The search for a new South Beloit Fire Chief is moving along at a brisk pace as city officials are preparing to interview six applicants for the position on Saturday. Brian Hedrington, who serves as commissioner of health and public safety on the city council, said there were 20 to 25 applicants for the fire chief’s position.
- PUB DATE: 8/13/2020 8:48:52 PM - SOURCE: Beloit Daily News

A lack of volunteers and eligible recruits in the area is forcing a longstanding fire department in rural Dodge County to make a tough decision. A large majority of Wisconsin’s fire departments are run mostly or entirely by volunteers, according to recent government statistics. It’s getting harder for many departments to recruit those volunteers, fire service leaders said, especially in rural communities.
- PUB DATE: 8/13/2020 8:38:30 PM - SOURCE: WMSN-TV Fox 47 Madison

Two firefighters were treated for injuries sustained while battling a fire at Chilton’s Kaytee Products facility. The Chilton Fire Department says they were dispatched at around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday afternoon for a commercial fire alarm via a pull station activation at Kaytee Products in the 600 block of Clay Street.
- PUB DATE: 8/13/2020 5:00:37 AM - SOURCE: WFRV-TV and WJMN-TV CBS 5 Green Bay

Randy Wichlacz was a hero to the people of Pulaski. The longtime firefighter put everything into his job at the Pulaski Tri-County Fire Department, where he became chief in 2008 after his father – the department’s former leader – died in an accident at the station. He loved to help people, said his daughter, Kimberly McGrath.
- PUB DATE: 8/13/2020 4:24:47 AM - SOURCE: Appleton Post-Gazette & The Post Crescent

A historic building in Uptown in Kenosha that houses several businesses and apartments was the scene of a massive fire early Wednesday morning. The fire, which was called in just before 8 a.m., apparently started at the Music Outlet, 6217 22nd Ave., according to Kenosha Fire Chief Charles Leipzig. Leipzig said the investigation was still ongoing and the official cause of the fire was yet to be determined, but it was believed a person inside the record store was burning incense in the early-morning hours and attempted to extinguish the fire alone, but was unsuccessful.
- PUB DATE: 8/13/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Kenosha News

A firefighter narrowly missed what could have been a dangerous situation. Sacramento Fire crews responded around 2:15 a.m. Thursday to deal with a pickup truck that caught fire near the intersection of Beloit Drive and Main Avenue During the firefight, one of the tires on the truck exploded right in front of a firefighter.
- PUB DATE: 8/13/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KOVR-TV CBS 13 Sacramento

the wake of last September’s explosion in Farmington, which was caused by a gas leak and claimed the life of Farmington Fire Department Captain Michael Bell and injured several others, Governor Janet Mills announced Wednesday that her administration has purchased gas detection meters for twenty fire departments across Maine.
- PUB DATE: 8/13/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WCSH-TV NBC 6 Portland

The large overnight fire in Durham may bring back memories of a similar one three years ago in Raleigh. During the historic Raleigh fire, flames spread to nine buildings – it was a much bigger fire. Many people are asking: Why did the Raleigh fire expand so much farther and cause so much more damage than the Durham fire? Sandy Kromenacker, a fire expert in Raleigh, compared this Durham fire to the memorable downtown Raleigh fire in 2017, saying, "Both properties were under construction.
- PUB DATE: 8/13/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WRAL-TV NBC 5 Raleigh

In a town where nearly everyone lives in the same building, COVID-19 has emerged. The Prince William Sound community of Whittier, where around 85% percent of its 280 year-round residents live in the 14-story Begich Towers building, now has six positive resident cases among a family there, according to Jim Hunt, Whittier city manager.
- PUB DATE: 8/13/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Anchorage Daily News - Metered Site

VIDEO: A historic building in Uptown in Kenosha that houses several businesses and apartments was the scene of a massive fire early Wednesday morning. The fire, which was called in just before 8 a.m., apparently started at the Music Outlet, 6217 22nd Ave., according to Kenosha Fire Chief Charles Leipzig.
- PUB DATE: 8/13/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Kenosha News

The Wind Lake Volunteer Fire Department has undergone a bit of shuffling within the leadership department. Justin Lyman took over as fire chief on July 9 after the former chief, Don Catenacci, a former career firefighter with Wauwatosa and an assistant chief with Verona, retired. Catenacci began as Wind Lake chief in September 2018.
- PUB DATE: 8/12/2020 5:14:47 AM - SOURCE: Racine Journal Times

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 on Monday night 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: 8/12/2020 1:05:23 AM - SOURCE: Kenosha News

Mayor Lori Lightfoot has cut a one-year deal with the Chicago Firefighters Union that includes $95 million in back pay but would nearly double employee health care contributions. One union official said rank-and-file members are “not happy” about the hike in health care costs, though the contract also maintains treasured union perks and outdated staffing requirements that cost taxpayers millions.
- PUB DATE: 8/12/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Chicago Sun Times - Metered Site

VIDEO: The Franklin Fire Department trains for all types of incidents, but the rescue of two teenagers from a railroad bridge above the Harpeth River Monday was unique. Officials told News 2 the teenagers were walking on the railroad tracks around 8:15 at night. One of them dropped a cell phone, and both went to retrieve it.
- PUB DATE: 8/12/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WKRN-TV ABC 2 Nashville

PHOTO: The Wilmington Fire Department is testing out new helmets, only four firefighters are giving the new equipment a try right now, but the deputy fire chief says it could be something they phase in over time. The helmets look much different than the traditional design with many bells and whistles that make them unique including LED lights.
- PUB DATE: 8/12/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WWAY-TV ABC/CBS/CW 3 Wilmington

Brownouts for local fire stations have been taken off the table as county officials plan to use one-time funds to bolster deficits in the Kern County Fire Department budget. Citing the need to save $6.5 million annually, Fire Chief David Witt prepared a plan that would have temporarily closed an average of three fire stations per day for the next year.
- PUB DATE: 8/12/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Bakersfield.com

Hawaii is regularly seeing triple-digit increases in COVID-19 infections, a situation that underscores just how fast the virus is spreading in Hawaii. Scientists actually track that rate of spread ? or reproduction rate. And experts say that Hawaii now has the highest reproduction rate in the nation, at 1.
- PUB DATE: 8/12/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Hawaii News Now

The Beaver Dam Fire Department says about 200 gallons of formaldehyde leaked from a damaged container at Animart in Beaver Dam on Tuesday morning. The fire department was called at 9 a.m. to help contain the leak. By the time crews arrived, Animart had been evacuated. Fire crews say a 275-gallon tank was damaged, causing the leak.
- PUB DATE: 8/11/2020 1:08:14 PM - SOURCE: WISC-TV CBS 3 Madison

As Madison’s Police and Fire Commission continues searching for a permanent police chief, its members are considering changing a rule that would allow police and fire chiefs to live outside the city, but within 15 miles. Under the commission’s current rules, a police or fire chief appointee “shall establish residence within 60 days after appointment.
- PUB DATE: 8/11/2020 5:39:09 AM - SOURCE: Racine Journal Times

When it comes to aircraft firefighting and rescue operations, the stakes are enormous. That's why it's so vital to provide instructional programs to promote and ensure safety. One of the most promising and comprehensive training centers in the Midwest – and beyond – is based in the Fox Cities. The new Fox Valley Technical College Airport Rescue and Firefighting training facility, a partnership with the Appleton International Airport, began booking trainees in June.
- PUB DATE: 8/11/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Post Crescent