Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania fire department celebrates EMS Week with faster response times, thanks to new firefighters
KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. (CBS) — This week marks the 50th anniversary of EMS Week, and one Pennsylvania department is celebrating faster response times, thanks to new graduates from the fire academy.
“A dream. I love my job,” said Joshua DePietro, more than two weeks into his new role as a firefighter-paramedic.
He is one of 12 new professional firefighters and emergency medical technicians with the Upper Merion Township Fire Department. DePietro helps to supplement about 50 volunteer first responders who cover the community of more than 35,000 people.
“We can help them out, they help us out,” he said. “And it creates better coverage for the township at whole.”
Before graduation day on May 3, the department had just one shift with professional firefighters and EMTs along with on-call volunteers, Upper Merion Fire Chief James Johnson said. At the time, the response time was more than eight minutes.
“So by having that second unit, we’ve actually reduced those response times down into the 5-minute 20-second area,” he said.
Johnson said since the newest class of firefighters joined the station, it means even faster results when the community needs them most.
“So that we can get to residents’ homes quicker, so we can help our mutual aid partners in Norristown, people who are on the Schuylkill Expressway or on the Turnpike that have a motor vehicle accident,” Johnson said.
The new positions were made possible by a three-year FEMA grant. That grant made firefighter-paramedic DePietro’s dream of becoming a first responder possible, too.
“Truly, this is the greatest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” DiPietro said.
A large fire ripped through an apartment building in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania Saturday night.
The fire broke out just after 8:15 p.m. at One Maryland Circle apartments in Whitehall Township, Lehigh County.
Video obtained by CBS News Philadelphia shows firefighters battling heavy flames in an apartment unit, with thick smoke pouring from the building. The footage also shows noticeable damage to the building from the fire.
The cause of the fire is unknown, and it is unclear if anyone was displaced or injured.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Investigators say the dispute escalated into gunfire.
Saturday, December 13, 2025 2:03PM
LANSDOWNE, Pa., (WPVI) — An argument between two groups turned violent late Friday night in Delaware County, leaving one person fighting for their life.
The shooting happened around 10:45 p.m. along the unit block of South Wycombe Avenue in Lansdowne.
Investigators say the dispute escalated into gunfire, striking one individual who was rushed to the hospital and is now listed in critical condition.
Police recovered a firearm at the scene, but so far, no arrests have been made.
Authorities have not released the identity of the victim or any details about what sparked the confrontation.
Detectives are continuing to investigate and are urging anyone with information to come forward.
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A man suspected of fatally shooting his wife at their Vallejo home was tracked to Pennsylvania and arrested, authorities said.
The Vallejo Police Department said in a press release that officers responded to a missing person report on Tuesday evening on the the 1000 block of Oakwood Avenue. A friend had reported her coworker had not shown up for work, and the friend was worried about her well-being after a recent argument with her husband. The friend told officers her friend had recently gone to a mutual friend’s residence after her husband had threatened to kill her.
Police conducted a welfare check at the missing person’s apartment, but no one answered the door, police said, and none of the neighbors reported any disturbances from the residence. An automated license plate reader indicated that her vehicle was last seen traveling in West Vallejo, and attempts to contact both the missing person and her husband by phone were unsuccessful, police said.
On Wednesday evening, a maintenance worker at the apartment complex entered the missing person’s residence and found her unresponsive and he called 911. Officers arrived and found she had been shot to death at the scene, police said. The woman’s husband, 45-year-old Vallejo resident Zheer Queja Malassab of Vallejo, was identified as the suspect.
A search for the victim’s vehicle led to the discovery that it traveled to Pennsylvania, and detectives contacted the Pennsylvania State Police, informing them of a be-on-the-lookout alert and the vehicle’s last known location.
Pennsylvania State Police located the vehicle and and tried to pull it over in snowy conditions, but the driver sped away, police said. Due to the conditions, the driver was ultimately forced to stop and surrender. Zheer was arrested without incident, and he admitted to shooting his wife after he was read his Miranda rights, police said.
Zheer is currently waiting to be extradited to California, where he will face charges of murder and will be booked into the Solano County Jail.
Anyone with information regarding this case is urged to contact Detective Stephanie Diaz at (707) 648-5430 or at Stephanie.Diaz@cityofvallejo.net, or Detective Zach Horton at (707) 648-5425 or Zach.Horton@cityofvallejo.net. Anonymous tipsters can call the tip line at 800-488-9383.
It was the city’s 17th homicide of 2025.
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