This week is Arson Awareness Week, and state leaders and fire officials are sharing strategies to combat arson problems in local communities. According to the National Fire Protection Association's fire loss data, an estimated 25,500 structure fires were intentionally set in 2018, an increase of 13 percent over the year before.
- PUB DATE: 5/5/2020 3:46:46 PM - SOURCE: WMTV-TV NBC 15 Madison

As spring brings the wildfire season to central Wisconsin, longtime residents of Adams County worry it also could bring a repeat of the Cottonville fire that scorched thousands of acres and dozens of homes 15 years ago. The fire broke out May 5, 2005, as a 55-year-old Racine man was trying to clear brush on property near Big Flats.
- PUB DATE: 5/5/2020 12:36:37 PM - SOURCE: Wausau Daily Herald

Fond du Lac firefighters are trying to determine what started a fire on the second-floor balcony of an apartment building. Fire/rescue responded to an eight-unit apartment building at 691 E. Scott St. The fire on the balcony was threatening the structure. The apartment building's fire alarm was working.
- PUB DATE: 5/5/2020 11:24:49 AM - SOURCE: WBAY-TV ABC 2 Green Bay

The City of Appleton might name a park after a fallen firefighter. Driver-Engineer Mitch Lundgaard was shot and killed while on a medical call at the downtown transit center nearly one year ago. Mayor Jake Woodford says the park is on the northeast side, next to Fire Station No. 6. He believes it would be a fitting tribute, and having it next to the station only added to it.
- PUB DATE: 5/5/2020 3:53:51 AM - SOURCE: WHBY-AM 1150 News Talk

The reality of the COVID-19 pandemic struck Rob Puls on March 19, when Bayfield County confirmed its first positive case of the virus. Puls coordinates paramedics for Great Divide Ambulance, which staffs four ambulances around the clock in the 15,000-person county that hugs Lake Superior. The four vehicles cover around 730 square miles, an area three times the size of Chicago.
- PUB DATE: 5/5/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Spooner Advocate

On April 8, 2020 the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that T-Mobile could not meet the public safety requirements that were established in a Request for Qualification (RFQ) that was issued by Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency which is an independent Federal entity. This RFQ for cellular services had as a requirement “enhanced priority-type features” which the agency identified as “AT&T FirstNet or equal”.
- PUB DATE: 5/5/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: All Things FirstNet

Information about the coronavirus is changing day by day, and that is why the state of Alabama has a team of state agencies working side by side to gather information and compile data about COVID-19 as the worldwide pandemic continues to unfold. Located in the RSA Tower in downtown Montgomery, Alabama’s Unified Command for COVID-19 Response is a team comprised of four state agencies - the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH), Alabama Emergency Management Agency (AEMA), Alabama National Guard, and Alabama Forestry Commission.
- PUB DATE: 5/5/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WSFA-TV CBS 12 News Montgomery

When Chase Sherrard completed field training ride-alongs for the Frederick County fire academy in February, the novel coronavirus was far from the major global threat it has become when his class graduated last week. “Things are a lot different now than when we were doing ride-alongs, especially on [medical/sick person] calls,” the probationary firefighter said.
- PUB DATE: 5/5/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Frederick News Post - Metered Site

Recently published results of a survey of EMS providers from across the U.S. revealed inconsistent protocols, policies and training related to COVID-19 response could be contributing to the spread of the virus. Cody Vaugh Gibson and Dr. George Donald Collier of the Calhoun Community College Biological Sciences Research Group; and Christian Ventura, a researcher at the Center for Mind and Brain Studies at Bard College, published preliminary results of their study this week, with the goal to “investigate available resources, PPE availability, sanitation practices, institutional policies and opinions” of EMS providers through a self-reported survey.
- PUB DATE: 5/5/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: EMS1

Police officers, firefighters and emergency medical services workers will be given an additional $300 weekly stipend to acknowledge their key role during the COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. Chris Sununu said in a news conference on Monday. Part-time employees in these categories will receive $150 stipends. Eligibility for this extra pay began Monday and will continue through June 30.
- PUB DATE: 5/5/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Lacoina Daily Sun

Governor Tony Evers says Wisconsin will increase COVID-19 testing this week. The governor says he wants the Badger State to be one of the top states in per capita testing. Health officials said that the current testing capacity put the state in a good position for that. “We currently have 51 labs in our state with a daily capacity of 11.
- PUB DATE: 5/4/2020 8:35:44 PM - SOURCE: WTMJ-TV NBC 4 Milwaukee

A woman was injured and a dog was killed in a house fire Sunday in Lincoln County. Authorities responded around 4:50 p.m. to a report of a kitchen fire in a home on County P in Merrill, according to the Pine River Fire Department. Officials said a Lincoln County Sheriff’s deputy arrived on scene first and tried to use a fire extinguisher on the fire, but he was driven out by heavy smoke.
- PUB DATE: 5/4/2020 4:41:22 AM - SOURCE: Wausau Daily Herald

A free app designed like a Swiss Army knife for Wisconsinites coping with the coronavirus pandemic launched Monday. Developed during the past five weeks by the Center for Health Enhancement System Studies (CHESS) at UW-Madison, COVID-19 Wisconsin Connect is a desktop and mobile app that serves as a multipurpose tool for people struggling with various aspects of the pandemic.
- PUB DATE: 5/4/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Wisconsin State Journal

New York has formed a partnership with six other northeast states, including New Jersey and Connecticut, to purchase personal protective equipment, tests, ventilators and other medical equipment, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Sunday. The Governor said the agreement between New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, will increase the state's market power.
- PUB DATE: 5/4/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WABC-TV ABC 7 New York

On May 4, 2020, the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) will be joining in the celebration of International Firefighters’ Day which began on May 4, 1999, after the deaths of five Australian firefighters in a wildland fire. New this year, the NFFF is asking members of the public to light their homes in “red” on May 4-5 to celebrate International Firefighters’ Day.
- PUB DATE: 5/4/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WGNO-TV ABC 26 New Orleans

A mixture of salt and water with a splash of vinegar and a jolt of electrochemical activation is supplying Waco firefighters with a safe but powerful disinfectant as they work to keep their equipment and quarters free of COVID-19. Crews at Waco Fire Station No. 11, where the department’s hazardous materials unit is housed, have also developed a new spray system for the disinfectant using their air tanks and other common firehouse equipment.
- PUB DATE: 5/4/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Waco Tribune-Herald

The first wave of emergency medical technicians who contracted COVID-19 and survived are now returning to the job, armed with a first-hand understanding of the disease and a new empathy for the patients. "I was able to be more in touch with my patients who called, because I knew exactly how they were feeling," said firefighter/EMT Shantice Samuels, who has just returned to work in Washington, DC, after recovering from a case herself.
- PUB DATE: 5/4/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: CNN

A fire captain who died in the line of duty in 1953 is no longer forgotten, thanks to some fellow firefighters who became a team of detectives, solving the nearly 70-year-old mystery of his death. Being a firefighter is about a lot more than just hooking up hoses and spraying water. They’re also the ones who show up in ambulances, help out at car crashes, and wear a number of other hats many of us never even think of.
- PUB DATE: 5/4/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KSL-TV NBC 5 Salt Lake City

The state Department of Natural Resources and National Weather Service have issued a red flag warning for 12 central Wisconsin counties out of concern for brewing wildfire conditions. The warning includes Jackson, La Crosse, Trempealeau, Monroe, Juneau, Adams, Marquette, Waushara, Wood, Portage, Waupaca and Green Lake counties.
- PUB DATE: 5/3/2020 2:15:44 PM - SOURCE: Oshkosh Northwestern

One person was taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation following a fire at a Sun Prairie apartment building. Firefighters responded to reports of smoke and an active fire alarm Thursday at an apartment along the 1000 block of O’Keefe Avenue. Crews found a fire inside one unit had been extinguished by a single fire sprinkler, according to a release by the Sun Prairie Fire Department.
- PUB DATE: 5/1/2020 7:39:27 AM - SOURCE: WISC-TV CBS 3 Madison