The Pewaukee and Sussex fire departments have formed a partnership — at least temporarily. According to Pewaukee Fire Chief Kevin Bierce, the decision to merge the two departments was in response to the coronavirus pandemic. "(Sussex Fire) Chief (David) Johnsen and I have been looking at different options of how to enhance service levels for both communities for several months," Bierce said.
- PUB DATE: 4/10/2020 9:33:18 AM - SOURCE: Living Lake Country

PHOTO: Firefighters and paramedics in Oregon showed their support for health care workers Thursday night by driving through the town and waving to residents. The parade, which started at 6 p.m., showcased the Oregon Area Fire & EMS District's equipment. The department asked residents to stand outside in their yards and wave, as a way to thank the health care workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic in Oregon and all over the country.
- PUB DATE: 4/10/2020 7:57:17 AM - SOURCE: WMTV-TV NBC 15 Madison

Ellie had been planning everything out for her fifth birthday since at least October: a unicorn party with unicorn cake, special decorations and games, plus a guest list featuring friends from her 4K class. “When we had to tell her we had to cancel it, she was really sad,” said Ellie’s mom, Christel Peterson.
- PUB DATE: 4/10/2020 6:39:09 AM - SOURCE: WiscNews

Firefighters from the City of Wausau are responding to a garage fire on the west side of town. The call came in around 12:45 p.m. Thursday for a fire near the corner of Russell Drive and 56th Avenue. A battalion chief told Newschannel 7 one person was home when the fire started in the garage, but got safely out of the home.
- PUB DATE: 4/10/2020 2:57:30 AM - SOURCE: WSAW-TV CBS 7 Wausau

Crews from agencies around La Crosse County worked well into the night to extinguish a barn fire on Highway 33. Town of Shelby Assistant Chief Tony Holinka told News 19 that his department answered the call to W2840 Hwy. 33 at 4:15 Wednesday afternoon. Upon arrival, Holinka said they found the barn fully-engulfed in flames, with "flames as high as the corn silo.
- PUB DATE: 4/10/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WXOW-TV ABC 19 La Crosse

PHOTOS: The Janesville Fire Department is thanking a nationwide home improvement retailer during the coronavirus pandemic. According to a Facebook post, The Home Depot donated 3M masks to the department to protect paramedics and firefighters.
- PUB DATE: 4/8/2020 10:44:35 AM - SOURCE: WISC-TV Channel 3000.com Madison

Rookie firefighters are preparing for their new careers. The La Crosse Fire Department is training six new recruits. These new hires spend four weeks working through different scenarios that they might see on the job. Some of the things they practiced on Tuesday were firefighter safety, firefighter rescue, and putting out basement fires.
- PUB DATE: 4/7/2020 4:37:53 PM - SOURCE: WKBT-TV CBS 8 La Crosse

Two people are safe after their canoe capsized and firefighters had to save them from Lake Monona's frigid waters Tuesday. The Madison Fire Department said in a release that a bystander called 911 after hearing cries coming from across the lake this afternoon. The department's Lake Rescue Team was sent to the 1300 block of Morrison Street, where they launched their rescue boat from Law Park.
- PUB DATE: 4/7/2020 3:46:37 PM - SOURCE: WMTV-TV NBC 15 Madison

The Milwaukee Police Department is investigating a fire that happened Tuesday, April 7 on Wabash Court just west of 76th Street on the city’s north side. Police have opened an arson investigation, noting that the fire was intentionally started inside a residence around 2:20 a.m. The American Red Cross, who provided assistance to 18 people affected by the fire, said the fire happened at multi-unit group home.
- PUB DATE: 4/7/2020 3:45:43 PM - SOURCE: WITI-TV FOX 6 Milwaukee

Burning leaves and other debris is banned not just in the local area, but statewide. Cambridge Volunteer Fire Department Chief Terry Johnson said in a March 30 release that the Cambridge Volunteer Fire Department, in conjunction with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, had instituted a burning ban in the Cambridge Fire District in Dane and Jefferson counties.
- PUB DATE: 4/7/2020 1:41:13 AM - SOURCE: Cambridge News / Deerfield Independent

Fire departments across the region have implemented new procedures to ensure the safety of first responders and a partnership elevated the options for some departments. "We've got to be prepared to be able to quarantine or isolate any of our people in case they run into a potential exposure." South Beloit Fire Chief Michael Davenport said.
- PUB DATE: 4/7/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WIFR-TV CBS 23 Beloit

Not all heroes wear capes. 10-year-old Aldrich Intermediate student SaMera Richardson is spending her time at home during the coronavirus/COVID-19 disruption learning to sew and make face masks that she donated to the Beloit Fire Department. “My mom used to be a first responder and I like how they always help people no matter what’s going on,” she said.
- PUB DATE: 4/6/2020 8:15:38 PM - SOURCE: Beloit Daily News

Two people died in a Monday morning motorcycle crash, Mount Pleasant Police confirmed Monday afternoon. At approximately 8:30 a.m. Monday, Mount Pleasant Police and South Shore firefighters responded to the area of Highway 11 and International Drive for a reported motorcycle crash, according to a Mount Pleasant Police Department news release.
- PUB DATE: 4/6/2020 4:42:45 PM - SOURCE: Racine Journal Times

Longtime Janesville seamstress Diane Jacobson likes to keep her sewing machines busy and in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, she’s donating reusable medical gowns and cloth masks to Rock County first responders. Jacobson donated 11 reusable cloth medical gowns to the Beloit Fire Department last week and is in the process of making 20 more for Janesville Fire Department staff.
- PUB DATE: 4/5/2020 8:20:32 PM - SOURCE: Beloit Daily News

An elderly woman died Saturday after a house fire in the Bay View neighborhood. “There was smoke pouring out of every window the basement, the vents in the roofs, there was just smoke coming out of everywhere," said neighbor Chris Haertl. Fire and smoke engulfed this house on the corner. A neighbor said three people lived inside: a woman in her 80s, her son in his 60s, and a roommate.
- PUB DATE: 4/4/2020 8:41:40 PM - SOURCE: WDJT-TV CBS 58 Milwaukee

A multi-unit residential building fire broke out on Saturday morning in Brockway, WI, near Black River Falls. At 9:20 am, the Black River Falls Fire Department responded to the fire. Authorities say immediate mutual aid was requested for fire engines from Hixton and Merrillan. There was smoke coming from the first floor of the building when firefighters arrived, and heavy fire inside.
- PUB DATE: 4/4/2020 3:07:25 PM - SOURCE: WKBT-TV CBS 8 La Crosse

A deer is safe thanks to firefighters who rescued the animal when it broke through the ice Thursday. Marinette Fire Department Asst. Chief John Pennings said crews were called to the scene on the Menominee River around 12 p.m. Thursday afternoon. The assistant chief adds that crews were at the scene for about an hour, saying it took about a half hour to rescue the animal, and then they stayed on scene for 30 more minutes to nurse the deer back - since it was hypothermic.
- PUB DATE: 4/3/2020 3:39:25 PM - SOURCE: WMTV-TV NBC 15 Madison

Two Mukwonago Fire Department personnel are now in self-quarantine after transporting an individual who later tested positive for COVID-19, Fire Chief Jeffrey Stien said Friday. The department was informed of the case by the Waukesha County Health Department on Thursday and the two emergency personnel were then ordered to self-quarantine.
- PUB DATE: 4/3/2020 1:04:32 PM - SOURCE: WaukeshaNOW

Fire destroyed a garage in the town of Oconto Thursday afternoon. Oconto Fire and Rescue Department was called at 2:21 p.m. to 4802 State 22, about 5 miles west of Oconto, where firefighters found heavy flames and smoke coming from a detached garage. The fire had already extended to a nearby enclosed car trailer, Lt.
- PUB DATE: 4/3/2020 8:06:43 AM - SOURCE: Green Bay Press-Gazette

Authorities in Waukesha say an apartment resident on Kensington Drive managed to alert their apartment neighbors and evacuate the building after a fire broke out early Friday morning. According to the Waukesha Fire Department, first responders were called to an apartment on the 1800 block of Kensington Drive just after 3 a.
- PUB DATE: 4/3/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Waukesha Patch