The Greenwood City Council is considering a new food and beverage tax to bolster staffing levels at city departments, specifically the police and fire departments. The plan for a 1% food and beverage tax was made possible earlier this year when state lawmakers passed a bill that authorizes Greenwood and several other communities to impose such a tax.
- PUB DATE: 11/26/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WXIN-TV FOX 59 Indianapolis

The Brighton Fire District in the Town of Tonawanda is being called out by the state Comptroller's Office, for improper use of taxpayer money. A new audit says money was wrongly used on trips for members of the fire company and spouses. The Brighton Fire District protects roughly 7 square miles within the Town of Tonawanda and charges a fire tax on residents who live within the district.
- PUB DATE: 11/26/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WGRZ-TV NBC 2 Buffalo

The story begins in 1736, when Benjamin Franklin founded the Union Fire company. By 1871, a Union Fire Company was launched in Centreville, Illinois with 32 members. This is where the story gets a bit confusing, because the town 10 miles south of Centreville also named themselves Centreville. Incredibly, this went on for about 50 years before the southern Centreville realized they had a problem, so in 1890 they changed their name to Millstadt, and the Centreville Fire Department eventually evolved into the Millstadt Union Fire Company.
- PUB DATE: 11/26/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KMOV-TV CBS 4 St. Louis

The Eureka Fire Protection District is testing technology designed to keep drivers and emergency responders safe. Division Chief Scott Barthelmass said his department sees dangerous driving nearly every time they respond to a call. “A vehicle approaching at 60-70 miles per hour when there’s an emergency ahead is dangerous,” he said.
- PUB DATE: 11/26/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTVI-TV FOX 2 St. Louis

Just one week after Babes Grill & Bar shut its doors, the restaurant is open again for a unique opportunity. Before the building is completely torn down, Babes owner Lynn Haker allowed the Madison Fire Department to use the restaurant as a training ground for real-life scenarios. “We've taught and taught and taught them for 10 weeks.
- PUB DATE: 11/25/2019 4:46:23 PM - SOURCE: WMTV-TV NBC 15 Madison

A fire destroyed a building Sunday night in rural Jackson County. Described as a wood-frame outbuilding, the structure at N4334 Cloverdale Road in the town of Irving was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived, according to the Black River Falls Fire Department. A man who had tried to recover property from the burning building suffered smoke inhalation and minor burns.
- PUB DATE: 11/25/2019 2:03:54 PM - SOURCE: Eau Claire Leader-Telegram

Madison firefighters rescued a dog from icy water Saturday after it ran out onto an icy pond at Warner Park Dog Park, according to a news release. Fire officials said two people tried rescuing the dog, but they fell through the ice in the process. When Engine Co. 10 arrived, the people had gotten out of the water.
- PUB DATE: 11/25/2019 8:46:56 AM - SOURCE: WISC-TV Channel 3000.com Madison

The FDNY-Uniformed Firefighter Association is criticizing the decision to shut down streets around Rockefeller Center for pedestrians during the holidays. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced last week that the city would expand pedestrian space in the area and close streets to traffic, saying the increasing number of people in the area is “creating a real safety issue.
- PUB DATE: 11/25/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WLNY-TV 55 Riverhead

In view of the Nov. 13 house fire that claimed the life of 39-year-old Lt. Jason Menard, the department’s second line-of-duty death in less than a year, City Manager Edward M. Augustus, Jr. Friday announced his intention to name a task force to look at firefighter safety. The task force will do its work alongside the typically yearlong federal review the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health conducts as a matter of course after a firefighter dies on duty.
- PUB DATE: 11/25/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Worcester Telegram & Gazette

When buildings and vehicles are set ablaze, toxic chemicals are released into the air. Those chemicals can last by hanging on to firefighters' gear, even taken back to the station after fires are put out -- causing troubling consequences for health and safety to those in duty. According to a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health study, firefighters are twice as likely to get skin and testicular cancer and mesothelioma.
- PUB DATE: 11/25/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WUSA-TV CBS 9

Fast food chain In-N-Out was responsible for a 2017 grass fire in rural Arroyo Grande, a lawsuit filed by Cal Fire in San Luis Obispo Superior Court alleges. According to the lawsuit, a wildfire sparked Sept. 20, 2017 on a property owned by In-N-Out at 9815 Huasna Road in Arroyo Grande. The fire was caused by a tractor mowing grass on the property, Cal Fire says in the suit — noting that the property was covered in “dry annual grasses and scattered brush, which created a receptive bed of flammable vegetation.
- PUB DATE: 11/25/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: San Luis Obispo Tribune - Metered Site

Use an ambulance, don't pay the bill and face criminal charges. That is what's happening in one Westmoreland County community. EMS companies all over the area are facing huge debts. Rescue 14 in Adamsburg in Westmoreland County is no different. But the district attorney has signed off on its new groundbreaking method of bill collecting.
- PUB DATE: 11/25/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WPXI-TV NBC 11 Pittsburgh

An update on a house fire in Sparta. The fire happened just after 5:30 a.m. on Saturday, November 23 in the 300 block of Walrath Street. As of Sunday, Fire Chief Mike Arnold says a mother and a daughter rescued from the fire suffered some burns and smoke inhalation. They have since been released from the hospital.
- PUB DATE: 11/24/2019 5:06:33 PM - SOURCE: WEAU-TV 13 News

So, which municipality is going to take the next step? The Wisconsin Policy Forum and Center for Government Research presented a report on Wednesday to elected officials from east of Interstate 94 that included different options to provide more efficient services in the area of fire and EMS, and parks and recreation.
- PUB DATE: 11/24/2019 4:40:41 AM - SOURCE: Racine Journal Times

The West Allis Fire Department responded to a call about a house fire near 110th and Madison streets. It happened early Friday morning. Fire crews climbed up to the roof to battle the fire. There is little damage to the outside of the house, but restoration crews tell 12 News that there is significant smoke and water damage inside.
- PUB DATE: 11/22/2019 5:38:39 AM - SOURCE: WISN-TV ABC 12 Milwaukee

The Newburgh City Council on Thursday night approved its 2020 financial plan that includes steep layoffs to public safety and a tax increase for non-homestead payers after an emotionally-charged meeting at the Activity Center. The $46.8 million budget plan calls for the elimination of 35 public-safety positions, six of which are funded-vacancies; meaning 15 uniformed police positions and 14 uniformed firefighters will be cut.
- PUB DATE: 11/22/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Record Online

Local firefighters and first responders participated in special training on Wednesday aimed at learning how to identify someone with dementia. Carmel and Noblesville fire departments are working to become the first departments in the state to require the training. With an increasing regularity, firefighters are responding to patients suffering some form of dementia.
- PUB DATE: 11/22/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WISH-TV News 8

A hot oiler truck and a frack tank offloading product were the cause of an explosion Thursday on Fairgrounds Road in southeast Midland. Chief Charles Blumenauer of the Midland Fire Department said a fire engine responding to the scene also caught fire after the initial incident. A hose disconnected from the hot oiler and spilled fluid, causing a rolling fire under MFD Engine 3, he said.
- PUB DATE: 11/22/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Midland Reporter-Telegram

A prestigious firefighter training event is coming to Tulsa for the first time. The Oklahoma Smoke Diver Program will be held at the Tulsa Fire Training Center next March and is expected to have a $200,000 economic impact on the community.The program is only available in a handful of states. Oklahoma firefighters began work on bringing it to the state about five years ago.
- PUB DATE: 11/22/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Fox 23 News

Three men were killed when flames tore through an abandoned home overnight in Queens. Police sources told CBS2 the cause is believed to be suspicious. Firefighters were called shortly after midnight to Farmers Boulevard near 111th Avenue in the St. Albans section. When crews arrived, they found the men – believed to be squatters – already dead inside the house.
- PUB DATE: 11/22/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York CBS Local