Since 1998, the city’s fire department has had a tactical paramedic team that assists the Summit County sheriff’s SWAT team whenever called. With a 2018 change in state law, the nine members on the team and Fire Chief Jeff Funai are hoping that next month City Council will OK the paramedics to be armed during such calls.
- PUB DATE: 1/27/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Akron Beacon Journal

Ron Howard knew Paradise, the northern California town devastated by the most destructive wildfire in California history. His mother-in-law had lived there and he had visited the town. He had some understanding of its people. Ten days after what became known as the Camp Fire swept through Paradise, killing 85 people and destroying roughly 19,000 buildings, Howard went to see it.
- PUB DATE: 1/27/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTVU-TV FOX 2 Oakland

Huntington is now a mentor site for law enforcement officers and first responders from across the United States who are looking to launch or expand drug diversion programs like those already in place in Cabell County, including the Quick Response Team. “There will be people coming from all across the country, actually coming here to go out with the team and see what we’re doing firsthand,” said Connie Priddy, program coordinator for the Huntington QRT.
- PUB DATE: 1/27/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: West Virginia MetroNews

A fire broke out at a home in the 6900 block of Kate Avenue in the town of Leon on Sunday afternoon around 12:53 p.m. according to the Sparta Area Fire District. Chief Mike Arnold says the cause of the fire is electrical in nature. Arnold says when crews arrived the back of the house was on fire with fire spreading to the attic and roof area.
- PUB DATE: 1/26/2020 5:16:56 PM - SOURCE: WEAU-TV 13 News

A 37-year-old man died and a woman was injured in a house fire in Merrill on Saturday morning. Firefighters responded to a house fire in the 1500 block of River Street around 10 a.m. Two people were inside when the fire started. The man was trapped and firefighters were not able to rescue him due to heavy smoke and fire conditions, according to the Merrill Fire Department.
- PUB DATE: 1/26/2020 4:36:27 PM - SOURCE: Wausau Daily Herald

Madison firefighters and police officers squared off Saturday night on the ice. The Mad City Police Hockey Team and the Madison Fire Department Club Hockey Team played in the sixth annual Battle of the Badges at Hartmeyer Ice Arena. The athletes ranged from hockey beginners to one Madison firefighter who is a former NHL draft pick.
- PUB DATE: 1/25/2020 7:43:08 PM - SOURCE: WISC-TV Channel 3000.com Madison

A Madison man faces tentative battery charges after assaulting a firefighter early Friday morning. A downtown apartment building was evacuated in the 400 block of N. Frances Street around 2:23 a.m. after someone pulled a fire alarm. Firefighters and private security guards said a man who lived there was acting in a wild manner and being aggressive towards several people.
- PUB DATE: 1/24/2020 1:39:09 PM - SOURCE: WMSN-TV Fox 47 Madison

The City of Milwaukee is known for coming together to help those in their time of need. Right now, a fundraiser for a former firefighter is offering the opportunity to help a family in need after he devoted much to the community. In February of 2016, Derek Geppert was 35-years-old and a firefighter with the Milwaukee Fire Department for over five years, until he had a stroke.
- PUB DATE: 1/24/2020 7:48:12 AM - SOURCE: Today's TMJ4

When first responders looked into a Cargill malt silo where three workers were reported to be trapped last August, they could only see two workers at first. They peered down through a 2-by-1-foot opening in the side of the silo to see the workers below them on a slope of grain. The grain was piled up against the wall, not far below the opening, and sloped down to the bottom from there.
- PUB DATE: 1/24/2020 4:54:05 AM - SOURCE: Sheboygan Press

VIDEOS: Broken windows, busted garage doors, and plumes of smoke could be seen from a northwest Houston neighborhood rattled by a large building explosion. According to area residents, the explosion happened around 4:20 a.m. Friday at Watson Valve Services, which is about half a mile away from their homes on Rockcrest road and Stanford Court.
- PUB DATE: 1/24/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Click2Houston

An official with the Detroit Fire Department said 13 firefighters are facing department charges for a photo that surfaced on New Year's Day that featured them posing in front of a burning house in Detroit. The Detroit Fire Department official was not authorized to go on the record about the 13 firefighters but told FOX 2 they are charged with exhibiting ignorance of the rules or orders.
- PUB DATE: 1/24/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WJBK-TV FOX 2 Detroit

The Cleveland Fire Department is taking steps to better protect your neighborhood while possibly saving you money, improving how it responds to suspicious fires. "It's very unusual for somebody to have more than one fire in their life," said Chief Chris Posante, Cleveland Fire Investigation Unit. However, in Cleveland, serial arsonists are keeping the city’s recently revamped investigation unit busy.
- PUB DATE: 1/24/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WEWS-TV ABC 5 Cleveland

Mayor Bill de Blasio will meet with health officials on Friday to discuss the city’s response to any potential cases of the deadly coronavirus, which has shut down parts of China and led to fears of an epidemic. The mayor will meet with members from the Department of Health, NYC Emergency Management, the FDNY and the NYPD on Friday morning to talk about how the city will respond if the virus makes its way to the city.
- PUB DATE: 1/24/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WINS 1010 AM

Just think that over a hundred years ago there was no cellphones, no 911 emergency system, no fire department as we know it today! If your home caught on fire, you had to rely on whoever happened to be nearby to help you extinguish the fire, then hopefully you were within reach of a pump, or a water resource.
- PUB DATE: 1/24/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Record-Courier

Monona Fire Chief Scott Sullivan says he will be retiring this spring, after 32 years of service. Sullivan’s last day on the job will be March 31, The Herald-Independent reports. Sullivan, 53, has worked in fire departments for 32 years, first with the Town of Madison Fire Department and then for last 10 years, with the Monona Fire Department.
- PUB DATE: 1/23/2020 8:13:40 PM - SOURCE: WMTV-TV NBC 15 Madison

Madison firefighters have responded to a condo fire Thursday afternoon. Dane County dispatch said a fire was reported on the 500 block of Troy Drive at around 3:30 p.m. MFD said visible flames are out, but crews are working to ensure that there is no hidden fire remaining. Officials said everyone has evacuated the condo unit, but firefighters are still checking to see that the fire did not extend to nearby units.
- PUB DATE: 1/23/2020 3:43:41 PM - SOURCE: WMSN-TV Fox 47 Madison

Firefighters rescued an unconscious man during a house fire in Sun Prairie late Thursday night, according to the Sun Prairie Volunteer Fire Department. Emergency crews were dispatched to a home along the 5000 block of County Road VV in the Town of Sun Prairie around 10:45 p.m. Firefighters arrived to see smoke coming out from the basement and first floor of older farm house.
- PUB DATE: 1/23/2020 2:35:26 PM - SOURCE: WMSN-TV Fox 47 Madison

A fatal fire officials are describing as "probably the worst ever" in the city's history appears to have been a tragic accident, authorities say. “There was nothing suspicious, and (it) appears that it was accidental — at this time,” Fire Chief John Reed said of the Jan. 17 fire that killed four members of an Oconto family.
- PUB DATE: 1/23/2020 1:04:32 PM - SOURCE: Appleton Post-Gazette & Post Crescent.com

The Madison Fire Department wants people to continue avoiding a section of downtown Madison following a gas leak earlier Thursday morning. Everyone is asked to stay away from the area around E. Johnson Street, W. Dayton Street, N. Carroll Street, and Wisconsin Ave. According to the Madison Fire Department, firefighters responded shortly before 9 a.
- PUB DATE: 1/23/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WMTV - NBC 15

Firefighters in Sun Prairie responded to three different fires overnight. The first one started at 10:40 p.m. at 5699 County Highway VV in Sun Prairie. When crews got there, they noticed smoke throughout the home and one person was unaccounted for. They rushed in and rescued that person who was taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation.
- PUB DATE: 1/23/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WKOW-TV ABC 27 News