An Ogema man died Thursday after a crash in Price County. Authorities responded to a single-vehicle crash around 6 p.m. on County YY, about a half mile east of Stucker Roade in the town of spirit, according to the Wisconsin State Patrol. Officials said a 2016 Chrysler 200 Limited was going south on County YY when it mishandled a curve, went into the south ditch and hit multiple trees.
- PUB DATE: 12/4/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Wausau Daily Herald

Firefighters across the United States risk their lives every time they show up to work for the safety of the communities they serve. In 2020, they have been facing not only the spread of the coronavirus but also other major challenges, including a record-setting wildfire season that has killed dozens and burned millions of acres in the western United States.
- PUB DATE: 12/4/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Patch Across America

Firefighters are on the scene of a three-alarm fire Friday at the Toledo Beach Marina in La Salle, Mich. Monroe County Emergency Manager Mark Hammond said there have been no injuries reported, but hundreds, if not more, boats have been damaged or destroyed by the fire. Dozens of firefighters have responded.
- PUB DATE: 12/4/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WDIV-TV NBC 4 Detroit

PHOTOS/VIDEO: A new floating fire station, possibly the first of its kind in the world, arrived at its permanent home in San Francisco Thursday morning. Fireboat Station 35, a two-story, 14,900-square-foot facility sitting on a massive steel float, was towed during the overnight hours from Treasure Island to Pier 22 1/2 along the Embarcadero near the Bay Bridge, according to San Francisco Public Works.
- PUB DATE: 12/4/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KNTV NBC 11 San Jose

With talk of COVID-19 vaccines being made available as soon as this month, major firefighter organizations like The International Association of Fire Fighters and the National Volunteer Fire Council are asking to be among the first to receive it. “I would tell the leaders, the politicians that are deciding, the community leaders, the health department take care of the people that care of your people we are the ones that are out there,” a firefighter and paramedic with the Ocean Pines Fire Department, said.
- PUB DATE: 12/4/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WMDT-TV ABC/CW+ 47 Salisbury

VIDEO: It's a tradition at the Bonneville Salt Flats to spread the ashes of lost loved ones on the track. A Central California firefighter wanted to honor his father that way - and he set a racing record on the same trip. "It was a dream come true. And we didn't have any intention when we left Fresno of going after record, and we ended up having a lot more fun than we thought we were going to," said Frank Silva, Jr.
- PUB DATE: 12/4/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KGO-TV ABC 7 San Francisco

Gov. Tony Evers signed Executive Order #96 ordering the flags of the United States and the state of Wisconsin to be flown at half-staff in honor of Cpt. Kelly Lynn Raether of the Town of Ixonia Fire & EMS. Raether passed away on Nov. 26, 2020 after contracting COVID-19 in the line of duty as she responded to the emergency medical needs of a COVID-19 patient.
- PUB DATE: 12/3/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WDJT-TV CBS 58 Milwaukee

The La Crosse Fire Department was on the scene in just over three minutes after receiving the call of a garage fire at 309 Rose St. around 3:11 p.m. Wednesday. Crews saw heavy smoke and fire coming from inside the garage and extinguished the fire in about an hour and a half. The garage had significant fire and heavy smoke damage, according to the La Crosse Fire Department.
- PUB DATE: 12/3/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WIZM News Talk 1410 AM

Wisconsin has reported nearly 500 deaths from COVID-19 in just the last 11 days. On Nov. 21, the state's coronavirus death toll passed 3,000. On Wednesday, it passed 3,500. The state Department of Health Services on Wednesday reported 3,777 new cases and 82 deaths, bringing the death toll to 3,502.
- PUB DATE: 12/3/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

PHOTOS: It’s been 21 years since one of the most heartbreaking days in Worcester’s history. On Dec. 3, 1999, a blaze at the Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co. claimed the lives of six Worcester firefighters. Each December since, the city has remembered the sacrifices of Lt. Thomas Spencer, Lt.
- PUB DATE: 12/3/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Republican - Mass Live

VIDEO: Fire crews were battling a blaze at a large two-story structure in downtown Los Angeles Wednesday evening, officials said. The fire was reported around 6:10 p.m. on the 500 block of East Ninth Street, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department, where a number of fabric stores are located. Firefighters had moved to a defensive operation to battle fire, which was escalated to a “greater alarm” incident.
- PUB DATE: 12/3/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTLA-TV 5 CW Los Angeles

Stefan Hofer’s ambulance company, West Trail EMS, in Mayville, North Dakota, has received only one or two calls that weren’t related to COVID-19 over the past two months. But he said the case count has ballooned by 20 to 30 percent because of the pandemic. At the same time, the company’s expenses have mounted, its revenue has cratered and its workforce is being decimated by the virus.
- PUB DATE: 12/3/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTVE-TV NBC 10 El Dorado

The Essex Fire Department (EFD) is one of 20 fire departments in the country — and the only one in Vermont — to join a Drexel University study investigating how the COVID-19 pandemic impacts the mental health of first responders. The study is run by the Center for Firefighter Injury Research and Safety Trends (FIRST Center) at the Dornsife School of Public Health at Drexel University in Philadelphia.
- PUB DATE: 12/3/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Saint Albans Messenger

The family of an FDNY captain, who died decades ago after fighting a major fire in Queens, is demanding his name be added to a memorial wall honoring those who died in the line of duty. Richard Meister says he never knew his grandfather, FDNY Captain Hans Meister, but he’s heard plenty of stories about the impact he had on other members of his family.
- PUB DATE: 12/3/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WCBS-AM 880

A western Wisconsin community is rallying around its fire chief, who has been hospitalized with COVID-19 for 24 days. Fire Chief Don Kittelson is a third-generation firefighter who has served the Clayton Fire Department for 34 years. The small, rural village is about an hour northeast of the Twin Cities.
- PUB DATE: 12/2/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KSTP-TV ABC 5 St. Paul

Two people were killed and a third person injured following a two-car crash in the 3500 block of Green Bay Road (Highway 31) Tuesday afternoon. The crash occurred at 3:42 p.m. in the southbound lane of Green Bay Road, according to Lt. Steven Beranis of the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department. Minutes later, Somers Fire and Rescue personnel responded and transported two people to local hospitals, both of whom later died.
- PUB DATE: 12/2/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Kenosha News

Madison Fire Department brings back old technology with a tractor-drawn aerial ladder truck to meet modern needs. According to a release, a 107-food heavy-duty tiller aerial ladder from Pierce Manufacturing is serving Fire Station 1. The tiller is though to be the fourth tiller in the history of the Madison Fire Department.
- PUB DATE: 12/2/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WISC-TV CBS 3 Madison

Multiple fire departments responded to a large brush fire near Tichigan Lake Tuesday afternoon. Smoke could be seen from Highway 83, more than a mile away. A Mutual Aid Box Alarm System alert was reportedly called, bringing in aid from Waukesha and Kenosha counties, as well as from eastern Racine County, to help fight the blaze near the intersection of Bridge Drive and Marsh Road, which is north of the Tichigan Wildlife Area and northwest of Tichigan Lake.
- PUB DATE: 12/2/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Journal Times - Metered Site

The 20th annual Greater Beloit Shop With A Hero event has been cancelled this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, according to Town of Beloit Police Chief Ron Northrop. “The committee decided to cancel it this year, but we are looking at all options going forward,” Northrop said. For nearly two decades, City of Beloit and Town of Beloit first responders, both police and fire staff, have come together for a day of Christmas shopping for families in need.
- PUB DATE: 12/2/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Beloit Daily News

The CDC's immunization advisory panel voted Tuesday to first give the COVID-19 vaccine to health care personnel and long-term care facility residents. Some firefighters feel they should have been included in that list. “I think it’s not the correct decision," Prince George's County firefighter and paramedic Theresa Alexander said.
- PUB DATE: 12/2/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WUSA-TV CBS 9 Washington DC