A Black River Falls man has been charged in Jackson County after calling law enforcement saying he started a fire above a bar. Court documents show 40-year-old Joseph Berg has been charged with arson of a building, first degree recklessly endangering safety, felony criminal damage to property and possession of THC.
- PUB DATE: 12/30/2019 5:20:09 PM - SOURCE: WEAU-TV 13 News

Officials are reporting no injuries at the Chippewa Manor Retirement Center after a kitchen fire broke out Monday around 10:50 a.m. Chippewa Falls Fire Battalion Chief Trevor Weiland said there were no injuries to occupants or fire fighters and only one resident will be displaced from the fire. A report of a sounding fire alarm sent officials to 756 Irvine Street where they found an evacuation underway.
- PUB DATE: 12/30/2019 2:31:11 PM - SOURCE: WEAU-TV 13 News

The Village of Bellevue has officially transitioned into 24/7 staffing. In a Facebook post Monday morning, the village said, "At 7:00 this morning, we ushered in a new era in Bellevue. We are proud to announce that when the crew walked through the doors this morning, they began working the first 24 hour shift in Bellevue Fire Department's history.
- PUB DATE: 12/30/2019 8:35:11 AM - SOURCE: WBAY-TV ABC 2 Green Bay

25 people are without their homes after a fire broke out at a Birchwood apartment building. Fire crews say the fire originated in a bathroom ceiling. The Green Bay Metro Fire Department says they found fire in the ceilings and walls of the bathrooms on the second and third floors of the building. They then had to pull those structures in order to find the fire in the void spaces.
- PUB DATE: 12/30/2019 3:52:18 AM - SOURCE: WFRV-TV and WJMN-TV Green Bay

The process for hiring a new Clinton Fire Protection District chief is expected to be wrapped up early in 2020, according to interim Clinton Fire Chief Gene Wright. Wright, who also serves as the town of Beloit fire chief and town of Beloit administrator, said he and Clinton Fire Protection District Board President Ryan Wellnitz will start the review process the week of Jan.
- PUB DATE: 12/30/2019 2:47:03 AM - SOURCE: Janesville Gazette - Metered Site

The failure of the state of North Dakota's ladder truck has left Jamestown Fire Chief Jim Reuther worried about the department's ability to fight fires and make rescues from taller buildings in Jamestown and the North Dakota State Hospital. The ladder truck is owned by the state of North Dakota under an agreement where the JFD provides fire protection to the State Hospital.
- PUB DATE: 12/30/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Jamestown Sun

VIDEO: A shortage of water hampered firefighters' efforts Friday to save a historic 120-year-old home in Concord which was originally built for the prominent descendant of a U.S. President. The fire at 240 Fairhaven Hill Road burned a 6,500-square-foot home that was built in 1899, according to records.
- PUB DATE: 12/30/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WCVB-TV ABC 5 Boston

When the call comes in for an opiate overdose, Akron Fire District Chief Joseph Natko said paramedics drop everything and respond as fast as they can. But four to six minutes can pass from the time someone dials the phone to when a paramedic treats the patient. When people overdose, Natko said they can seem intoxicated or unresponsive.
- PUB DATE: 12/30/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Akron Beacon Journal

Jamie Dukes tried the door handle, throwing his weight against the small metal door that led to the outside of a North Charleston industrial facility. It wouldn’t move. Inside the structure, pallets of polyester were stacked more than 6 feet high. A plastics warehousing firm was moving in, and Dukes, a North Charleston fire inspector, was on site to sign off that the property was up to code.
- PUB DATE: 12/30/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Post and Courier - Metered Site

VIDEO: The Newark Division of Fire now has a permanent way of remembering its fallen heroes. The department recently installed a memorial for firefighters killed in the line of duty. “It’s a real risk and our new wall reminds folks of that,” Newark Lt. Neal Murphy explained. The tribute consists of eight plaques with names, dates and a short description of each of the eight men killed since the fire department’s inception.
- PUB DATE: 12/30/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WCMH-TV NBC 4 Columbus

The fire at 409 Center Ave. on Friday night caused $150,000 damage and displaced six people, the Janesville Fire Department reported. The cause was an electrical problem in one of the two apartments in the subdivided house, according to a news release. Firefighters “aggressively attacked the fire from the interior, and the fire was brought under control within 20 minutes of arrival,” the release states.
- PUB DATE: 12/28/2019 11:25:28 AM - SOURCE: Janesville Gazette

More fires have recently broken out on La Crosse’s south side. The La Crosse fire department is looking at a site for a new station in that area, but was unable to get enough money to start building one. “I know Mayor (Kabat) and (city) council we’re trying to get it done, but it just wasn’t in the cards,” fire department chief Ken Gilliam said.
- PUB DATE: 12/28/2019 8:36:59 AM - SOURCE: WKBT-TV CBS 8 La Crosse

The shooting death of an Appleton firefighter was one of the biggest local stories in 2019. Firefighter Mitch Lundgaard was killed, after going on a medical call at the transit center. Police Officer Paul Christensen and bystander Brittany Schowalter were wounded during a shootout with the suspect, 47-year-old Ruben Houston.
- PUB DATE: 12/27/2019 4:02:22 AM - SOURCE: WHBY-AM 1150 News Talk

Municipal officials have agreed to set up what’s called a 401(a) plan, tax-differed retirement saving accounts, for retiring public safety employees. Members of the City Council approved a measure on Monday allowing mayor Andre Sayegh’s administration to set up the plan at the request of the police and fire unions.
- PUB DATE: 12/27/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Paterson Times

Major changes are coming to the Owen Valley Fire Department. Lt. Joe Frye said the department will lose a majority of its firefighters at the end of the year because the Owen Valley Volunteer Firefighter Incorporated Group could not reach a contract agreement with the Owen Valley Fire Territory Board.
- PUB DATE: 12/27/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WRTV ABC 6 Indianapolis

The city’s firefighters union is pushing for more emphasis on mental health after losing an officer to suicide. “One of our brothers passed away of this disease,” said Shawn Weeks, president of Local 1891, the union that represents Boynton’s paramedics and firefighters. “Nobody thought this was gonna happen.
- PUB DATE: 12/27/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Palm Beach Post

Knowing how to properly handle all the equipment that's used to fight fires is a crucial part of a firefighter's job. Joseph Cross looks like he's adept and ready to go to battle, but he is actually not a firefighter – yet. He is training to become one after fighting some personal demons and ending up in prison.
- PUB DATE: 12/27/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Bay News 9

Looking a the numbers at the end of the first year of the Racine Fire Department’s home visit program, department Division Chief Brian Wolf said he’s seen how the program “is greatly needed.” For its first year, the program has been focused on cardiac patients. Fire Chief Steve Hansen said the department’s partners in the program at Advocate Aurora and Ascension All Saints would like to see the program expanded, but the department’s plan is to grow the program incrementally.
- PUB DATE: 12/27/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Journal Times - Metered Site

Here in Wisconsin the US Fire Administration estimates about 90 percent of our firefighters are volunteers. And if you talk to just about any rural fire department they'll tell you, trying to find those volunteers is getting more difficult. That's in part why Senator Tammy Baldwin has sponsored the Volunteer First Responder Housing Act, a bill that would give lower income volunteer firefighters and volunteer EMT's loan guarantees to purchase homes.
- PUB DATE: 12/26/2019 4:43:48 PM - SOURCE: NBC26

Local firefighters are responding to a chimney fire at a residence in Pleasant Springs, according to Dane County Dispatch. Firefighters from Stoughton and McFarland are working to put out the fire at 2056 Skaalen Road, dispatch confirmed. The call came in at 9:16 a.m. There are no reported injuries, according to dispatch.
- PUB DATE: 12/26/2019 8:41:52 AM - SOURCE: WISC-TV Channel 3000.com Madison