Wisconsin may soon be heading into the health insurance business. The state’s Group Insurance Board on Wednesday approved a plan that would alter the way the state provides health insurance for its employees, moving to a self-insured model where the state pays for medical bills directly instead of paying premiums to private health insurance companies.
- PUB DATE: 2/9/2017 4:11:59 AM - SOURCE: Chippewa Herald

Gov. Scott Walker’s administration abruptly backed off Wednesday on plans to roll back a requirement for fire sprinklers, but the state might not adopt other safety standards that firefighters say would save lives. In recent weeks, Walker's Department of Safety and Professional Services has quietly advanced plans to end the requirement that fire sprinklers be installed in apartment buildings with three to 20 units.
- PUB DATE: 2/8/2017 8:27:00 AM - SOURCE: Fond du Lac Reporter

VIDEO: A fire is under control after flames were spotted shooting out of an attic at a Wausau home, according to the Wausau Fire Department. It happened around 5:30 a.m. on the 1300 block of N. 4th Street. Residents were home at the time, but everyone escaped safely, according to officials. Firefighters had the blaze under control in a half hour, but remain on scene looking for hot spots, officials said.
- PUB DATE: 2/8/2017 5:57:16 AM - SOURCE: WAOW-TV ABC 9-Wausau

The common council on Tuesday night unanimously approved the creation of a fire district with three nearby municipalities, which city officials say will save money in the long run and provide round-the-clock EMS service. The Summit Village Board approved the agreement on Feb. 2, and the village of Dousman and the town of Ottawa must still approve it before it is made official.
- PUB DATE: 2/8/2017 2:40:52 AM - SOURCE: Lake Country News

VIDEO: Two men had to be rescued from Delavan Lake in a hovercraft after their ATV broke through the ice Tuesday morning. Witnesses told first responders they heard the ATV go through the ice but could not see the men because of the dense fog in the area. "The fog was 100 percent dense. You couldn't see more than 50 to 75 feet.
- PUB DATE: 2/7/2017 5:08:58 PM - SOURCE: WISN-TV ABC 12 Milwaukee

Brian Schmitt is still facing questions about his long-term future as the head of the Town of Wilson’s fire department. But elected officials are considering giving him some wiggle room around a firefighting certification requirement he currently doesn’t meet. The town last year agreed to a set of bylaws for its new municipal fire department that would require its fire officers to have a certain certification.
- PUB DATE: 2/7/2017 4:49:47 PM - SOURCE: Sheboygan Press

The city of Altoona hasn't even hired its first full-time fire chief yet, but the position already may be in line for a raise. Just four days after the top candidate from a previous search elected not to accept the job, the city's Personnel Committee voted unanimously Monday to increase the pay scale offered to the fire chief.
- PUB DATE: 2/7/2017 5:36:24 AM - SOURCE: Altoona, WI

Two fired City of Sun Prairie paramedics have been awarded more than a half a million dollars by an arbitrator after being cleared of any wrongdoing in a patient’s care. City officials say they will meet on Feb. 7 and decide whether to pay or appeal the award in court. Sun Prairie EMS Paramedics John Uebelacker and Matthew Schaller were dismissed on Feb.
- PUB DATE: 2/7/2017 5:05:39 AM - SOURCE: Sun Prairie Star

VIDEO: A 54-year-old woman has died after being rescued from a mobile home fire in Oak Creek Monday night, February 6th. The fire broke out around 10:45 p.m. in a mobile home near 27th Street and College Avenue. Investigators are still trying to figure out the cause of the fire -- but the Oak Creek Fire Chief says it does not appear to be suspicious.
- PUB DATE: 2/7/2017 4:55:50 AM - SOURCE: WITI Fox Channel 6

VIDEO: The Waldo Fire Department is in mourning after one of its firefighters died in a weekend crash. The Sheboygan County Sheriff's Office says 31-year-old Ryan Moyer was killed in the crash Saturday afternoon in the Town of Lyndon. Moyer was driving a pickup truck when it crashed. Two other firefighters were injured.
- PUB DATE: 2/6/2017 10:18:37 PM - SOURCE: The Morning Blend

VIDEO: Portage County fire crews responded to an apartment fire Monday night. Authorities said a woman was taken to Ministry Saint Michael's Hospital and was being treated for smoke inhalation. The fire broke out around 7 p.m. on Martha's Lane in Stevens Point. According to fire officials on the scene, the fire appears to have started in the kitchen of one of the units.
- PUB DATE: 2/6/2017 7:04:48 PM - SOURCE: WAOW-TV ABC 9-Wausau

The Waldo Fire Department is in mourning after one of its firefighters died in a weekend crash. The Sheboygan County Sheriff's Office says 31-year-old Ryan Moyer was killed in the crash Saturday afternoon in the Town of Lyndon. Moyer was driving a pickup truck when it crashed. Two other firefighters were injured.
- PUB DATE: 2/6/2017 5:44:33 AM - SOURCE: WAOW-TV ABC 9-Wausau

VIDEO: A group of Wisconsin fire chiefs are speaking out against a new state proposal. The Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services has proposed rule changes that goes against the current National Electric Code. According to state firefighters, the proposal would stop nationally required electrical fire and electrocution prevention devices throughout new homes, college dormitories and hotels.
- PUB DATE: 2/5/2017 4:38:46 PM - SOURCE: WKBT-TV CBS 8 La Crosse

One of the Joint Legislative Council study committees that convened last summer was charged with looking at how fire protection and emergency medical services are provided around the state. The committee also worked to identify the issues surrounding the shortage of volunteer firefighters and emergency medical technicians, especially in rural areas.
- PUB DATE: 2/4/2017 6:58:09 PM - SOURCE: wisc news

VIDEO: The Amherst Fire District is voicing its concern about a shortage of volunteer firefighters that could have an impact across the community. Assistant Chief Brian Swan said in a perfect world, the department would like to have 40 firefighters on duty, but at the moment, they only have a roster of 28.
- PUB DATE: 2/4/2017 5:04:16 PM - SOURCE: WAOW-TV ABC 9-Wausau

They're the first on the scene when tragedy strikes. Help, arriving in the form of a fire truck, sometimes built by Pierce Manufacturing. Pierce Manufacturing's fire trucks can be found across the nation and around the world. "When you build something here at Pierce you're building something unique, you're building a life-saving apparatus that's given out into a community," said production supervisor Chad Miller.
- PUB DATE: 2/3/2017 5:39:39 AM - SOURCE: WGBA-TV NBC 26 Green Bay

A Trempealeau man will serve two years on probation for trying to set fire to a village church last summer. John Humm, 19, pleaded guilty Monday in Trempealeau County Circuit Court to arson, criminal damage to property and resisting officers. Police found Humm pouring gasoline through a broken window at St.
- PUB DATE: 2/2/2017 6:38:03 PM - SOURCE: Madison

A city's pick for its first full-time fire chief has passed on the job. In a statement Thursday afternoon, Altoona City Administrator Mike Golat said that Chad Peterson turned down the offer "after serious consideration." The statement said that Peterson said he made the decision because of family obligations.
- PUB DATE: 2/2/2017 5:31:10 PM - SOURCE: WEAU-TV 13 News

VIDEO: A house near Bangor is considered a total loss following a fire Thursday afternoon. The Bangor-Burns Fire Department was called to Portland Street in the Village of Rockland at about 2:30 p.m. When firefighters arrived on the scene, the back of the home was completely engulfed in flames. According to Fire Chief Robert Rueckheim, both people who live in the house were at work at the time of the fire and are now receiving assistance from the Red Cross.
- PUB DATE: 2/2/2017 5:19:09 PM - SOURCE: WKBT-TV CBS 8 La Crosse

Officials with the Milwaukee Fire Department found a woman unconscious in the living room of a home near 25th and Melvina. It happened on Thursday evening, February 2nd. Fire officials said the woman had no pulse, but paramedics worked on her at the scene. She was breathing and had a pulse when she was taken to the hospital.
- PUB DATE: 2/2/2017 4:39:04 PM - SOURCE: WITI Fox Channel 6