Firefighters were temporarily trapped after multiple power poles reportedly snapped and fell over in front of Hobby Lobby at Frisco Station Mall in Rogers, Ark., causing stoplights to be out all along Walnut Street Wednesday afternoon. Witnesses say they believe strong winds caused the accident. “Around lunchtime today Engine 4 was traveling down Walnut Street when several utility poles broke and dropped live electrical wires on the fire truck, trapping the crew.
- PUB DATE: 12/16/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KNWA-TV NBC 51 Rogers

Join the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) for a special video salute to our nation’s fallen firefighters. America’s Tribute to Fallen Firefighters, a 1-hour tribute video, features both the Candlelight and Memorial ceremonial events from this year’s NFFF 40th Anniversary Memorial Weekend.
- PUB DATE: 12/16/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: National Fallen Firefighters Association

VIDEO: A Trumpeter Swan was stuck on a frozen lake in southern Wisconsin, and local water rescue personnel were able to save it. According to the Western Lakes Fire District, a resident contacted the authorities as well as Wildlife in Need about a swan that appeared to be stuck on the ice and unable to fly.
- PUB DATE: 12/15/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WFRV-TV CBS 5 Green Bay

Sky 25 captured a heart-stopping scene in Haverhill on Tuesday after a fire broke out at an oil company. It happened on Hale Street in Haverhill. Two workers had to race to pull away a tube that appeared to have been feeding the burning truck. The men raced up the stairs of the rig beside the tanker, and one of them climbed on board the burning tanker to free the tube and then stomped on an open hatch to make sure it was closed.
- PUB DATE: 12/15/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WFXT-TV FOX 25 Boston

VIDEO: When deadly weather moves into the area, speed saves lives. That’s why Tampa Fire Rescue just installed five brand new, state-of-the-art weather stations, scattered throughout the city. The department says the information gathered by the WeatherSTEM system will help protect first responders and the public by relaying potentially life-saving information about storms, changing weather patterns and dangerous lightning in our region – right down to the neighborhood level.
- PUB DATE: 12/15/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTSP-TV CBS News 10 Tampa

What started out as a team-building exercise landed the Tahlequah Fire Department in a TV commercial for the national company Ragú. Firefighter Anthony Margarit posted a video to his personal TikTok account, after he and his co-workers filmed a “commercial” wherein Margarit was cooking at Station 1 using Ragú sauce.
- PUB DATE: 12/15/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Tahlequah Daily Press

PHOTOS: A male worker that was reported unconscious within a chemical transport tank was rescued Tuesday afternoon. According to a tweet from Salt Lake City Fire Department, heavy rescue and hazmat teams arrived on scene for rescue efforts. SLC Fire Captain Anthony Burton said they responded to a situation around 2 p.
- PUB DATE: 12/15/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KSL-TV NBC 5 Salt Lake City

COVID-19 hospitalizations are once again ticking upward after a lull in October and early November, with tens of thousands more Americans filling hospital beds across the country in the past four weeks. The increase is particularly noticeable in the Rust Belt and the Southwest. As of Wednesday, Michigan's population-adjusted rate is highest in the nation, followed by Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
- PUB DATE: 12/15/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NBC News

Wausau Fire Department proposed a plan to add 12 new firefighters by 2024. They presented the plan to the City's Human Resources Committee Monday night where it was approved. Wausau Fire Chief, Bob Barteck said the department has not changed its employee requirements since 1970 and needs a major update.
- PUB DATE: 12/14/2021 6:49:18 PM - SOURCE: WAOW-TV ABC 9 Wausau

All the animals at Ochsner Park Zoo are safe and were not hurt in a Tuesday morning fire that destroyed the building where their donkeys, llamas, and wolves are housed, zoo staff confirmed. In a post on Facebook, officials credited firefighters’ efforts in helping protect the animals and keep them safe as well as for preventing the fire from spreading to other buildings.
- PUB DATE: 12/14/2021 10:26:00 AM - SOURCE: WMTV-TV NBC 15 Madison

VIDEO/ PHOTOS: Firefighters are still monitoring the scene where a large fire broke out in Malvern on Monday evening. The question now is what the status is of a few of the other buildings in the area. Crews from roughly a dozen agencies have helped at the scene and continue to water down hot spots from the fire.
- PUB DATE: 12/14/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KMTV CBS 3 Omaha

VIDEO: Nothing shines like a new fire truck -- except maybe two new fire trucks. With record growth and tourism, the city of Gulf Shores is investing in the safety of its residents and visitors. The new Pierce engine and ladder truck are now in service. They came with a significant price tag of $2 million dollars, an investment the city felt it was time to make.
- PUB DATE: 12/14/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WALA-TV FOX 10 Mobile

New Jersey's pension system for public employees costs more than most other states while offering "generous" benefits that are increasingly going toward more retirees than active employees, according to a new report. One retirement fund, for police and firefighters, had more people collecting pension benefits in 2019 than current workers, and two others were on a similar trajectory — meaning those funds are less able to handle investments risks, the analysis by the fiscally conservative think tank Garden State Initiative found.
- PUB DATE: 12/14/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NorthJersey.com - Metered Site

Fire Chief Larry Walters spoke to City Council about a new initiative the department is currently working on to help promote safety through social media. “We’re always looking for ways to get safety messages out regarding fires, hazards, that sort of thing,” Walters said. “Social media has been a good way to do that.
- PUB DATE: 12/14/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Cleveland.com

A new Oneida County program will better prepare first responders for emergency situations involving people with special needs. The Assistance for Special, Cognitive, Emotional Needs and Disabilities (ASCEND) program will allow people to voluntarily register their disability or condition with the county so emergency workers will be notified of the circumstances during an emergency call.
- PUB DATE: 12/14/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WKTV NBC/CBS/CW+2 Utica

A few area families had the chance to go on a holiday shopping spree with their firefighters. The Wausau Fire Department’s Charitable Foundation held their annual Shop with a Hero event Monday at Fleet Farm. Families were chosen by the group to shop for presents and other goodies with these heroes.
- PUB DATE: 12/13/2021 4:33:52 PM - SOURCE: WAOW-TV ABC 9 Wausau

A woman died in an overnight duplex fire in Baraboo, according to Baraboo Police Captain Rob Sinden. The victim is not being identified at this time. Authorities also recovered a deceased dog. Sinden said due to extensive damage and structural concerns, The City of Madison Heavy Urban Rescue Team spent two hours on structural support mechanisms to allow investigators to gain entry into the burned duplex.
- PUB DATE: 12/13/2021 10:48:44 AM - SOURCE: WKOW-TV 27 ABC Madison

Madison’s police and fire commission is set to meet Monday as the city searches for a new fire chief to replace retiring Chief Steven Davis. The commission will meet at 5:30 p.m. Monday to hear from Davis, as well as retired Chief Randy Bruegman and others, as the process to replace Davis moves forward.
- PUB DATE: 12/13/2021 10:39:06 AM - SOURCE: WISC-TV CBS 3 Madison

Baraboo officials are investigating a late night fire at a duplex that fully engulfed half of the building in flames. The Baraboo Police Dept. says officials responded to the fire at the Southeast corner of 4th and Barker streets in the City of Baraboo around 10:33 p.m. Sunday night. When officers arrived, they were able to evacuate a man, woman and their pet cat from one area of the duplex.
- PUB DATE: 12/13/2021 1:47:38 AM - SOURCE: WMTV-TV NBC 15 Madison

A massive emergency response was called to a marina in Rhode Island on Friday after two large boats went up in flames. Crews responding to a report of a blaze at Hinckley Yachts in Portsmouth found two boats engulfed in heavy flames. The vessels, a power boat and a sailboat, had a combined value of $10 million, officials said.
- PUB DATE: 12/13/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WHDH-TV ABC 7 Boston