Wisconsin Republicans signed off Tuesday on a bill that would impose new restrictions on firefighting foam containing PFAS chemicals in the hopes of reducing soil and water contamination, despite Democrats’ complaints that the proposal would accomplish next to nothing. The Senate approved the Republican-authored measure with a voice vote Tuesday afternoon.
- PUB DATE: 1/21/2020 3:37:09 PM - SOURCE: WBAY-TV ABC 2 Green Bay

Looking to address concerns about the environment, the Kenosha Fire Department stopped using a firefighting foam that contains chemicals that could contaminate groundwater. The fire department made the decision last fall to ditch a firefighting foam typically used in fighting fuel or oil fires. The foam contains chemical compounds called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, that contain fluorine, known as “forever chemicals” that could contaminate drinking water and may pose a cancer risk.
- PUB DATE: 1/21/2020 1:00:32 PM - SOURCE: Kenosha News

A spot of red will be added to the office of Green Bay Metro Fire Department Chief David Litton's office. Chief Litton had placed a wager with the fire chief of the San Francisco Fire Department on the Packers and 49ers game over the weekend. Depending who lost, the losing fire chief would make a personal donation of $100 to the burn camp or burn prevention charity of the winner's choice.
- PUB DATE: 1/21/2020 10:35:39 AM - SOURCE: WBAY-TV ABC 2 Green Bay

A fire caused an estimated $60,000 in damages to a Watertown home early Saturday. Watertown Fire Department received a call at 12:57 a.m. for an active fire with smoke and flames at 923 Labaree St., according to fire officials. The first arriving unit reported the fire was coming from the second story and the on-scene crews were able to knock down the fire from the exterior and get inside to put the fire out.
- PUB DATE: 1/21/2020 6:39:35 AM - SOURCE: Watertown Daily Times

This year, seven first responders have died in roadside crashes across the country, according to the Emergency Responder Safety Institute. "What's really scary is standing two to three feet out at a highway and having a car go by you at 60 to 80 mph," Amherst Assistant Fire Chief Brian Swan said. Swan tells FOX 11 he knows the feeling all too well, along with the neighboring fire department in Waupaca.
- PUB DATE: 1/21/2020 2:28:43 AM - SOURCE: WNFL SPORT REDIO

VIDEO: Hundreds of firefighters battled a raging and fast-moving fire that spread through a row of town-homes on Staten Island on Monday. The fire was reported shortly after 3 p.m. on Rensselaer Avenue, and within 30 minutes, a fifth alarm had been sounded as the flames quickly spread. Officials say 18 firefighters and one civilian suffered injuries in the fire, but all the injuries were believed to be minor.
- PUB DATE: 1/21/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WABC-TV ABC 7 New York

La Verne Fire Station No. 3 at 5100 Esperanza Drive, which serves neighborhoods in the area, will be closed for about six weeks until the city can hire more firefighters, Mayor Don Kendrick said Monday, Jan. 20. La Verne Firefighters’ Association, Local 3624, posted information about the closure Friday on social media.
- PUB DATE: 1/21/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Inland Valley Daily Bulletin - Metered Site

VIDEO: It’s a startling statistic - since 2015, more firefighters and police officers are dying by suicide than in the line of duty, according to a report. In January, nearly 1,000 Fort Worth firefighters will take a course to learn to spot the signs of someone at risk for suicide. According to a report published in 2017 by the Ruderman Family Foundation, almost 250 firefighters and police officers died by suicide in 2016 across the United States, as compared to just over 200 that died in the line of duty.
- PUB DATE: 1/21/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KXAS-TV NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

Two decades ago, a machine shed fire in rural Plymouth County might have taken one, maybe two, fire departments to put out the flames. But in 2019, it took five just to get enough manpower and water to put out the fire. No single department had enough available volunteers or resources. "The days where the butcher, the baker, and the horseshoe maker ran down the street when the fire whistle blew in town, that doesn't happen anymore," Le Mars Fire Chief David Schipper said.
- PUB DATE: 1/21/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Des Moines Register

A bill has been introduced in the U.S. House that aims to help veteran firefighters. Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger and Congressman Don Bacon (R-Nebraska-02), a U.S. Air Force veteran, introduced the Michael Lecik Military Firefighters Protection Act on Thursday. It aims to provide veteran firefighters with the compensation, health care, and retirement benefits they earned with their military service.
- PUB DATE: 1/21/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WVIR-TV NBC/CW+ 29 Charlottesville

Four fire departments in Rock County announced Monday a partnership that will help with decreasing emergency response times. Thanks to automatic vehicle locator technology, fire departments from Janesville, Milton, the city of Beloit and the town of Beloit, will now support each other’s communities regardless of municipal boundaries.
- PUB DATE: 1/20/2020 4:36:58 PM - SOURCE: WMSN-TV Fox 47 Madison

Several people were forced out of a duplex after a fire broke early Sunday morning. The Brillion Fire Department said three people needed to be treated for smoke inhalation after they arrived at the duplex on North Glenview Avenue around 3:30 a.m. The three people from the main area where the fire was were the ones treated then released.
- PUB DATE: 1/19/2020 9:45:15 AM - SOURCE: WBAY-TV ABC 2 Green Bay

A firefighter was injured and a residence is considered a total loss after a residential fie in the Town of Beloit early Saturday morning. A residential fire with smoke and flames showing at Rockvale Mobile Home Park, at 6219 S. Hwy 51, Lot 212, was reported at 3:57 a.m., according to the Town of Beloit Fire Department.
- PUB DATE: 1/18/2020 7:43:38 AM - SOURCE: WMTV-TV NBC 15 Madison

A series of the 911 calls made on the night the Alpine Motel Apartments fire went up into flames were released to 8 News Now by the City of Las Vegas Thursday. The calls detail the moments after residents and victims called 911, along with when first responders arrived at the scene that fateful night Dec.
- PUB DATE: 1/17/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KLAS-TV CBS 8 Las Vegas

VIDEO: Paramedic Scott Lazar, a 16-year veteran of the Los Angeles Fire Department, is used to treating the same person, sometimes on the same day, on Skid Row. "Deja vu, yeah, it's every day down here," Lazar told "Nightline" as he treats a man for an overdose, as he did just the day before. Over five months, "Nightline" got an exclusive look at life at Lazar's LAFD Station 9, rare access to the day-to-day operations of this team and a glimpse into daily life for this city's most vulnerable.
- PUB DATE: 1/17/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: ABC News

The Green Bay Metro Fire Department and the San Francisco Fire Department have partnered to remind communities of the importance of practicing fire safety along with some friendly competition. On the Tuesday following Sunday’s game, the fire chief will install a smoke alarm with the winning team’s emblem on it.
- PUB DATE: 1/17/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WFRV-TV and WJMN-TV Green Bay

City firefighters can now bear an emblem for mental health on their helmets after the department’s first officer suicide. It’s a way for firefighters to keep the fallen officer close to them; it’s a reminder for them to take care of themselves, said Shawn Weeks, president of Local 1891, which represents Boynton’s paramedics and firefighters.
- PUB DATE: 1/17/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Palm Beach Post

VIDEO: Students at Dudley High School are getting the unique opportunity to work on the construction of two new fire stations as summer interns. “Opportunities don't come around like this very often, especially for high school students,” Principal Rodney Wilds said. The Greensboro Fire Department received approval for the necessary funding to rebuild fire stations 7 and 56.
- PUB DATE: 1/17/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WGHP-TV FOX 8 High Point

The Hotel Washington, which sat at the intersection of West Washington Avenue and Regent Street, was destroyed by fire on Feb. 18, 1996, taking with it several businesses that were significant gathering spots for Madison's gay and lesbian community. Bars and restaurants housed in the building included Club de Wash, the New Bar, Rod's Club, the Barber's Closet, MicroBar and the Cafe Palms and Espresso Bar.
- PUB DATE: 1/16/2020 3:42:39 PM - SOURCE: Madison.com

The Green Bay Metro Fire Department and the San Francisco Fire Department have partnered to remind communities of the importance of practicing fire safety along with some friendly competition. On the Tuesday following Sunday’s game, the fire chief will install a smoke alarm with the winning team’s emblem on it.
- PUB DATE: 1/16/2020 11:40:02 AM - SOURCE: WFRV-TV and WJMN-TV Green Bay