A large Christmas tree outside Fox's Midtown headquarters was set ablaze early Wednesday by an arsonist who was quickly taken into custody. The 50-foot tree on Sixth Avenue went up in flames just before 12:15 a.m., and heavy flames then spread to smaller decorated trees in the display. Police say the 49-year-old suspect climbed up "the metal superstructure" -- the tree is an artificial sculpture that is shaped to look like a tree -- lit papers he brought with him on fire, and shoved the papers into the tree structure.
- PUB DATE: 12/8/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WABC-TV ABC 7 New York

PHOTOS: The Savannah Fire Department displayed artwork created by students at Islands High School and their teacher on Tuesday. The five pieces of artwork were part of an ongoing project to honor the history of the Savannah Fire Department. The project required students to do archival research in order to uncover photographs to incorporate into the artwork.
- PUB DATE: 12/8/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WSAV-TV NBC/CW+3 Savannah

Saturday, December 11th marks the 30th anniversary of the Page County Courthouse fire. In commemoration of that tragic and historic event, KMA News presents a special series of reports looking back at the fire, its aftermath, and the effort by Page County residents to save the venerable structure. In part one of "The Night the Courthouse Burned," local officials past and present recall the moment the unthinkable occurred.
- PUB DATE: 12/8/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KMA-AM 960/FM 99.1 Shenandoah

VIDEO: On any given call, the likelihood first responders will find an electric vehicle on the streets of Phoenix is going up. “There are more and more of these electric vehicles on the road, so we have to be more cognizant if it’s a hybrid if it’s an electric vehicle, how we approach it,” Capt. Evan Gammage with Phoenix Fire Department said.
- PUB DATE: 12/8/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KPNX-TV NBC 12 Phoenix

For the first time in two months, the United States is averaging more than 100,000 new COVID-19 cases each day, shortly after millions of Americans traveled for the Thanksgiving holiday. The seven-day moving average of new cases was 121,437 as of Saturday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
- PUB DATE: 12/8/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KABC-TV ABC 7 Los Angeles

Milwaukee firefighters went door-to-door in a near north side neighborhood Tuesday, Dec. 7, checking homes for smoke alarms and installing them for people who need them. Last Saturday, an 81-year-old man died in a house fire even though there were working smoke alarms in the building. Fire Chief Aaron Lipski says it's not enough just to have an alarm.
- PUB DATE: 12/7/2021 4:43:29 PM - SOURCE: WDJT-TV CBS 58 Milwaukee

Erick Tiegs, the Caledonia firefighter’s son who was struck in the Waukesha Christmas Parade, is back home and recovering. Tiegs, 16, returned home last week after volunteer crews built a wheelchair ramp at the Tiegs’ house and the Caledonia Fire Department drove him home with a fire truck and sirens blaring.
- PUB DATE: 12/7/2021 3:05:19 PM - SOURCE: Racine Journal Times - Metered Site

One woman died Monday after a tree fell on an outdoor pavilion outside an apartment complex and trapped her and another woman inside. Officers and firefighters responded around 6:45 a.m. to 915 Broadway St., according to Sheboygan Falls police. Police said a 69-year-old woman was able to free herself from the crushed pavilion and had minor injuries, but a 73-year-old woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
- PUB DATE: 12/7/2021 8:17:05 AM - SOURCE: Sheboygan Press

A new law providing more protections to police, fire and EMS crews responding to emergencies on roadways has its roots in Amherst. Gov. Tony Evers signed a new law Monday at the Amherst Fire District that provides a specific definition for “emergency or roadside response area," introduces new fines and bans cellphone use when driving near active emergency vehicles on the road.
- PUB DATE: 12/7/2021 1:01:11 AM - SOURCE: Post Crescent - Metered Site

VIDEO: Eleven kids were taken to Children's Wisconsin after being exposed to pool chemicals in swim class at St. Augustine Prep on the city's south side Monday afternoon, Dec. 6, the Milwaukee Fire Department said. According to MFD, it received a call shortly after 12:30 p.m. for people experiencing respiratory and breathing problems.
- PUB DATE: 12/7/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WITI-TV FOX 6 Milwaukee

VIDEO/PHOTOS: No one was hurt, but one of Three Brothers Wineries and Estates’ famed spots was destroyed in a fire on Monday. Firefighters from Varick, Romulus, Ovid, Fayette, Border City, Oaks Corners, Lodi, Interlaken, Canoga, and Waterloo were called to the scene shortly after 6 p.m. Flames could be seen from a significant distance away.
- PUB DATE: 12/7/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FingerLakes1

VIDEO: More than 500 firefighters are on staff in Wichita. Of those, only six have been through the smoke divers training in Georgia, and three others attended a spin-off course in Oklahoma and Indiana. Those who have passed the training said it is helping their response time to save those in need.
- PUB DATE: 12/7/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KSNW-TV NBC 3 Wichita

Gov. Tony Evers was in Amherst to sign 2021 AB 297 into law on Monday. The governor was joined by Democratic Rep. Katrina Shankland, of Stevens Point and other local elected leaders, first responders, roadside assistance workers, and construction and utility workers. “Many of the jobs are hazardous enough on their own without having to fear for your life due to a distracted or dangerous driver,” said Governor Tony Evers, “at every crash site, our states emergency responders whether it’s fire, law enforcement, EMS, towing and transportation, are at risk of being struck, injured, or even killed.
- PUB DATE: 12/7/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WSAW-TV CBS 7 Wausau

When Julio DeCastro, a civilian worker at Pearl Harbor’s naval yard, reached the capsized U.S.S. Oklahoma on the infamous morning of December 7, 1941, he heard the sound of frenetic tapping of sailors trapped within the hull. Hours earlier, during a surprise assault on the Honolulu military base, Japanese forces had bombarded the American battleship with torpedoes, sending it rolling onto its side with more than 450 men still below deck.
- PUB DATE: 12/7/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Smithsonian Magazine - Metered Site

VIDEO: An expanded partnership between the Columbus Fire & EMS Department and the Muscogee County School District helps the city recruit firefighters and provides job opportunities for aspiring public servants, right out of high school. After department officials visited each MCSD high school to explain the program last spring semester, more than 25 students participated in the Saturday morning program called Combat Challenge.
- PUB DATE: 12/7/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Ledger-Enquirer

The Campbell Fire Department pulled Santa Claus and his sleigh through French Island to spread holiday cheer while educating the community. Starting at the Campbell Fire Department, Santa Claus and firefighters took pictures while educating families about fire safety. After taking pictures, Santa gifted children with small treat boxes and firefighter handed out bags filled with coloring pages and informational pages about fire safety.
- PUB DATE: 12/6/2021 6:43:11 AM - SOURCE: WXOW-TV ABC 19 LaCrosse

The Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) is investigating the circumstances surrounding a house fire in Fredonia Saturday night, Dec. 4, that rekindled early Sunday, Dec. 5, causing authorities to re-put out the fire. Authorities say first responders reported to a residential fire around 9:02 p.m.
- PUB DATE: 12/6/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WDJT-TV CBS 58 Milwaukee

VIDEO/PHOTOS: A three-alarm fire raged early Monday (Dec. 6) at the Cypress Run Apartments complex in Algiers. Occupants smelled smoke around 4:40 a.m. and began evacuating the first involved three-story building before New Orleans Fire Department crews arrived on scene, resident Kiesha Williams told WVUE-Fox 8.
- PUB DATE: 12/6/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WVUE-DT FOX 8 New Orleans

VIDEO/PHOTOS: A Hubert Volunteer Firefighter received treatment at Vidant Medical center after an accident involving their fire engine Saturday. Deputy Chief of the Hubert Volunteer Fire Department, Hernan Melendez, said the accident happened when his team was returning from the annual Maysville Christmas Parade.
- PUB DATE: 12/6/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WLOS-TV ABC 13 Asheville

There’s a reason that the death toll of the Winecoff hotel fire in 1946 has never been surpassed. Immediately after the disaster that killed 119 people, cities across the country began to re-examine their fire codes. In their definitive 1993 book, “The Winecoff Fire,” co-authors Sam Heys and Allen Goodwin point out that the blaze prompted new laws requiring sprinkler systems, fire escapes and fire doors.
- PUB DATE: 12/6/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution - Metered