The Hilton Fire Department is now training to take its rescue efforts to the clouds, with the help of drone technology. Department heads say it’s among the first in the area to bring use the drones for certain calls. The idea was the brainchild of fifth-year firefighter David Olney, who is a trained drone pilot himself, he says it was a no-brainer, as the drones could be a real boost for the department, and the community.
- PUB DATE: 8/31/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WHEC-TV NBC 10 Rochester

For the La Crosse Fire Department, today was a day for joy as well as remembrance. At Station 1, the fire department held a private dedication to a new vehicle, Engine 10. They also held a long-overdue memorial for fallen firefighter Assistant Chief Edward Sciborksi, who died in the line of duty in 1964.
- PUB DATE: 8/29/2020 5:43:48 PM - SOURCE: WKBT-TV CBS 8 La Crosse

Special agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are working with local law enforcement to investigate over 30 arson cases in Kenosha. ATF said in a news release Friday that members of the National Response Team and special agents from the Chicago Field Division of ATF arrived in Kenosha on Tuesday.
- PUB DATE: 8/28/2020 3:38:13 PM - SOURCE: WMTV-TV NBC 15 Madison

A badly burned body was found following an early morning house fire in Crawford County Friday, August 28. The Crawford County Sheriff’s Department received a call reporting a house fire on Spring Street in the Village of Lynxville at 2:07 a.m. Friday morning. A neighbor told law enforcement that the residence was fully engulfed in flames.
- PUB DATE: 8/28/2020 12:38:07 PM - SOURCE: WKBT-TV CBS 8 La Crosse

Jim Mallardo and Billy Morrisey are part of a group of residents who have mobilized to help put out fires lit by rioters following protests that have increasingly transformed into violence in downtown Kenosha at night. What they want people to know is that they’re not against the protests. These fire stoppers don’t want their city to burn at the hands of those who are set on destroying it.
- PUB DATE: 8/28/2020 1:06:56 AM - SOURCE: Kenosha News

VIDEOS: A fire has broken out in the Westlake, Louisiana, area, causing gases and smoke to plume over I-10. The Louisiana State Police Emergency Services Unit confirmed the fire involved a chlorine leak at the BioLab plant in Westlake. They are coordinating with plant managers to contain the leak, officials said.
- PUB DATE: 8/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Daily Advertiser

In a video made by Murrieta Fire & Rescue Chief David Lantzer told citizens there’s a significant urge to wear masks and follow guidelines, after one of his family members died of COVID-19 recently. “The individual I was talking about in the video was my brother-in-law,” Lantzer said. “He got COVID-19.
- PUB DATE: 8/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Valley News

Styx have released a very special conceptual lyric video for their track "These Are The Times" to celebrate first responders and the digital release of their "Cyclorama" album. The band's 14th album was originally released in 2003 and has not been available digitally until now. The new lyric video pays tribute to the men and woman on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- PUB DATE: 8/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Anti Music

Not long ago, this writer read a commentary by an unknown author who posed the question, “Who changes the course of history...presidents, kings, generals?” And, the answer, of course, was yes. But, the author went on to point out that more often than not, it’s men and women with little social standing who most significantly reshape our communities and eventually the world.
- PUB DATE: 8/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Augusta Chronicle

A 64-year-old Belleview woman is accused of hitting a firefighter with a sock filled with two cans of soup because he “brushed her off” when she tried to talk to him during a fire investigation. Claudia Jean Cyr, of 11745 S. U.S. Hwy. 301 #3, was charged with battery on a firefighter after the incident, which happened around 6 p.
- PUB DATE: 8/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Ocala-News

A coalition of environmental organizations is calling on Wisconsin’s natural resources policy board to approve temporary regulations on the use and storage of firefighting foam containing hazardous chemicals known as PFAS. The Natural Resources Board earlier this month voted to table a rule that would establish guidelines on containment and disposal of the chemicals, which have been linked to cancer and other illnesses and don’t break down in the environment, after industry groups and some Republican lawmakers objected to some of the proposed standards.
- PUB DATE: 8/27/2020 1:09:55 PM - SOURCE: Kenosha News

Firefighters in northern California say they are gaining control over historic, deadly wildfires that have burned more than one million acres. However, researchers and former firefighters working on a new study fear the responders battling the blazes are in danger of suffering unprecedented long-term damage, as the wildfires destroy over 1,400 homes and businesses.
- PUB DATE: 8/27/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KOTV-DT CBS 6 Tulsa

VIDEO: Hotel directors tried to pay extortionists the $3 million they wanted to keep a 1,000-pound homemade bomb from exploding in the building, but it went off anyway when experts tried to defuse it. Harvey's Resort Hotel and all the surrounding businesses had been evacuated the day before the blast and no one was hurt or killed.
- PUB DATE: 8/27/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Reno Gazette Journal - Metered Site

VIDEO: Arson is suspected as the cause of a July 12 fire that left extensive damage to the amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard docked off San Diego, and a U.S. Navy sailor was being questioned as a potential suspect, a senior defense official said Wednesday. The sailor was being questioned as part of the investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the official said, adding that defense department leaders were notified of the development.
- PUB DATE: 8/27/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Navy Times

PHOTOS: Half a dozen fire departments were at the scene of a large fire Thursday morning at the former CharlesTown Mall in Frankfort. Firefighters were called to the scene at about 1:28 a.m. Thursday, according to Frankfort Center Assistant Fire Chief Fred Distefano. The rear section of the building, stretching back to where it ends at Turner Street, was fully involved when firefighters arrived, he said.
- PUB DATE: 8/27/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Utica Observer-Dispatch

As the coronavirus pandemic has taken over headlines and dominated conversations on public health, another crisis has seemingly been swept under the rug. The opioid epidemic. Snohomish County health officials said it their weekly media briefing that opioid use numbers are up since last year. First Lady Melania Trump used some of her time at the Republican National Convention Tuesday to address the national epidemic.
- PUB DATE: 8/27/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KING-TV NBC 5 Seattle

Far fewer people voted in Wheatland on a binding resolution to authorize funding for firehouse construction than voted in a non-binding referendum in February seeking support to build a new station. But, the result was the same. Their answer was “no.” This time, by a larger margin. In February, 426 residents, or 58%, voted against a plan to spend up to $3.
- PUB DATE: 8/26/2020 1:04:13 PM - SOURCE: Lake Geneva News

Following a third straight night of violent protests in Kenosha, the most recent of which turned deadly, law enforcement officers in the city will be getting even more assistance from the National Guard as well as from federal agencies. On Wednesday, Gov. Tony Evers doubled the number of members of the National Guard who will be deployed to Kenosha, announcing 500 soldiers will be activated.
- PUB DATE: 8/26/2020 12:27:09 PM - SOURCE: WMTV-TV NBC 15 Madison

Several Northwoods first responder groups have picked up grant money to help their agencies. The Wisconsin Public Service (WPS) is providing a total of $50,000 through its Rewarding Responders Grant to 27 emergency response agencies in this region. Among this year’s recipients is the Tomahawk Fire Department, which is purchasing two new automated external defibrillators (AEDs).
- PUB DATE: 8/26/2020 5:16:16 AM - SOURCE: WXPR-FM 91.7 Public Radio

VIDEO: No one was injured fighting an inferno Tuesday that collapsed the roof of the Moose Event Center on Howard Street in Hibbing, according to fire officials. But what does hurt to the small town, is the loss of a building that houses many businesses and memories. “As I stood outside and watched it just kept, no matter how much water it got worse, and worse, and worse,” said Marybeth Perreira, who watched from the Androy Hotel across the street.
- PUB DATE: 8/26/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KQDS-TV FOX 21 Duluth