Chattanooga city leaders came together Thursday afternoon to discuss their commitment to public safety and emergency response. This project is called Power to Protect. It's a joint initiative between the city and EPB. Mayor Andy Berke said he doesn't know of another community in the country doing this.
- PUB DATE: 4/16/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WRCB-TV NBC 3 Chattanooga

They sit behind multiple computer screens their entire shift, but they could save your life. They are the operators of 911 dispatch. And although National Public Safety Telecommunications Week is under way, their jobs have not become any less stressful. Longview Police Department Communications Manager Matt Ainsworth says if anyone deserves a week named for them, it’s 911 telecommunicators.
- PUB DATE: 4/16/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KLTV ABC 7 Tyler

The Cleveland Fire Fighter's Association said it has safety concerns when it comes to the city's aging fleet of fire trucks. Fire union President Francis Lally pointed to Cleveland's latest annual report on the fire department, which indicated 13 of the city's 42 fire trucks are listed in "poor condition," with eight of the trucks having more than 120,000 miles on them.
- PUB DATE: 4/16/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WEWS-TV ABC 5 Cleveland

Four chihuahuas died in a house fire on Milwaukee's south side Thursday evening, April 15, police said. The fire happened near 5th Place and Becher Street -- a few blocks east of Kosciuszko Park -- around 6:30 p.m. Police said the fire appears to be accidental and may have started in the home's kitchen.
- PUB DATE: 4/15/2021 6:51:00 PM - SOURCE: WITI-TV FOX 6 Milwaukee

Ernie Koepp wears a lot of hats. Ask different people in town who Ernie is and you'll get different answers -- firefighter, EMT, janitor, teacher, friend, father, husband, small engines mechanic. But there is one common answer among everyone you ask -- they'll tell you he's just a downright good guy.
- PUB DATE: 4/15/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WKOW-TV ABC 27 Madison

VIDEO: Pasco County rescue crews got a unique training experience Wednesday aboard the historic American Victory Ship docked in Tampa. Pasco County Fire Rescue Special Operations Division bought all three shifts of crews to do some advanced confined-space training 60 feet down in the ship’s hull – training they might not otherwise be able to get at home.
- PUB DATE: 4/15/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTVT-TV Fox 13 Tampa

VIDEO: A fire caused heavy damage Wednesday morning to an apartment complex on the city’s North Side. When firefighters arrived at the complex in the 3200 block of Nacogdoches Road, they found heavy flames and called in a second alarm. San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood said between 60 to 100 occupants will need to find another place to live.
- PUB DATE: 4/15/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KSAT-TV ABC 12 San Antonio

Some associate post traumatic stress disorder with members of the military, but those on the frontlines at home also deal with it. “I’m a retired firefighter myself, and after 20 years on the job I’ve seen two of my brothers lost to suicide and two other suicide attempts,” Robert Coleman said. After several years, one bill finally passed through the West Virginia Legislature that lawmakers believe will save lives.
- PUB DATE: 4/15/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WCHS-TV ABC/FOX 8 Charleston

Seven volunteer fire companies in Niagara County are signed up to take part in the 12th annual Recruit NY Weekend organized by the Firemen's Association of the State of New York. Recruit NY Weekend is April 24-25. Participating companies include Rapids, Middleport, Terry's Corners, Shawnee, Adams, Active Hose and Wendelville.
- PUB DATE: 4/15/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Lockport Union-Sun Journal

VIDEO: Demolition at an old hotel near The Corners of Brookfield was postponed to allow firefighters to build their skills. "We never know when we’re going to rely upon these people," said Robert Gould, CEO of The Corners of Brookfield. FOX6 News stopped by Wednesday, April 14 as Brookfield firefighters took part in a two-week training exercise at the vacant La Quinta Hotel.
- PUB DATE: 4/14/2021 5:25:20 PM - SOURCE: WITI-TV Fox 6 Milwaukee

One person was hospitalized Wednesday morning following a fiery single-vehicle crash on Madison’s near east side. Firefighters with the Madison Fire Department responded to the intersection of East Washington Avenue and North Dickinson Street around 4 a.m. When they arrived at the scene, crews found an SUV with heavy front-end damage that had hit a tree.
- PUB DATE: 4/14/2021 9:12:01 AM - SOURCE: WISC-TV CBS 3 Madison

Fox Cities fire departments have added a new town to its unique way to train its recruits and created better-trained firefighters. Kevin KloehNeenah-Menasha Fire Chief says, “The fire chiefs in the Fox Valley, we came up with this plan to see what it would be like to try and do more things together because we do respond together in mutual aid calls.
- PUB DATE: 4/14/2021 5:19:39 AM - SOURCE: WFRV-TV CBS 5 Green Bay

Like seemingly every workplace, the Rock County Communications Center adapted to ensure operations continued through the COVID-19 pandemic as dispatchers eye the future with optimism as an expansion of the facility is on the horizon. In 2020, Director Kathy Sukus said the center shifted its work model to allow for half of emergency dispatchers to work from a temporary location at the Rock County Highway Department.
- PUB DATE: 4/14/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Beloit Daily News

Months after putting a ban on police from using chokeholds except in life-or-death situations into official policy, the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission on Thursday will again consider removing that one exception. The proposal, which has been discussed at two of the commission’s meetings in the last month, has the support of at least three out of six commissioners on the oversight board.
- PUB DATE: 4/14/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The Town of Brookfield Fire Department will be using a vacant Quinta Hotel, for a two week active emergency training, according to a news release. Prior to demolition of the hotel, The Corners of Brookfield donated use of it to the Town of Brookfield Fire Department for two weeks of active emergency response training.
- PUB DATE: 4/14/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Brookfield Patch

VIDEO: Two years ago, the Orange County Fire Rescue Division created an Apparatus Committee with the expectation of taking a look at its current apparatus, and specifically its fire engines, in order to find ways to become more efficient. The results were recently revealed in impressive fashion. “Efficiency and safety were our two main goals when we went to redesign the engine,” said Battalion Chief Brian Beechner.
- PUB DATE: 4/14/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Orange County Government

VIDEO: Electric cars are better for the environment but can pose a hazard for firefighters. El Paso Fire Department Captain Manuel Maldonado said electric cars are not necessarily more dangerous, but require a different approach when trying to put out fires caused by a crash or any accident. He said that the initial extinguishing of the fire is the same: the firefighters wear the same protective equipment to extinguish the flames, but they take one additional step after.
- PUB DATE: 4/14/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTSM-TV NBC 9 El Paso

A federal appellate court said Tuesday that prosecutors can retry a man whose conviction in the 1995 deaths of three firefighters in the East Hills was overturned. In a 19-page opinion, the three judge-panel from the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the federal retrial of Gregory Brown Jr.
- PUB DATE: 4/14/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: TribLive.com/Tribune-Review

PHOTOS: When firefighters arranged to conduct search and rescue training on a vacant house in memory of Dominic “Bama” Hunt, who died in a Sylvania Township house fire in February, Mr. Hunt’s fiancée Teresa Laney wanted to be there. “We had to be here as part of the healing process,” Ms. Laney said.
- PUB DATE: 4/14/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Blade

Wisconsin is on track to see its worst fire season in more than five years, officials say, after hundreds of unseasonal blazes prompted the governor to declare a state of emergency. In just the first four months of the year, Wisconsin has lost nearly as much acreage to wildfires as it did in all of 2020.
- PUB DATE: 4/13/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Guardian