VIDEO: Over 150 firefighters battled a fire at a vacant building in Shelton. Crews were called to the vacant building on Canal Street around 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, firefighters said. Firefighters from Shelton, Derby and Ansonia responded to the fire and it took more than 155 firefighters to help put out the flames, authorities added.
- PUB DATE: 6/15/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WVIT-TV NBC 30 New Britain

The firefighter’s fraternity is a tight one. Due to the many perils of the job, they must rely on each other to remain safe while saving structures and lives. “There is a lot of trust there,” said third-generation Elk River firefighter Chad Kreuser. But for Kreuser and fellow firefighter Ryan Wolcenski, it’s grown to be so much more: Kreuser learned that he suffers from polycystic kidney disease and in rapid need of a lifesaving kidney transplant.
- PUB DATE: 6/15/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WCCO-TV CBS 4 Minnesota

The Chippewa Falls Fire Department and Chippewa Fire Districts responded to a fire at an apartment building in Chippewa Falls around 4:25 a.m. Sunday morning in the 600 block of Island Street in Chippewa Falls. When firefighters arrived they found heavy smoke and fire coming from the back of the building and attic.
- PUB DATE: 6/14/2020 2:33:22 PM - SOURCE: WEAU-TV NBC 13 Eau Claire

Residents of a Kenosha apartment building are crediting 8-year-old Addilyn Holland with helping them safely escape a fire. The fire broke out at Windsor Apartments, 3825 89th Street, at about 10:14 p.m. Friday. The fire destroyed two apartments in the eight-unit building and caused smoke damage to others, displacing everyone who lives there.
- PUB DATE: 6/13/2020 3:48:18 PM - SOURCE: Racine Journal Times

Fire officials were called to a report of a house fire near N. 24th Street and W. Keefe Avenue early Saturday morning, June 13. Firefighters found heavy smoke coming out of the first floor when they arrived shortly before 5 a.m. As the fire spread to the second floor, they called for additional crews to help fight the blaze.
- PUB DATE: 6/13/2020 9:44:04 AM - SOURCE: WITI-TV Fox 6 Milwaukee

Thus far, the nonprofit organization Friends of the Appleton Fire Department has raised $97,000 for the purchase and restoration of Old Engine 5, a 1925 Seagrave pumper that served Appleton for 39 years. The total includes a $30,000 grant from the David L. and Rita E. Nelson Family Fund through the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region.
- PUB DATE: 6/12/2020 3:37:02 PM - SOURCE: Appleton Post-Gazette & Post Crescent.com

A Seymour family has been sifting through the ashes of their home. It burned down Monday night, for the second time in the last year and a half. The first fire was caused by a space heater. Firefighters are still investigating how Monday's fire started. "It’s a big blow, I mean, it’s still kinda sinking in that like everything that’s gone, you know,” said homeowner Nicole Hoier Everson.
- PUB DATE: 6/12/2020 2:08:22 AM - SOURCE: WLUK-TV Fox 11 Green Bay

Two more people have been charged in connection with the June 1 fire at the Thelma Orr COP House that started in the midst of heated protests over the death of George Floyd. Anthony McNeil, 27, of the 900 block of S. Memorial Drive, and Jason Young, 30, of the 800 block of College Avenue, are both being charged with arson and burglary as a party to a crime.
- PUB DATE: 6/12/2020 1:53:17 AM - SOURCE: Kenosha News

After more than an hour and a half of talking to city staff, an outside company and emergency officials, the city of Baraboo still hasn’t made a decision about the future of its emergency medical services. One obstacle for members of the Baraboo Common Council, as they met virtually Tuesday, was a lack of data, the result of bungled billing practices through the Baraboo District Ambulance Service, which is currently the service used by the city.
- PUB DATE: 6/12/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Baraboo News Republic

Faced with continued financial shortfalls, the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District has announced that it will take “new urgent measures” to maintain its limited operations and keep firefighters safe. ECCFPD Chief Brian Helmick said during a news conference Thursday that the department will only send firefighters into burning structures if lives are at stake, starting on July 1.
- PUB DATE: 6/12/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: East Bay Times

As the United States begins to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, ample praise has been focused upon the nation’s emergency first responders – and rightfully so. Millions of nurses, doctors, firefighters and police have set their personal interests aside, routinely placing themselves and potentially their families at risk so that critical frontline medical services remain operational at a time when tens of thousands of Americans have been sickened and died from a disease with no known cure.
- PUB DATE: 6/12/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Great Falls Tribune - Metered Site

VIDEO: D.C. firefighters saved the day Thursday when they threw their bodies on two dogs who were attacking people while other members were fighting a fire in Southeast. D.C. Fire and EMS officials say they were in the 4000 block of South Capitol St. SE when two dogs began attacking residents in the area.
- PUB DATE: 6/12/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTTG-TV FOX 5 Washington, D.C.

A group of New York City emergency medical service workers who gave interviews to the news media, including NPR, are suing the city for allegedly retaliating against them after speaking about their experiences responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. In a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday with the federal court in Manhattan, four EMS workers allege the city is violating their right to speak on issues of public concern under the First Amendment, as well as their due process rights.
- PUB DATE: 6/12/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: National Public Radio

You would think driving back to the firehouse after a call would be the least exciting part of a firefighter's job. Well, not on Wednesday evening in the town of Wilson. A truck for the town of Wilson Fire Department was driving eastbound on Sheboygan County V after a call when a turkey flew through the windshield of the engine, according to Assistant Chief Steve Pautz.
- PUB DATE: 6/11/2020 1:05:10 PM - SOURCE: Sheboygan Press

PHOTOS: This week marks the 12th anniversary of the start of the devastating 2008 floods in southern Wisconsin. Three people were killed and thousands of homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed as flood waters impacted 31 counties for almost a month. It was the worst disaster since the Great Floods of 1993 that hit the Midwest.
- PUB DATE: 6/11/2020 10:50:46 AM - SOURCE: Lacrosse Tribune

The La Crosse Fire Department responded to a structure fire on Wednesday around 9 p.m. Upon arrival, crews made an offensive fire attack and quickly had fire control at 4535 Old Hickory Drive in Medary Township. While enroute, crews were informed that all occupants were out of the building and that the attached garage was fully involved with heavy smoke and fire showing.
- PUB DATE: 6/11/2020 8:30:13 AM - SOURCE: WEAU-TV NBC 13 Eau Claire

A large, early morning house fire destroyed a home on Hazel Drive in Putnam Lake on Thursday. With no fire hydrants in the area, water was carried in on tanker trucks. The family living at the Hazel Drive home were all able to get out safely, with no injuries reported. Putnam Lake Fire Department responded to the scene, with mutual aid from Patterson, Brewster, Croton Falls, and New Fairfield and Danbury, Connecticut.
- PUB DATE: 6/11/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NY Journal News (Lohud.com)

Emergency medical dispatchers across North America can now quickly direct 911 callers during time-critical cardiac emergencies to the closest automated external defibrillator (AED), thanks to the implementation of an AED geolocation plan by Priority Dispatch and the PulsePoint Foundation. The partnership between Priority Dispatch and PulsePoint allows 911 dispatchers to inform callers of the location of AEDs while using existing medical dispatch protocols within Priority Dispatch’s ProQA® software, with no changes to workflow—saving critical time during life-threatening emergencies.
- PUB DATE: 6/11/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Journal of Emergency Medical Services

The US surpassed 2 million confirmed coronavirus cases as experts predicted Thursday that tens of thousands more people will get infected and die in the months ahead. Nearly 113,000 people have died from COVID-19 nationwide, according to Johns Hopkins University. An influential model cited by the White House issued the dire prediction, saying the US death toll could reach 169,890 by October 1, with a possible range of about 133,000 to 290,000 deaths.
- PUB DATE: 6/11/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: CNN Health

Researchers at the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) have updated and extended the U.S. COVID-19 forecasts through Oct. 1. Researchers are forecasting nearly 170,000 deaths. Deaths are predicted to remain level through August but may start to rise in the fourth week and increase during September, according to an IHME release.
- PUB DATE: 6/11/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KIRO-TV CBS 7 Seattle