Canton Fire Department Deals With Firefighter Loss, Seeks to Support Mental Health Among Crew

There’s great sadness combined with a tremendous sense of purpose within the Canton Fire Department. This, after the untimely death of one of their own. 42-year-old firefighter/paramedic Jared Kneale died on Friday. It’s his family that wants people to know that he died at his own hands. So the department revealed over the weekend that they will make something positive happen in Kneale’s name. He had been with the department for nine years. They say his suicide was the result of post-traumatic stress-related illness, which is not unusual among firefighters, according to the National Fallen Firefighters Association. He leaves his wife and six children. For mental health issues, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline number is 988.
WHBC-AM 1480 Canton

Alliance firefighters union: Woman killed in house fire

PHOTOS: One person was killed after a house fire that broke out in the early morning hours of Monday in Alliance, according to the city's firefighter union. According to the Alliance Professional Firefighters Local 480, crews were called to a "structure fire" in the 300 block of North Lincoln Avenue at approximately 1:30 a.m. Alliance firefighters were also told that there was a person trapped inside the home. When crews arrived, they discovered a fire in the front area of the home with "heavy smoke and heat throughout." Firefighters found the victim, a woman, after entering through the back breezeway and gave her CPR while waiting for paramedics to arrive. The victim was taken to Alliance Hospital, but "unfortunately succumbed to her injuries from the smoke and heat." Her identification has not yet been revealed.
WKYC-TV NBC 3 Cleveland

Father and daughter dead, mother and son injured in Fulton County home explosion

VIDEOS/PHOTOS: Two people are dead and two others were injured when a home exploded in Fulton County Thursday morning. A home near the intersection of County Road K and County Road 12 near Wauseon exploded around 5:30 a.m. on May 16. According to authorities at the scene, a father and daughter were killed. A mother and son were taken to an area hospital for their injuries. A witness told 13 Action News he was on his way to work when he saw the house explode. The man and a few other Good Samaritans pulled the mother from the front of the house and the son was pulled from the back of the house. Officials have not yet identified the people killed in the explosion.
WTVG-TV ABC/CW 13 Toledo

New cancer-detecting blood test now available to Northeast Ohio fire departments at University Hospitals

VIDEO: In 2017, after four attempts, Ohio finally passed cancer presumption legislation for firefighters, recognizing cancer was indeed a risk of their profession and medical expenses should be covered by the Bureau of Workers Compensation. Senate Bill 27 was named the Michael Louis Palumbo Jr. Act, after the Beachwood Fire Captain who'd been battling occupational brain cancer. He died a month after the law went into effect. Since that time, 285 firefighters filed claims and 224 were approved, according to the Ohio BWC. Firefighters are known to be at much higher risk for cancer because of the many carcinogens they're exposed to during their jobs. On average in the United States, one in two men and one and three women will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime, and many will be diagnosed in later stages when it is more difficult to treat.
WKYC-TV NBC 3 Cleveland