Since joining the Fire Department in 2006, Lieutenant Kyra Neeley King has not only seen a great melding of various rescue services — including medical professionals and firefighters — into a cohesive response force, but she’s also witnessed these brave first responders serving a common purpose of helping New Yorkers.
- PUB DATE: 12/31/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: AM New York

VIDEO: The New Bedford firefighters union is once again calling on the city to end its policy of "blacking out" certain engines when the department is short-staffed. The city's black out policy sometimes leaves one random truck unstaffed to save money. The department has been operating under the policy for at least ten years.
- PUB DATE: 12/31/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WLNE-TV ABC 6

PHOTOS: Julian Reams literally is leaving his mark on the St. Lucie County Fire District. Reams, 32, a firefighter with the agency, also is an accomplished artist from Miami, and he brought some of his artistic passion to his job as a first responder. Reams has painted three murals on as many fire stations, two of which are stations where he’s been based since joining the agency in December 2012.
- PUB DATE: 12/31/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: TC Palm

VIDEO: As a singer-songwriter, Larry Long has made a career out of making music with a message, but he hopes his latest creation will strike a chord on the issue of firefighter health and wellness. "You can never predict where a song is going to go or the effect it's going to have, but time will tell," said Long, who is from south Minneapolis.
- PUB DATE: 12/31/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KMSP-TV FOX 9 Minneapolis

On Monday evening, crews responded to a partial building collapse in the Village of Fairchild. The collapse happened downtown at an old storage unit that has a private owner according to the Fairchild Fire Department. Firefighters say half of the back of the building collapsed. According to the fire department, no one was inside at the time or hurt in the collapse.
- PUB DATE: 12/30/2019 8:43:42 PM - SOURCE: WEAU-TV 13 News

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