Latest news with #mutualaid
CTV News
05-07-2025
- General
- CTV News
Quick fire knockdown saves historic 145-year-old Opera House in St. Marys
Fire destroyed one unit at the Opera House in St. Marys, Ont. on Friday, July 4, 2025 (Brent Lale/CTV London) A timely response by St. Marys fire fighters saved a historic building from going up in flames. Just before midnight on Friday, a resident of the Opera House on Water Street went out to walk their dog. They noticed smoke coming from a unit, which faces the back parking lot. 'They ran inside and once they got to the second story, they noticed a lot of smoke in the hallway,' said Chief Phil West of St. Marys Fire Dept. 'They pounded on the door saying, 'There's a fire.' That gentleman might have saved a life.' The individual went back in and learned another tenant had called 911 and another had used the pull station and fire alarms were activated. St. Marys opera house fire July 4 2025 Fire destroyed one unit at the Opera House in St. Marys, Ont. on Friday, July 4, 2025 (Brent Lale/CTV London) West said the woman was distraught and couldn't really answer whether she was about to fall asleep or sleeping. She did not need to be taken to hospital and moved with her cat into a friend's house temporarily. 'We called mutual aid (Granton Fire and Uniondale) right away,' said West. 'It was a quick knock down from the outside and through a window which was broken from the heat of the fire.' Saturday morning, the building's owner along with the town's building inspector and the Chief Fire Inspector of St. Marys Fire were on scene. Tenants have been displaced until officials can approve a safe return. St. Marys opera house fire July 4 2025 Fire destroyed one unit at the Opera House in St. Marys, Ont. on Friday, July 4, 2025 (Brent Lale/CTV London) 'That's going to be up to the building inspector,' said West. 'St. Marys Fire is going to be involved with making sure the fire system is back up and running, adequately. They're going to have to determine damage from the water below, from the entranceway, they're going to have to deal whether that's safe or close that area off while it's getting repaired.' The historic building constructed between 1879 and 1880 has an exterior which is protected by an Ontario Heritage Trust conservation easement. The stone building on the Thames River is also designated by the Town of St. Marys. The Opera House is significant for its association with social life and performances of Shakespearean plays, musical comedies, vaudeville shows, and even political building was restored into apartments in 1987. History was saved thanks to a quick response by a Samaritan and local fire fighters. 'It could have been a lot bigger and a lot worse,' said West.
The Guardian
03-07-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
From Gaza to Marrickville: Sydney community comes together to raise funds for mutual aid
Following its May debut, Sydney's Mutual Aid Market returned to Marrickville's Addison Road Community Centre for a second time on 29 June 2025. Organiser Sarah Shaweesh described the 'warm feeling' at the event, where stallholders either raised money for their own mutual aid or for a 'common fund' – where all proceeds went to Palestinian and First Nations mutual aid, with 25% held in reserve for urgent campaigns between markets. Guardian Australia reporter Rafqa Touma visited the market to learn more about how the community is organising practical support from afar
CTV News
30-06-2025
- General
- CTV News
Prince Edward Island sends firefighters to Yukon to help with wildfire
Ten forest firefighters from Prince Edward Island are heading to Yukon to help with the wildfire situation. 'The Government of Prince Edward Island has more than 55 staff trained in wildland firefighting, including foresters, forest technicians, wildlife technicians, and others who have fire response as part of their duties,' a news release reads. P.E.I. is part of the mutual aid agreement with all Canadian provinces and territories through the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. 'Crews have returned safely from Manitoba and Saskatchewan, ready to put their new skills to use in PEI if ever needed,' Environment, Energy and Climate Action Minister Gilles Arsenault said. 'This new deployment will help further build firefighting skill capacity in our province. The province continues to be in a good position to respond to forest fire inside or outside of provincial borders.' For more P.E.I. news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
Associated Press
14-06-2025
- Automotive
- Associated Press
Good Driver Mutuality: Using AI to Redefine Mutuality Service and Lead an Auto Repair Efficiency Revolution
SAN FRANCISCO, CA / ACCESS Newswire / June 13, 2025 / In Silicon Valley, where cutting-edge technology meets community-driven innovation - Good Driver Mutuality (GDM) is reinventing the concept of mutual aid through artificial intelligence. Designed for America's safest drivers, this platform builds a modern community rooted in ancient wisdom: sharing risks, reducing costs, and fostering collective responsibility. By breaking down the barriers of time and distance, GDM is breathing new life into mutual aid for the digital age. 1. From Neighborhood Assistance to Nationwide Networks: A New Mutual Aid Paradigm GDM does not provide insurance products - it operates as a tech-powered community where safe drivers band together to support members' vehicle repairs after accidents with small, voluntary contributions. Unused funds stay with members who remain accident-free, lowering costs for the careful while encouraging safer driving habits. It's a double win: drivers save money, and roads become safer for everyone. What once was neighborly help for fires and floods now finds a new home on GDM's digital platform. With technology as the bridge, even strangers can build trust and share risk. This modern mutual aid model retains the core spirit of empathy and solidarity while adding transparency, efficiency, and scalability. 2. Four AI-Driven Core Capabilities Reshaping Costs and User Experience GDM harnesses the power of advanced AI to drive every facet of its operations, embedding innovation at the core of its business. By integrating cutting-edge technology, GDM ensures long-term competitiveness while consistently delivering meaningful, high-value products. AI-Powered Operational Cost Optimization GDM integrates AI agents across its operations, targeting real-world pain points. Many industry insights remain untapped by large language models, while massive amounts of operational data remain unstructured - a prime opportunity for AI to drive efficiency at scale. Tasks that once relied on human experts are now automated, operating 24/7 with precision while dramatically cutting labor costs. In the notoriously tough U.S. car insurance market, where data sets, customer lifecycles, and regional dynamics make standardized pricing nearly impossible, GDM cracked the code. Its AI rapidly identifies key factors and processes messy, unstructured data. Evolving from a support tool into a fully autonomous agent, it delivers fair, competitive pricing for safe drivers and removes entry barriers for new members. 3 A Tech Framework Restructuring the Service Chain In the U.S. auto insurance market, Loss Adjustment Expenses (LAE) are typically high, making up a significant portion of premiums. GDM eliminates this inefficiency. Members submit incident reports directly through the GDM app and by speaking with a phone agent, where mutuality advisors verify eligibility and initiate repair workflows. GDM's '3A Technology Matrix' (App, Application Programming Interfaces (API), and AI) aims to significantly reduce post-incident expenses, resulting in cost savings of nearly 10%. This is made possible through an intelligent incident triage system: The vast majority of cases- minor, routine, or standard - are handled without human intervention. Only a limited number of complex incidents (unique or challenging situations, or total loss cases) require manual review. This paves the way for zero-touch service and value-driven cost control, redefining efficiency standards for accident management. Miles: AI-Powered 24/7 Multilingual Customer Support GDM's proprietary AI customer service assistant, Miles, has evolved into a multimodal interaction hub capable of instant responses in 18 languages, all within a second. Miles continuously improves its knowledge base through user feedback and business development, maintaining a 99.2% accuracy rate in query resolution. AI Assistants Driving Growth for Affiliates GDM's AI tools also aim to transform how affiliate partners work. Key features include: This AI-human hybrid model offers affiliates a 24/7 virtual assistant, turning data into action and strategies into instant execution. 3. Technology for Good: Building Safer Roads for Everyone GDM's AI-driven mutual aid model has already helped some accident-free members save up to 40% at the end of their mutuality plans. 'Our goal isn't just to reduce costs for safe drivers through smart technology,' says the GDM founder. 'We're building a future of safer, fairer roads where good drivers save more, and communities stay protected.' And here's the bigger picture: when safe drivers are rewarded meaningfully, road safety shifts from passive enforcement to proactive prevention - a win for individuals, families, and society as a whole. About Good Driver Mutuality Good Driver Mutuality (GDM) is an innovative non-insurance alternative to traditional collision and comprehensive insurance, fostering a strong network of responsible drivers who share automotive repair costs. By leveraging AI-powered technology and rewarding safe driving habits, GDM helps reduce accidents and lower costs for its members, ultimately enhancing road safety. To learn more, visit References: CONTACT: [email protected] SOURCE: Good Driver Mutuality press release
BBC News
11-06-2025
- BBC News
Police Scotland officers sent to Ballymena after aid plea
Police Scotland has agreed to send officers to Northern Ireland after two nights of disorder in Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) asked for extra support under mutual aid arrangements following violent scenes in the County Antrim deployment will involve an undisclosed number of public order officers who are trained to police civil unrest.A total of 32 PSNI officers have been injured since the protests over an alleged sexual assault began on Monday night. The force's assistant chief constable, Ryan Henderson, said they would be "surging a significant number of extra officers" into affected described the violence as "racist thuggery targeted at ethnic minorities and police officers". Police Scotland previously sent 120 officers to Belfast last summer after a number of PSNI officers were injured during several nights of rioting and disorder in the wake of attacks on children in Southport, force confirmed the deployment, but declined to comment aid agreements are uncommon and are generally "incident based," according to the National Police Chiefs' Henderson said: "As part of my forward planning I have now activated the request for mutual aid resources from policing colleagues in Great Britain to ensure we have the necessary support to maintain public order and bring offenders to justice in the days to come." Protesters in Ballymena have targeted officers with petrol bombs, bricks and fireworks during disorder on Monday and first protest was organised hours after two teenage boys appeared before Coleraine Magistrates' Court .They spoke through an interpreter in Romanian to confirm their names and ages. Their solicitor said they would be denying the PSNI said there have also been sporadic incidents of disorder in Carrickfergus, north Belfast and Newtownabbey, where one man was far, one man, aged 29, has been charged with riotous behaviour, disorderly behaviour, attempted criminal damage and resisting police after Monday's violence.
