A new chief is named Wednesday night for the Black River Falls Fire Department. The hiring committee selected Jody Stoker to be the new chief. He has served with Black River Falls Fire and EMS for more than 20 years. He's held the ranks of ranks of firefighter, captain, and assistant chief, and he has been employed full-time with the Black River Falls Fire Department since June 2013 as the EMS Division Chief.
- PUB DATE: 6/10/2020 8:13:32 PM - SOURCE: WEAU-TV 13 Eau Claire

The Beaver Dam Police and Fire Commission met on Tuesday night to bring a plan to add additional firefighter/paramedics to the city. The Beaver Dam Police and Fire Commission agreed on bringing a question to the Beaver Dam City Council asking for voters in Beaver Dam to have the option of approving six additional firefighter/paramedic positions for the city of Beaver Dam.
- PUB DATE: 6/10/2020 5:20:34 PM - SOURCE: Daily Citizen

Fourth of July fireworks shows are going to be difficult to come by this year, and that has some area fire departments worried. Without traditional Fourth of July fireworks displays there are concerns that some may try setting off their own displays with consumer fireworks in spite of laws require a permit to do so.
- PUB DATE: 6/10/2020 4:37:34 PM - SOURCE: WNFL 1440 AM - 101.9 FM

Authorities have arrested the man they believe set fire to a memorial to a fallen Sawyer County Sheriff's Deputy. Sheriff Doug Mrotek said in a news release that the 38-year-old suspect from Ladysmith is expected to face an arson charge. The charge did not yet appear in online court records as of Wednesday afternoon.
- PUB DATE: 6/10/2020 2:46:10 PM - SOURCE: WDIO-DT ABC 10 Duluth

The Stockton Fire Department held an emergency response live propane fire training Wednesday night. The fire department put on the training along with the Wisconsin Propane Education and Research Council. The training consisted of classroom instruction on the physical properties of propane and a hands-on portion that included putting fires out involving a grill, bulk tank, and propane terminal piping props.
- PUB DATE: 6/10/2020 1:06:05 PM - SOURCE: WAOW-TV ABC 9 Wausau

One person is dead after a car went into a pond in the Town of Balsam Lake. Around 6:30 a.m. on Sunday, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office received a call of a Jeep submerged in the pond near the intersection of Highway 46 and 150th Ave. Upon arrival, deputies and members of the Balsam Lake First Responder unit found the vehicle was unoccupied with the drivers’ door open and there was no sign of the driver.
- PUB DATE: 6/10/2020 12:05:24 AM - SOURCE: WEAU-TV NBC 13 Eau Claire

VIDEO: A three-alarm house fire broke out in a home on the corner of Monroe Avenue and Rosedale Street on Tuesday around 10:20 a.m. Firefighters urged motorists to avoid the area while they work to contain the fire, assess the damage, and begin cleaning up. Officials say roads in the area will be closed until approximately 3:30 p.
- PUB DATE: 6/10/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Rochester First

Researcher Gregory Chiklis has spent the duration of the pandemic running antibody tests in his Franklin lab, MRN Diagnostics. He has tested hundreds of first responders who were exposed to coronavirus in towns west of Boston. “We’ve gone back now and tested their spouses or their partners, in a couple of cases we tested their children who are over 18, and in no cases have we seen that person spread the virus to their family members,” said Chiklis.
- PUB DATE: 6/10/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WBZ-TV CBS 4 Boston

Billings police arrested a man on suspicion of driving under the influence after he drove through a blocked zone, dragging a firefighter trying to stop him along the way. Eli Rindal, 23, drove through cones that marked off an area where power crews were repairing a transformer at Bench Boulevard and Joyce Street in the Heights, according to police Sgt.
- PUB DATE: 6/10/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Billings Gazette - Metered Site

The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC), in partnership with the Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance (FBHA) and the American Psychological Association (APA), has released a new directory of behavioral health professionals that are equipped and ready to help firefighters, EMS providers, dispatchers, and rescue workers.
- PUB DATE: 6/10/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Journal of Emergency Medical Services

Preliminary results from an ongoing study suggest that those with a certain blood type may have some protection against the novel coronavirus. In April, not long after the pandemic began, the genetic testing firm 23andMe began using its testing services to help scientists better understand how genetics may play a role in why some people who contract the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, develop severe infections, while others present only mild or moderate symptoms or have no symptoms at all.
- PUB DATE: 6/10/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FOX News

The Eighth Annual 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb at Lambeau Field will be held as a virtual fundraising event this year, organizers announced Tuesday. The on-site event has been canceled. "Due to the unprecedented circumstances the world has faced in recent months, and after much careful consideration, Pierce [Manufacturing] and the Green Bay Metro Fire Department determined it was in the best interest of the participants and the community to shift the stair climb to a virtual event," organizers said in a statement.
- PUB DATE: 6/9/2020 3:49:07 PM - SOURCE: WGBA-TV NBC 26 Green Bay

A grainery in the Town of Westford is declared a total loss after it was damaged in a fire June 8. The Cazenovia Area Fire Department was dispatched at 10:19 a.m. to the report of a grainery on fire at 10198 Quaker Valley Dr. in the Town of Westford, according to a June 9 email from Darrell Slama fire chief of the department.
- PUB DATE: 6/9/2020 1:24:24 PM - SOURCE: Reedsburg Times-Press

The Madison Fire Department has wrapped up its investigation into what led to a deadly house fire last week. Investigators determined it started in the screened-in porch area towards the rear of the home. They narrowed it down to two possibilities: a possible electrical fault or improperly discarded smoking materials.
- PUB DATE: 6/9/2020 11:45:31 AM - SOURCE: WMTV NBC 15 Madison

After 237 tests on Monday, COVID-19 testing continued on Tuesday at Western Technical College. The focus for day two, however, was on front line first responders like police, fire, and other emergency workers. The La Crosse County Department of Health joined with the Wisconsin National Guard to staff the free testing site.
- PUB DATE: 6/9/2020 7:18:41 AM - SOURCE: WXOW-TV ABC 19 La Crosse

Officials have temporarily closed the visitor's center at the Wisconsin State Firefighters Memorial after vandalism last week. A firefighter reported Friday that someone had painted "Black Lifes Matter" on a pillar at the memorial and written things in the sign-in book at the visitor's center, said Jim Luty, Firefighters Memorial president.
- PUB DATE: 6/9/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Wisconsin Rapids Tribune

VIDEO: Firefighters battled a blaze that erupted and spread into a produce market in downtown Los Angeles Monday, the L.A. Fire Department said. Propane tanks were seen exploding outside of the one-story building at 815 Kohler St., fire officials said after the blaze was reported around 3:20 p.m. The produce market was open for business and people were self-evacuating when firefighters arrived at the scene, according to LAFD.
- PUB DATE: 6/9/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTLA-TV 5 CW Los Angeles

The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation has announced five families of front line workers who will receive temporary mortgage payments through its COVID-19 Heroes Fund. "As COVID-19 lockdowns lift and America begins to reopen, we cannot forget the brave men and women on the front lines who gave up their lives to protect ours during this unprecedented pandemic," the organization said in a statement.
- PUB DATE: 6/9/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WABC-TV ABC 7 New York

The cleanup effort at the memorial along West 7th Street started Monday and featured ordinary citizens who showed up hoping to erase the vandalism. Among the volunteers was a Fort Worth native who said he understands the hurt behind the recent events, but was adamant: This is not the answer. The vandals spray painted anti-police rhetoric like "F**K 12" and "ACAB" across several stones on the memorial grounds.
- PUB DATE: 6/9/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KXAS-TV NBC 5 Dallas Fort Worth

A mechanical engineer at the University of Virginia has built a semi-autonomous robot to help combat the coronavirus pandemic. According to a release, studies have found that the COVID-19 virus can be destroyed by ultraviolet light and heat while on surfaces, including countertops, chairs, walls and floors.
- PUB DATE: 6/9/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WCAV-TV CBS/FOX 19 Charlottesville