In the last two months, there have been three major house fires in Merrill. Two have been deadly, and in the most recent there were injuries. Chief Josh Klug says one of the things the Merrill Fire Department has always prided itself on is the amount of fire prevention they do within the community.
- PUB DATE: 2/19/2020 6:39:44 PM - SOURCE: WSAW-TV CBS 7 Wausau

The state Assembly has approved giving more time to the Village of Mount Pleasant to build a new fire station near the Wisconn Valley Technology Park using tax funds to be generated by Foxconn. Under the initial state bill, passed in 2017, Mount Pleasant would have had until 2024 to build a new fire station either within the Foxconn zone or within 1 mile of the zone, according to Claude Lois, the village’s contracted project director for the Foxconn development.
- PUB DATE: 2/19/2020 3:04:07 PM - SOURCE: Racine Journal Times - Metered Site

Wheatland Fire Chief Lou Denko spent months meeting with town residents to address any potential concerns or questions involving plans to build a new $3.8 million fire station. On Wednesday, it was back to the drawing board. The non-binding referendum stated: “Should the Town Board issue bonds or other debt issues in order to borrow up to $3.
- PUB DATE: 2/19/2020 1:06:13 PM - SOURCE: Kenosha News

Given the recent local and national media coverage regarding the potential environmental hazards of substances that contain the chemical compounds perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl, known more commonly as PFAS, the Monona Fire Department is taking proactive measures to remove PFAS-containing firefighting foam from its fleet.
- PUB DATE: 2/19/2020 1:05:19 PM - SOURCE: Monona / Cottage Grove Herald Independent

The Sparta Fire Chief Mike Arnold says no injuries were reported after a fire broke out on a porch in Sparta Wednesday around 5:34 a.m. The family was alerted to the fire by their cat and smoke detectors, which allowed them to get out of the residence safely. Arnold says the home, located on Kent Street in Sparta, had moderate smoke damage and minor water damage.
- PUB DATE: 2/19/2020 11:54:44 AM - SOURCE: WEAU-TV 13 News

The Stoughton Fire Department has selected a new cheif, according to The Stoughton Courier Hub. Squad leader Josh Ripp will replace former chief Scott Wegner, who retired on Jan. 2. Since Wegner’s retirement, Mark Miller served as interim chief. Ripp has been a volunteer with the department for five years and worked as fire chief for seven years with the Maple Bluff Fire Department.
- PUB DATE: 2/19/2020 7:55:06 AM - SOURCE: WISC-TV Channel 3000.com Madison

Two 13-year-olds have been arrested and booked on suspicion of arson and manslaughter charges in a deadly fire on Tuesday that claimed the lives of two firefighters and destroyed the Porterville Library. Tuesday’s blaze started shortly after 4 p.m. The man killed has been identified as Fire Capt. Raymond Figueroa, 35.
- PUB DATE: 2/19/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Visalia Delta Times

VIDEO: A large, deadly fire consumed the Porterville Library Tuesday evening and claimed the lives of two firefighters. "We are still working on notification," Tulare County Fire Chief Charlie Norman said as he fought back tears. The names of the firefighters killed have not been released. Both work for the city of Porterville, Norman said.
- PUB DATE: 2/19/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Visalia Delta Times

Representatives from the city’s firefighters union say a new public administration software system designed to streamline payroll for the department has instead burdened the force with extra duties. The union has filed a grievance on behalf of its 911 dispatchers claiming the software has not only created more work, but shifted payroll responsibilities to their supervisors who they say haven’t properly been trained to administer it.
- PUB DATE: 2/19/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Bangor Daily News - Metered Site

Any first responder knows in an emergency, time is of the essence. Bruce Bechtold is a former Stearns County deputy. He says cutting minutes or even seconds off response time can make all the difference. That was the case when his cousin Mark suffered a heart attack nearly a decade ago. "Firefighter just happened to be nearby with an AED and shocked him and he's alive today," said Bechtold.
- PUB DATE: 2/19/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KARE-TV NBC 11 Minneapolis

The Fire Department’s Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) responded to more than 1.5 million medical emergencies last year, saving countless lives in the process. But many of these first responders — who endure high stress in a job where mere seconds may mean the difference between life and death — barely have anything left to save once they get their paychecks, according to unions representing them.
- PUB DATE: 2/19/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: AM New York

Just because you call an ambulance in Montgomery County, Maryland, that doesn’t mean you’ll skip the lobby wait in the emergency room. Maryland’s ER wait times — the time spent in the emergency room before being admitted to the hospital or being sent home — are the longest in the country: an average of 376 minutes, in the latest data, from 2017.
- PUB DATE: 2/19/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTOP-AM 1500 Washington

The Madison Fire Department has a new team devoted to investigating the origin of fires with the hope that it not only makes investigations more efficient, but helps protect firefighters, as well. “What I love about my job is the teamwork of it,” said Kara Nelson, an apparatus engineer and fire investigator with the Madison Fire Department.
- PUB DATE: 2/18/2020 8:51:29 PM - SOURCE: WMSN-TV Fox 47 Madison

A man was taken to the hospital after his hand became trapped in mechanical equipment, according to a release by the Madison Fire Department. Firefighters were sent to a business along the 2200 block of Fordem Avenue around 1:00 a.m. Tuesday. The man’s fingers were trapped between two mechanical rollers, the release said.
- PUB DATE: 2/18/2020 3:45:26 PM - SOURCE: WMSN-TV Fox 47 Madison

It’s a sign of our era — when countless Americans distrust government — that firefighters in one of Michigan’s most affluent communities worry about a millage vote next month. If most voters in Bloomfield Township vote no, as they did for a police-and-fire measure with a bigger price tag last year, a projected 22 firefighter/paramedics could lose their jobs, Fire Chief Mike Morin says.
- PUB DATE: 2/18/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Detroit Free Press

When a firefighter rips his or her uniform, repairing it isn’t quite as simple as ironing on a patch. Although it used to take weeks or months of waiting and thousands of dollars to repair their gear, the firefighters at the John B. Glaser Fire Station in Shawnee can have everything fixed in a few days.
- PUB DATE: 2/18/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Kansas City Star

Persistence may soon be paying off for firefighters across the Commonwealth. They have pushed for expanded cancer coverage as many are developing it at an high rate. Now, after five years of legislation, this year’s bill looks like it will become law. Firefighters said state lawmakers were no longer able to overlook the problem in front of them and that’s why they think they are the closest they’ve ever been to getting it passed.
- PUB DATE: 2/18/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WSLS-TV NBC 10 Roanoke

The Mesa Fire and Medical Department has become the first fire team in Arizona to receive the designation of being a Certified Autism Center. The designation was granted by the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards and comes after the staff, firefighters and other first responders at the department received position-specific training to "enhance their understanding and sensitivity when helping individuals with autism or other sensory sensitivities," according to a press release by the organization.
- PUB DATE: 2/18/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Arizona Republic, AZCentral.com & KPNX-TV NBC 12 Phoenix

With tight budgets and dwindling amounts of volunteer help, interior fire departments struggle with maintaining staffing. In 2011 the Steese Volunteer Fire Department came up with an idea to help -- they began providing scholarships and a place to live for students who are going to UAF. "We are able to staff two stations, two ambulances, two engines, with these scholarship folks to serve the community for minimal amount of money," said Captain Ruth Church.
- PUB DATE: 2/18/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTVF-TV NBC 11 Fairbanks

The Sauk City Volunteer Fire Department is thanking a local family after they brought in pizza after fire crews put out a structure fire in the town of West Point Monday. As NBC15 News reported, crews responded to a fire at a home on Selwood Road in the Town of West Point outside Prairie Du Sac around 3 p.
- PUB DATE: 2/17/2020 8:32:02 PM - SOURCE: WMTV-TV NBC 15 Madison