Investigators are still searching for what caused a Fitchburg home to explode last month. Thursday marks three weeks since the explosion that rocked the neighborhood. Debris once filled the streets and yards of homes around the area, but the restoration process for residents is just beginning. "They are in the emergency phase, then they go into the cleanup phase and then they go into the house to tear things apart and then you have to put it back together," resident Mary Katic said. - PUB DATE: 9/12/2016 10:27:40 PM - SOURCE: WMSN-TV Fox 47 Madison
Crews from multiple fire departments were battling a large fire Monday in Richfield, according to Hewitt Area Fire Chief Brian Hafermann. The fire was an empty house in the 7700 block of Bethel Road, Wood County Sheriff's Department Capt. Shawn Becker said. Although the cause of the fire remains under investigation, a person had taken out a permit to burn brush in an area near the house, Becker said. - PUB DATE: 9/12/2016 8:18:59 PM - SOURCE: Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune
VIDEO: Manitowoc fire crews were called to the scene of a garage fire in the 700 block of N. 5th St. in Manitowoc just before 2 o'clock Monday morning. Two Rivers Fire Department was also called in to assist. There were no injuries in the fire though the homeowners did need to evacuate their home for a short period of time. - PUB DATE: 9/12/2016 9:27:46 AM - SOURCE: WFRV-TV and WJMN-TV Green Bay
VIDEO: Fire officials say four buildings and a vehicle were destroyed in a fire that started in a barn in Dane County. The DeForest Fire Chief tells our Madison affiliate 27 News the fire started around 7 p.m. in a barn at a home on Patton Road in the town of Vienna. It then spread to three other buildings, including a garage, where a vehicle was parked. - PUB DATE: 9/12/2016 6:36:12 AM - SOURCE: WAOW-TV ABC 9-Wausau
Firefighters on Monday morning, September 12th were called out to the scene of a structure fire near Brown Deer Road and Servite Drive in Milwaukee. The call came in around 3:20 a.m. Officials say the fire broke out in the warehouse area of a one-story strip mall. It was contained by two sprinklers. The fire caused $48,600 in damage to the building. - PUB DATE: 9/12/2016 6:30:18 AM - SOURCE: WITI Fox Channel 6
VIDEO: Fifteen years ago, after a terrorism attack on Sept. 11 struck New York, killing more than three thousand, including more than three hundred New York firefighters, Madison Fire Department's Mike Dibble went to Ground Zero with four other firefighters to help in a life-altering trip. "Doug Freese, myself, Paul Komarck, Johnny Clark and Matt Schwister," Dibble says, listing the crew. - PUB DATE: 9/12/2016 6:15:20 AM - SOURCE: WAOW-TV ABC 9-Wausau
The Sauk City Fire Department received an inflatable search and rescue boat from the Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation on Sept. 8. The boat and its trailer are worth $13,500 and will be used by the fire department to conduct rescue missions on local lakes and rivers where traditional boats can’t go. - PUB DATE: 9/8/2016 10:18:56 PM - SOURCE: wisc news
VIDEO: As thousands of people get ready to take on the IRONMAN Wisconsin in Madison this weekend, organizers are making sure the city's police and fire departments have the life-saving resources they need. The Ironman Foundation gave the departments grants worth nearly $23,000 on Thursday. The Madison Fire Department is using more than $15,000 for its “Jaws of Life” tool, while Madison Police are using the rest for its K9 unit. - PUB DATE: 9/8/2016 6:07:32 PM - SOURCE: WKOW-TV 27 ABC
Jacob Johnsrud, a Manitowoc resident and a firefighter with the Manitowoc Fire Department, will be inducted into the State of Wisconsin Fire and Police Hall of Fame Saturday, Sept. 10. The Hall of Fame, at The Old Firehouse and Police Museum in Superior, Wisconsin, was created to recognize firefighters and police officers from across the state for their heroic acts and dedicated public service, a press release from the State of Wisconsin Fire and Police Hall of Fame said. - PUB DATE: 9/8/2016 5:58:53 PM - SOURCE: Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter
Like many college students, Hudson High School Graduate Lewis Wiechmann spent his summer working. Unlike other students, Wiechmann’s job entailed fighting wildfires in national forests. Hudson High School graduation was held Saturday evening in the HHS gymnasium. Rain prevented the ceremony from being held at Newton Field. - PUB DATE: 9/8/2016 4:06:14 PM - SOURCE: Hudson Star-Observer
A successful bid on a piece of training equipment in a recent state auction will benefit firefighters throughout Vernon County for years to come. In August, 11 of the county’s 13 fire departments joined forces to buy a mobile burn tower. The tower allows firefighters to prepare training scenarios on a multi-story building. - PUB DATE: 9/8/2016 2:03:50 AM - SOURCE: Vernon Broadcaster
A Baraboo home damaged in a February 2015 blaze caught fire again Wednesday morning. Baraboo Fire Chief Kevin Stieve said the second fire at the Granite Lane home in the town of Baraboo didn’t do as much damage as the first. But the owner’s insurance company will decide if it is salvageable. “The fire was finally extinguished, but not after extensive damage to the roof and interior of the home,” Stieve said Wednesday. - PUB DATE: 9/7/2016 9:26:55 PM - SOURCE: wisc news
VIDEO: A staff member who answered the phone Wednesday confirms that several workers, parents and children were trapped for a time by floodwater surrounding Kindercare at 114th and Cleveland in West Allis. The worker said they could offer no further comment. The daycare center is near the Root River. - PUB DATE: 9/7/2016 9:06:56 PM - SOURCE: Telemundo Milwaukee,WI
VIDEO: Officials with the Milwaukee Fire Department say $5.8 million worth of damage was done to seven businesses during the unrest in the Sherman Park neighborhood on the heels of the fatal shooting of Sylville Smith by a Milwaukee police officer on August 13th. "It's 5.8 million -- and that's a rough estimate," MFD Battalion Chief Aaron Lipski said. - PUB DATE: 9/7/2016 8:03:09 PM - SOURCE: WITI Fox Channel 6
Portage and Columbia County’s first responders will conduct a memorial service Sunday, marking 15 years since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The event will begin at 6:45 p.m. with a silent procession along West Conant Street starting near Sunset Park, with members of the Portage Police Department, Portage Fire Department, Columbia County Sheriff’s Office and Divine Savior Healthcare Emergency Medical Technicians proceeding to Pauquette Park. - PUB DATE: 9/7/2016 7:25:34 PM - SOURCE: wisc news
PHOTO: The third annual Kickin' It For Kids kickball tournament was held at McGaw Park on Aug. 20. The event benefitted REACH-A-Child, a nonprofit based out of Madison that helps first responders comfort children they come across in a traumatic situation by giving them a children’s book. The event also included appearances from state and local law enforcement and first responders, corn hole, a bounce house and other kids' activities, concessions and a silent auction. - PUB DATE: 9/7/2016 4:38:05 AM - SOURCE: Fitchburg Star
Fire departments from throughout Jefferson and Dodge counties responded today to a call at 7:20 a.m. for what firefighters said may have been a dust explosion at Insight FS cooperative grain mill in Ixonia that injured one worker. According to Jefferson County Sheriff's Department Chief Deputy Jeff Parker, who accompanied the Daily Times on a half-block walk west to the mill on Marietta Avenue from a command post set up at the intersection of Marietta and American streets, word among fire fighters was that the incident may have had its origins in a dust explosion at the grain facility. - PUB DATE: 9/7/2016 4:14:23 AM - SOURCE: Watertown Daily Times
Emergency calls for the Racine Fire Department are up from 2015. The department had responded to 6,789 emergency response calls as of Aug. 23, up from 6,658 calls at the same point in 2015, according to Racine Fire Department Division Chief Jeff Perkins. “These cover a wide variety of emergencies such as fire, medical, hazardous materials, water rescues and other specialties,” Perkins said. - PUB DATE: 9/7/2016 2:21:16 AM - SOURCE: Racine Journal Times
Nick Hempel remembers walking into an apartment and seeing a man face down on the kitchen table, as a result of an apparent overdose. The man was unconscious. An overdose seemed likely but there were no needles in sight, said Hempel, division chief of EMS for the Racine Fire Department. When responders lifted the man’s head, the drug use became apparent. - PUB DATE: 9/7/2016 2:19:50 AM - SOURCE: Racine Journal Times
The La Crosse Fire Department hopes to add a fifth fire station on the city’s South Side after data analysis showed it would allow them to better respond to at least 17 percent of emergency calls. While the department hasn’t yet drafted an official proposal, Fire Chief Gregg Cleveland and Division Chief Mark Amann told the Common Council Tuesday that bringing the city back up to five stations by building a new one near the intersection of 33rd Street and Mormon Coulee Road would support the city’s growth and protect its citizens. - PUB DATE: 9/7/2016 1:41:35 AM - SOURCE: Lacrosse Tribune
