a recent auction after negotiations became bogged down. Said one commissioner: "... More »

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FCC • spectrum auction • emergency responders • bandwidth

 Chilean Volcano
 Keeps Rumbling 

Area evacuated as lava flies 12 miles into the sky from long-dormant Chaiten

May 6, 08 1:53 PM CDT
(Newser) - The southern Chilean town of Chaiten has been totally evacuated after a volcano, active since Friday, belched molten lava and ash more than 12 miles high, the AP reports. Around 4,000 people have already left the area since the volcano—believed dormant for thousands of years—began acting up,... More »

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Chile • evacuation • volcano • Michelle Bachelet • emergency responders • volcanoes • disaster

 Hospitals Can't  Handle Terror Attack: Study

Trauma centers couldn't treat influx of victims

May 6, 08 9:02 AM CDT
(Newser) - Hospitals in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and other major US cities don't have the emergency room capacity to handle even a moderate terrorist attack, a congressional committee says. A survey last month of 34 hospitals revealed they could not handle a sudden surge of trauma victims, a situation described... More »

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terrorism • Minneapolis • Chicago • Washington DC • New York • Denver • Los Angeles • emergency room • Houston • emergency responders • terrorist attack • National Center for Disaster Preparedness • House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

Crickets Likely at FCC Discount Airwave Auction

Main waves to draw billions, but not so for public/private spectrum

Jan 15, 08 2:32 PM CST
(Newser) - What if the FCC held an auction and nobody came? In 2 weeks, the government will put a  nationwide airwave on the block starting at the low, low price of $1.33 billion. The catch? The lucky winner has to share the band with emergency responders. Right now, no company... More »

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Google • FCC • airwaves • AT and T • spectrum auction • emergency responders

17 Stories


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