A lawmaker’s proposal to make Utah the first state to train emergency medical technicians specifically for responding to mental health emergencies received early support in a state Senate committee Wednesday. SB53 would allow EMTs and firefighters to be trained to respond to mental health calls. Then, agencies throughout the state could form teams made up of those trained EMTs, who would be dedicated specifically to mental health emergencies.
- PUB DATE: 1/21/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Deseret News

No one was injured in a house fire at 210 22nd St. S. early Wednesday morning, according to the La Crosse Fire Department. The department responded to a report of a house fire at 4:38 a.m. Wednesday, arriving in 4 minutes and 57 seconds to find heavy smoke coming from the front and side of the home.
- PUB DATE: 1/20/2021 7:44:18 PM - SOURCE: WKBT-TV CBS 8 La Crosse

Toxic fumes caused the occupants of a Fieldwood Road home to get sick Friday after they mixed chemicals to clear a sink drain. Engine Co. 11 and Medic 4 with the Madison Fire Department responded to the 6900 block of Fieldwood Road just before 4 p.m. on Friday, according to an MFD report. When crews arrived, the residents said they had tried to use sulfuric acid to clear a sink drain.
- PUB DATE: 1/20/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WISC-TV CBS 3 Madison

A firefighter suffered non-life-threatening injuries Wednesday morning at a blaze in a commercial building that houses a Chase Bank branch in the Hyde Park area and burned for 90 minutes before being extinguished. Part of the building collapses during the fire, reported at 12:24 a.m. at 4401 Crenshaw Blvd.
- PUB DATE: 1/20/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KNBC-TV NBC 4 Los Angeles

PHOTOS: Waterville firefighter Ryan Johnston embraces the fact that those in his profession cannot work remotely amid the coronavirus pandemic. Johnston, 48, founded MAINE-IAC Training a half-dozen years ago after local fire departments learned of his unique extrication class. Now, more than ever, the region’s often short-staffed departments look to get the most out of whom they’ve got, and that’s where Johnston’s business comes in.
- PUB DATE: 1/20/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Sun Journal

Firefighter Hunter Space left his Beemverville Fire Department in Wantage with a pick-up truck full of firefighting gear. After a 14-hour ride, he arrived at the firehouse in rural Vance, Alabama. The trip was to donate the gear his fire department in Sussex County could no longer use to the southern department in need.
- PUB DATE: 1/20/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New Jersey Herald

VIDEOS: Clark County firefighters battled a three-alarm fire in the southwest valley near Fort Apache and Tropicana Monday night. According to Clark County Fire, crews responded to the intersection of south Fort Apache Road and west Tropicana Avenue around 11:50 p.m. for a reported fire at an apartment complex that was under construction.
- PUB DATE: 1/20/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KVVU-TV FOX 5 Las Vegas

VIDEO: Amid the pandemic, it’s been some time since the FDNY EMS Pipes and Drums band performed publicly. On Wednesday, that will change when members take part in this year’s Inauguration Day festivities . "It was a great honor to be asked by the department to participate in this inauguration parade," said band manager and FDNY Captain Kevin Haugh.
- PUB DATE: 1/20/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Spectrum News

The Madison Fire Department is investigating the cause of a small fire that occurred at the former Oscar Mayer headquarters Tuesday night. MFD spokesperson Cynthia Schuster said officials received a call at 9:10 p,m. for a report of a fire alarm that went off on the 900 block of Oscar Avenue. An ambulance and other units were also sent after an initial crew arrived and smelled smoke.
- PUB DATE: 1/19/2021 9:12:22 PM - SOURCE: WISC-TV CBS 3 Madison

As more people are becoming eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in Wisconsin, state health officials say they’ve been told vaccine shipments will remain the same over the next three to four weeks. Starting on Monday, people 65 and older will be eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine in Wisconsin. With people above the age of 60 accounting for 92% of Wisconsin’s coronavirus deaths, state health officials say it was a no brainer deciding who should be vaccinated next.
- PUB DATE: 1/19/2021 8:10:02 PM - SOURCE: WNFL-AM 1440 / FM 101.9

Firefighters responded to two structure fires Monday in less than an hour that caused more than $10,000 in damage and killed a pet cat. Fire crews responded to the first fire around 1:50 p.m. on Plank Road in Menasha, according to Neenah-Menasha Fire Rescue. Officials said fire spread to an attic in a detached garage and estimated it caused about $10,000 in damage.
- PUB DATE: 1/19/2021 1:03:37 PM - SOURCE: Appleton Post-Gazette & Post Crescent.com

The Kenosha Police Department says one of its sergeants has died in a snowmobile crash in northern Wisconsin. The department announced Sunday that Sgt. Trevor Albrecht was killed in a crash in Iron County. Sheriff’s officials there say his snowmobile veered off a trail in the Town of Knight Saturday afternoon and hit several trees.
- PUB DATE: 1/19/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WJMN-TV CBS 3 Escanaba

VIDEO: Harrisburg city’s fire department has released video from a firefighter’s helmet camera that shows the rescue of a North 15th Street resident from his burning home shortly after first crews arrived. Chief Brian Enterline said the man was seen by firefighters at a second-floor, bedroom window in the 1400 block of North 15th as they were making initial exterior checks of the structure.
- PUB DATE: 1/19/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: PennLive

Nearly 200 San Diego Fire-Rescue personnel have so far turned down a COVID-19 vaccine, showing reluctance as health officials scramble to protect frontline workers like firefighters from the highly infectious coronavirus. As of Wednesday, 191 personnel had declined to take the vaccine; 895 had gotten the shot, according to department figures.
- PUB DATE: 1/19/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: San Diego Union-Tribune - Metered Site

As rental and home prices increase throughout the state, some firefighters say they can’t afford to live in the communities they work in. According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, South Carolina’s annual mean wage in 2019 was $36,360, one of the lowest in the country. Bill Pesature, the vice president of the Professional Firefighters Association of SC, says salaries for firefighters have not kept up with the cost of living.
- PUB DATE: 1/19/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WIS-TV NBC/CW 10 Columbia

One-hundred -twenty-six years ago this past week, the city of Butte was rocked by a massive explosion that killed 58 people. On January 15th 1895, the Kenyon-Connell Warehouse explosion not only ended the lives of its innocent victims; it devastated their families and broke the city's heart. For some time now, community leaders, historians and artists have been working on a project to construct a monument to honor the men who died in that explosion.
- PUB DATE: 1/19/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NBC Montana

A home on Highland Avenue where 10 people live was damaged Saturday by a fire that broke out in the basement, officials said. The Racine Fire Department said no injuries were reported. The Red Cross was assisting the three adults and seven children. The fire was reported Saturday evening in the 1200 block of Highland Avenue, and firefighters found heavy smoke coming from the building’s basement.
- PUB DATE: 1/17/2021 11:27:33 AM - SOURCE: Racine Journal Times

A structure fire Friday night in Sparta completely destroyed one suite, according to fire chief Mike Arnold. The building houses eight tenants. Two tenants had fire and smoke damage and another two had smoke damage, the fire department says. No other tenants reported any damage. The Sparta Area Fire District was dispatched at 6:43 p.
- PUB DATE: 1/16/2021 3:08:25 PM - SOURCE: WKBT-TV CBS 8 La Crosse

Firefighters extinguished a blaze in a commercial building Friday night in the 900 block of Tile Drive. The affected business, Riverside Automotive, in a Facebook post on Sunday gave thanks to first responders, various community members and whoever called 911 to report the fire. "You saved the building.
- PUB DATE: 1/15/2021 11:08:16 PM - SOURCE: Rivertowns

According to a press release from the Eau Claire Fire department, on Thursday night crews responded to a fire at a local warehouse. Around 10:30 PM the Eau Claire Fire Department responded to a fire alarm at the Indianhead Warehouse on White Avenue. When crews arrived they found an ongoing fire and requested more units to help control the blaze.
- PUB DATE: 1/15/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WQOW-TV ABC 18 Eau Claire