About 4 acres of land, forest in Chesterfield County burn in brush fire

About four acres of land and forest burned in Chesterfield County Tuesday afternoon due to a spreading brush fire. According to Chesterfield Fire & EMS, at about 3 p.m. on Tuesday, April 30, crews responded to the 15800 block of Saddlebrook Road near River Road for reports of smoke. When firefighters arrived, they found an active brush fire that had spread into the nearby forest. The fire took over an hour to contain, with both county firefighters and the Virginia Department of Forestry working together to control the spread. According to fire officials, about 4 acres were affected. No other information, such as the cause of the fire, is available at this time.
WRIC-TV ABC 8 Petersburg

Harrisonburg: Firefighters ask the community to help support their fallen colleagues

On International Firefighters Day, people from all corners of the United States will gather at a memorial in Maryland to help remember the people who paid the ultimate sacrifice to protect the community they serve. Not everybody is a firefighter, but the National Fallen Firefighters Association has a way for people from all walks of life to support the fallen heroes and their families. The NFFA asks people to change their exterior light bulbs to red ones from May 1 to May 5. Harrisonburg Fire Chief Matthew Tobia said the color selection is meant to represent the most commonly identified color of a firefighter. Over 200 firefighters will be honored at the memorial and have their names etched into it. According to Tobia, 15 of those names will be from men and women who served Virginia communities.
WHSV-TV ABC 3 Harrisonburg

Chesapeake firefighters attack an increased cancer risk with early detection screening

VIDEO: Over the next three days, at least 75 Chesapeake firefighters will get screened for esophageal cancer. "Firefighters, unfortunately, are at a 62% higher risk of developing esophageal cancer, so our drive and our mission is really to provide early detection for these guys," said Jill Vaughn, a clinical manager for Lucid Diagnostics. The Professional Fire Fighters of Chesapeake IAFF Local 2449 is partnering with Lucid Diagnostics to offer the EsoGuard test. The EsoGuard test involves inserting a capsule attached to a thin tube through the mouth and the lower esophagus to collect cells. Those cells are sent to a lab and results come back in two to three weeks. One of the first in line was Chief Sam Gulisano.
WVEC-TV ABC 13 Hampton

Norfolk taps 40-year veteran as new fire chief

The City of Norfolk officially has a new fire chief. Interim Chief Sidney Carroll accepted the full-time position, city manager Pat Roberts announced Friday. Carroll replaces former Chief John DiBacco, who left in December for a new role as chief of Hagerstown, Maryland’s fire department after working his way up in Norfolk since 1992. Carroll’s first official day on the job is May 4. Carroll is a Norfolk native and has worked for the fire department since January 1982. In that time, he has served as a supervisor in all three operational battalions including working as the health and safety officer. He also served on the core values development committee for Norfolk Fire-Rescue and was the chair of the department’s diversity committee, according to a news release.
Daily Press - Metered Site

Botetourt County Fire & EMS rescue man who fell nearly 100 feet off embankment

VIDEO: A man was airlifted from the Blue Ridge Parkway after a motorcycle crash sent him nearly 100 feet over an embankment over the weekend. Botetourt County Fire & EMS Chief Jason Ferguson said crews jumped into action to save the man’s life. “It’s our role to make sure that we’re putting all the things in place to give anybody that’s critically ill or injured a fighting chance,” Ferguson said. “We certainly feel like we did that in this event.” First responders used a rigging system to safely rescue the patient and ensure the crews’ safety, too. Ferguson said teamwork and the right resources turned this rescue mission into a success. “Somewhere around 10-12 years ago we had a very similar incident,” Ferguson said.
WSLS-TV NBC 10 Roanoke