The Mequon Fire Department on Monday swore in its three new battalion chiefs. The command-staff positions are a result of the city’s Future of our Fire Department Committee, which was created in July 2019 to give the Common Council a road map to address both staffing and facilities concerns. The committee was specifically charged with examining ways to optimize the future viability of Mequon’s paid-on-call fire and ambulance services.
- PUB DATE: 8/27/2021 5:22:07 AM - SOURCE: Greater Milwaukee Today

Main Street near South Street in downtown Oconomowoc was evacuated Thursday morning as a natural gas leak that was centered in Breakshots Huba Huba Bar and Grill, 105 S. Main St., hovered over the area. Western Lakes Fire District Chief Brad Bowen said a business owner had went to open up for the day around 9 a.
- PUB DATE: 8/27/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Greater Milwaukee

VIDEO: Massive flames burned through the roof of a commercial warehouse Thursday night in west Louisville, completely destroying the building that required a large presence of firefighters and first responders. The fire was initially reported just before 8:30 p.m. Thursday in the 3100 block of Del Park Terrace in the Russell neighborhood.
- PUB DATE: 8/27/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WLKY-TV CBS 32 Louisville

Move over Dalmatians, a little baby pig is taking the spotlight at a firehouse in Brooklyn. Penny the fire pig is three months old and was adopted by FDNY firefighter Darren Harris. Penny spends much of her time hanging with her dad and the other firefighters at Engine 239 in Park Slope. She’s become somewhat of a local celebrity, as many people stop by to snap pictures with the cutie and feed her snacks.
- PUB DATE: 8/27/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WWNY-TV CBS 7 Carthage

VIDEO: Every now and then, the internet opens a portal on a weird new trend. Enter the Milk Crate Challenge. You can find a growing collection of videos on TikTok, Instagram, Twitter and the like of people stacking milk crates, trying to climb them like a staircase, and taking terrible falls, because believe it or not, piles of milk crates are not structurally sound.
- PUB DATE: 8/27/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: CNET

Firefighters statewide have threatened to quit instead of being vaccinated, but, for some local firefighters – it’s more complicated than that. They want to know if their job will change if they ask for an exemption. For the past 20 years, Tim Archer has been on the frontlines. He’s also the president of the Spokane Firefighter’s Union and says he hasn’t gotten the vaccine for religious reasons.
- PUB DATE: 8/27/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KXLY-TV ABC 4 Spokane

Fire killed 3,700 and injured 16,600 people in 2019. Direct property losses due to fire reached $14.8 billion a year. Firefighters paid a high price for this fire record as well; in 2019, 62 firefighters died on duty. America’s fire losses today represent a dramatic improvement from more than 40 years ago.
- PUB DATE: 8/27/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: American Security Today

A new program designed to provide alternative emergency response for mental health 911 calls will launch next week. The Madison Fire Department’s Community Alternative Response Emergency Services (CARES) team will begin responding to 911 calls on September 1. In a Thursday morning news conference, city leaders explained how the program will work.
- PUB DATE: 8/26/2021 5:19:44 PM - SOURCE: WMTV-TV NBC 15 Madison

Saving lives isn’t an easy task, but when you have the proper equipment and the support of an entire community behind you, it makes it all possible. On Thursday morning, Wisconsin Public Service (WPS) and We Energies surprised two local agencies with special equipment to help these heroes continue saving lives within their communities.
- PUB DATE: 8/26/2021 1:34:15 PM - SOURCE: WFRV-TV CBS 5 Green Bay

The Madison Fire Department says one person was found dead when firefighters responded to an apartment fire on Madison’s west side. Just after 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, fire crews responded to a fire alarm at Summit Hill Apartments on Mckenna Boulevard. The apartment building has 41 units. Firefighters located the unit where the fire started, and determined it was mostly put out by sprinklers.
- PUB DATE: 8/26/2021 4:50:27 AM - SOURCE: WMTV NBC 15 Madison

A Fredonia DPW worker was flown to the hospital with "crush-related injuries" after being rescued from a trench in the village Wednesday, Aug. 25. The man was identified by the Ozaukee County Sheriff's Office as Brandon Heinen, 24, of Port Washington. Work was being done to install pipes when the sidewall of the trench collapsed on top of the man, leaving him buried chest high.
- PUB DATE: 8/26/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WITI-TV FOX 6 Milwaukee

Tulsa firefighters are battling a house fire that broke out Wednesday evening near 81st and Mingo. The Tulsa home has severe damage after the fire. A viewer sent video of the home completely engulfed in flames a little after 7 p.m. Witnesses said the fire spread quickly. Osage Drone 6 captured footage of the smoke flowing from the house and the roof that had collapsed on the home.
- PUB DATE: 8/26/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KWTV-DT CBS 9 Oklahoma City

When he joined the Worcester Fire Department 2½ years ago, Heath Tisdale knew that he'd be at higher risk than the general public of getting cancer. His chances of dying from the disease would also be greater. Did it give him pause about his career? "Not one bit," he said. "Not at all." Tisdale, Firefighter Casey Gates and Capt.
- PUB DATE: 8/26/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Telegram & Gazette

PHOTO: First responders on the Northshore hope to use newly developed technology to monitor flooding in real-time. The St. Tammany Parish Fire District No. 4 partnered with the city of Mandeville to place a solar-powered sensor at the intersection of Carondelet and Lakeshore Drive. That sensor records the depth of water in the area.
- PUB DATE: 8/26/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WDSU-TV NBC 6 New Orleans

At first glance, Napa artist Sam Tubiolo seems a quiet, unassuming man with a shy smile. Hidden beneath that façade, however, is a powerhouse of monumental artistic creativity and technical expertise. “I wanted to be an architect when I was in school, but all the math was daunting,” he said with a soft laugh.
- PUB DATE: 8/26/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Napa Valley Register - Metered Site

Video released by a team of federal investigators shows more evidence of extensive corrosion and overcrowded concrete reinforcement in a Miami-area condominium that collapsed in June, killing 98 people. The National Institute of Standards and Technology also announced Wednesday it will conduct a five-pronged investigation into the Champlain Towers South collapse, which will be led by Judith Mitrani-Reiser.
- PUB DATE: 8/26/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: National Public Radio

Wisconsin has chosen a California environmental law firm to help investigate and go after those responsible for PFAS contamination. The Department of Justice on Wednesday said Sher Edling LLP has been awarded a contract to represent the state in cases involving ubiquitous hazardous compounds sometimes called “forever chemicals.
- PUB DATE: 8/25/2021 9:19:23 AM - SOURCE: WiscNews

The body found inside a truck belonging to the Arcadia-Glencoe fire chief has been identified as Jeff Halvorsen. As we've reported, Chief Halvorsen had been missing since Wednesday, according to officials with the Trempealeau County Sheriff's Office. A ruling on the cause of death is pending a toxicology report.
- PUB DATE: 8/25/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WQOW-TV ABC 18 Eau Claire

The WPS Foundation provides its Rewarding Responders Grant annually to help police, fire, and emergency medical services (EMS) agencies purchase lifesaving equipment or important training for their members. Among this year’s recipients is the Coleman Fire Department, which received new firefighting face masks for its firefighters.
- PUB DATE: 8/25/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Bay Cities Muti Media Center

Wildfires in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness are affecting air quality across northern Minnesota and Wisconsin, impacting health and comfort of people in the area. That includes Karen Eagle, a senior meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Duluth, who is tracking the air quality situation.
- PUB DATE: 8/25/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Wisconsin Public Radio