After a Wisconsin State Patrol vehicle was damaged last month during a traffic stop and the Union Grove-Yorkville Fire Department stepped in to help, the department was recently thanked with literal tokens of appreciation by the State Patrol. Deputies from the Racine County Sheriff’s Office, alongside troopers from the Wisconsin State Patrol, were conducting a routine traffic stop on southbound Interstate 94 on March 21 at about 8 a.
- PUB DATE: 4/23/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Journal Times - Metered Site

Wednesday night, the Wisconsin Rapids Fire Department’s Crew 2 worked in conjunction with the Port Edwards Volunteer Fire Department and the Wood County Sheriff’s Department in a water rescue training night drill. The crew’s scenarios were to rescue victims who fell in the river. The department worked with PFVFD boat personnel on the techniques used to pull victims into the rescue boat.
- PUB DATE: 4/23/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: On Focus

VIDEO: A two-alarm fire in Gerritsen Beach left two people injured Thursday, fire officials say. The fire started at a house on the corner of Knapp Street and Avenue W at around 8 p.m. Citizen app footage shows the fire tearing through the home. Crews were eventually able to get the fire under control and extinguish it.
- PUB DATE: 4/23/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: News 12 The Bronx

VIDEO: Members of Mount Pleasant Fire Station #5 are staying in unique temporary living quarters while the station undergoes renovations. Over the last month, fire crews have been living out of a villa at Somerby Senior Living in Mount Pleasant. Christie Gauldin, the Director of Sales and Marketing, says she was a little surprised when Mount Pleasant Fire asked if their crews could stay there while their station underwent renovations, but she knew it was something they had to make work.
- PUB DATE: 4/23/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WCSC-TV CBS 5 Charleston

VIDEO: Like all too many public service organizations, Williamsport Fire and EMS in Maryland is cash crunched by COVID. “COVID really messed with things this year,” Michael Nokes, the Deputy Chief, said. Not only were funds down, but expenses went way up. “We just purchased a ladder truck, we have a ladder truck that’s over thirty years old, it was well overdue for a replacement,” Nokes said.
- PUB DATE: 4/23/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WHTM-TV ABC 27 Harrisburg

There is a huge gender gap in the world of firefighting. Only 8% of firefighters in the United States are female according to the National Fire Protection Association. The Greensboro Fire Department wants to bridge the gender gap through a new program. Camp Spark is the department's new initiative aimed at changing the narrative to get more women into fire stations.
- PUB DATE: 4/23/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WFMY-TV CBS 2 Greensboro

It’s a boy! An explosion that rattled homes within a 20-mile radius Tuesday night is being blamed on a gender reveal celebration at a Kingston quarry that police say involved more than a pound of Tannerite and blue chalk. Many residents in communities across southern New Hampshire and northern Massachusetts reported hearing the explosion just after 7 p.
- PUB DATE: 4/23/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New Hampshire Union Leader - Metered Site

Residents had to be evacuated for a time, but only minor damage was reported at a dormitory fire early Thursday morning at UW-Eau Claire. According to the Eau Claire Fire Department: The fire was reported at 12:11 a.m. at Oakridge Hall, 810 University Drive. Firefighters arrived to find smoke and heat conditions in the basement trash area.
- PUB DATE: 4/22/2021 11:28:31 AM - SOURCE: Eau Claire Leader-Telegram

One person was hurt during a kitchen fire in Manitowoc early Thursday. At 1:08 a.m., the Manitowoc Fire Rescue Department was called to a residence in the 2300 block of Paul Rd. They arrived to find smoke and flames coming from the building. The occupants were able to escape. One resident was taken to a hospital for smoke inhalation and a burn to the arm.
- PUB DATE: 4/22/2021 5:43:05 AM - SOURCE: WBAY-TV ABC 2 Green Bay

VIDEO: Two people had to jump from the top floor to escape a massive condo fire early Thursday morning in Norfolk. Dispatchers say they were notified around 3 a.m. of the fire in the 4600 block of Mayflower Road, at the Lafayette Cove Condominiums in the Colonial Place neighborhood. Assistant Fire Chief Garry Windley said that two people were rushed to the hospital after they jumped from the top floor of the building.
- PUB DATE: 4/22/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WAVY-TV NBC 10 Portsmouth

Lawmakers have introduced a bill to add vascular rupture to the list of injuries covered under the Volunteer Firefighters’ Benefit Law in honor of a Whitehall firefighter who died in September after suffering a line-of-duty injury last May. James Brooks was second assistant chief of the Whitehall Volunteer Fire Company and was responding to a fire call in Dresden on May 2.
- PUB DATE: 4/22/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Post-Star

A group of off-duty EMTs and an off-duty police officer who all happened to be eating at the same Rahway restaurant sprung into action to save a man choking on his food Monday night. The six medics and the officer were dining at The Waiting Room in Rahway, when the man began choking on a piece of steak around 9:30 p.
- PUB DATE: 4/22/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Union Daily Voice

VIDEO: The southbound lanes of Interstate 35W were treated with a brine solution before a deadly 135-car pileup during February’s winter storm, according to a preliminary investigation. The National Transportation Safety Board released its preliminary report on the crash Wednesday. The massive pileup happened on the morning of Feb.
- PUB DATE: 4/22/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KDFW-TV Fox 4 Dallas

President Joe Biden on Wednesday called on Americans to do their patriotic duty and get a COVID shot. He urged businesses (with the enticement of a tax credit) to give their employees the paid time-off to do so. The President’s renewed appeals come as the country is fast-approaching an arguably more difficult stage of its vaccine roll-out—one where demand for the vaccine no longer outstrips supply.
- PUB DATE: 4/22/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Fortune

The Merrill Fire Department held a three-day training workshop specializing in confined space accidents. Accidents are high-risk, low-volume situations. The Occupational Health and Safety Administration said there is an average of 92 deaths per year with confined space accidents, so the Merrill Fire Department is making sure they’re ready when those accidents happen.
- PUB DATE: 4/21/2021 11:11:55 PM - SOURCE: WSAW-TV CBS 7 Wausau

Multiple fire departments in the Fox Valley are teaming up to train new recruits together. Nineteen firefighter recruits from three different departments are spending weeks together, taking their training to new heights through a joint academy. Neenah-Menasha, Oshkosh, and the Grand Chute Fire Departments are currently in week three of the roughly month-long training program.
- PUB DATE: 4/21/2021 5:40:01 PM - SOURCE: WBAY-TV ABC 2 Green Bay

Three members of the Tomahawk Fire Department were honored recently. Captain Lance Powers celebrated 35 years of service this year, while Firefighter Taylor Randall was recognized for ten years of service. Firefighter/Secretary Melissa Nieman was named Firefighter of the Year.
- PUB DATE: 4/21/2021 1:04:57 PM - SOURCE: The Tomahawk Leader

The student who caused a fire at a Viterbo University residence hall is released with a signature bond. According to the police report, student Victoria Unanka was arrested on charges of arson and negligent handling of burning materials. Officers reviewed university security cameras, where footage shows Unanka last in the lounge before the fire started.
- PUB DATE: 4/21/2021 8:20:59 AM - SOURCE: WLAX-TV FOX 25 La Crosse

VIDEOS: A massive fire broke out at a historic Domino Sugar refinery in Baltimore on Tuesday, resulting in a large storage dome collapsing under the flames. Helicopter video posted on Twitter by reporters for WJZ showed the storage dome collapsed, with fires still burning at either end. Other photos and videos of the fire showed smoke plumes wafting across much of the city as firefighters continued to battle the blaze.
- PUB DATE: 4/21/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Hill

Firefighters answer the call for help daily. Now there’s an app to help them when they’re in distress. Redline Rescue is a peer-to-peer support portal that connects firefighters who need mental health help with others. They can log on, answer a few screening questions via drop-down lists, and within minutes, locate peers to talk.
- PUB DATE: 4/21/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Spectrum News 13