On Monday, July 5, 2010 at 4am, units of the San Jose Fire Department responded to a major fire at Trace Elementary School located at 651 Dana Avenue in the city’s Rose Garden neighborhood. Photo by Craig Rose (smokeshowing), part of the Firefighter-EMT.com Flickr Group contributor pool.

Venice is most popular for its gondolas and canals, but it also has something else of interest: a water ambulance fleet (their police and fire fleet also has water-based units). This mode of transportation is most practical in an area where cars are strictly prohibited. The Ventian EMS, known as Venezia Emergenza, operates this ALS unit which is comprised of an ER nurse, two first-level medical technicians, and the driver. A ER physician may also be on board for more critical care.

The emergency number 118 is printed on either side of the boat.

Each unit is equipped with a two-tone siren, flashing blue lights, radio and GPS. A video of a unit responding to a call can be seen above.

BLS units are also available for non-emergency transport which can be staffed by volunteers (like Croce Verde Mestre) or contracted out to private companies (like Blue Cross/Croce Azzurra). These units do not have the yellow body but instead sport a red paint coat.

Photo by TimothylHendrix. Used with permission.

Photo by Kevin1Bravo. Used with permission.

Photo by Chronovial. Used with permission.

From Firefighter-EMT.com’s editorial team to our readers in the United States - have a wonderful, warm and safe Fourth of July!

Beginning July 1, more than 200 emergency medical technicians will not be making emergency calls. They’ve been suspended for anywhere from 45 days to nine months for falsely claiming they took certification refresher courses.
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Somerville firefighters rescued a trapped woman and evacuated other occupants from a three-alarm blaze in a triple-decker home near Magoun Square Sunday night.
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Photo by Richard Sennott, Star Tribune.
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As part of continued efforts to integrate social and mobile media into its services, Firefighter-EMT has rolled out a new web interface for its existing website in order to accomodate iPhone, Android, or other mobile browsers. In particular, it works well with touch-based screens. No installation or special procedure is necessary - just simply [...]

National Emergency Medical Services Week brings together local communities and medical personnel to publicize safety and honor the dedication of those who provide the day-to-day lifesaving services of medicine’s “front line.” The American College of Emergency Physicians website has a great educational PDF that contains stuff like:
Use Social Media Tools to Celebrate EMS Week Anytime, [...]

Federal authorities say Massachusetts should enact laws that require firefighters to wear selt belts and be tested on air brakes before they are allowed to drive fire trucks, according to an investigation report released today on the fatal fire truck crash in Boston last year.
The investigation conducted by the Firefighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program [...]