Doug Sloan remembers the silence. After California's deadliest and most destructive wildfire raced through the Sierra Nevada foothills one year ago, all but destroying his hometown, everything went silent. No birds chirped. No car engines roared. No tree leaves rustled in the wind. While evidence of the Camp Fire remains in the charred and blackened trees that dot the landscape, in the rubble of buildings not yet cleared and in store signs that lead to empty parking lots, residents and officials say they are working hard to rebuild this rural community 170 miles northeast of San Francisco.
- PUB DATE: 11/8/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NBC News

First responders are the true heroes in emergency situations. They are the ones who don't hesitate when something bad is happening. Twist reporter, Peyton LoCicero tell us that there is one local fire department that shines brighter than the rest. Well known for sugar cane, rice fields and crawfish ponds, Thibodaux citizens also have another specialty, fighting fires.
- PUB DATE: 11/8/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WGNO-TV ABC 26 New Orleans

A pickup truck fire in the Town of Burke caused tens of thousands of dollars in damage Thursday when flames reached nearby structures, the Sun Prairie Volunteer Fire Dept. said. The truck was already fully engulfed in flames and heavy black smoke was pouring out when firefighters arrived in the 3000 block of Seminary Spring Road, the fire dept.
- PUB DATE: 11/7/2019 2:29:58 PM - SOURCE: WMTV-TV NBC 15 Madison

Fire destroyed a home on County Highway Z, just east of Aniwa in Shawano County. Birnamwood Fire Chief Randy Berger told NewsChannel 7 the fire started around 1:30 Thursday afternoon. He said there were no injuries but an unknown number of pets may have died in the fire. The home is a total loss. An excavator was called in to break down the home and help put out the flaming structure.
- PUB DATE: 11/7/2019 1:49:51 PM - SOURCE: WSAW-TV CBS 7 Wausau

After months of debate, the Port Washington Common Council on Tuesday agreed to seek proposals from architectural firms to design a new fire station and renovate the existing firehouse. Aldermen voted 6-1, with Ald. Mike Gasper dissenting, to send out a request for proposals after Mayor Marty Becker, a former member of the Police and Fire Commission and a proponent of the new fire station, said he would not accept any more delays.
- PUB DATE: 11/7/2019 1:41:59 AM - SOURCE: Ozaukee Press

Escambia County is mourning the loss of Dwain S. Bradshaw, age 41, a Volunteer District Chief at Escambia County Fire Rescue Station #1 in Bellview and Volunteer Assistant District Chief for ECFR Station #2 in Beulah, who was killed this morning while on scene responding to a multi-vehicle accident on the Muscogee Bridge.
- PUB DATE: 11/7/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WKRG-TV CBS 5

A Los Angeles firefighter received more than $360,010 in overtime last fiscal year, a city audit found Wednesday, according to a report. The audit reported that 18 other Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) employees received more than $200,000 in overtime pay and 90 percent of police and fire employees received some amount of overtime, The Los Angeles Times reported.
- PUB DATE: 11/7/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Fox News

The city firefighters’ union is fighting back against plans to install security cameras at all three of its firehouses in the wake of a drug-ring scandal. Middletown Firefighters Association Inc. Local 1027 filed an improper practice charge with the state Public Employment Relations Board on Oct. 21 against city hall for the soon-to-be-installed video surveillance cameras at the Central Firehouse on East Main Street, the Wallkill Street Station on Wallkill Avenue and the North Street Station.
- PUB DATE: 11/7/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Times Herald-Record - Metered Site

Coffee has fueled Luke Schneider’s career, which began in the U.S. Navy when he served as Damage Control 2nd Class Petty Officer, and continues to fuel his post at the Rockford, Illinois Fire Department. “I started drinking coffee when I was in the Navy working long hours and long shifts to stay awake,” said Schneider.
- PUB DATE: 11/7/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Fox Business

A lack of fire hydrants made for an hourslong fire fight at a corn drying silo in Fitchburg Tuesday night, officials said. Dane County dispatch said it received a report of a fire on Irish Lane at 9:45 p.m. The Fitchburg Fire Department said the first arriving units, including a Fitchburg police officer, reported seeing smoke coming from the silo, indicating there was active fire, but flames were not visible outside of the silo.
- PUB DATE: 11/6/2019 4:39:29 PM - SOURCE: WMSN-TV Fox 47 Madison

VIDEO: An explosion in the town of Westport drew first responders from multiple departments Wednesday morning. Crews from Cross Plains, Middleton, Verona and Waunakee were sent to a home at 4723 Sumac Road around 8:30 a.m. Dispatchers with Dane County said they received a call about windows being blown out of a garage.
- PUB DATE: 11/6/2019 11:09:49 AM - SOURCE: WISC-TV CBS 3 Madison

Firefighters on Wednesday morning, Nov. 6 responded to the scene of an apartment fire in South Milwaukee. It happened near Drexel Boulevard and Pennsylvania Avenue around 5:11 a.m. Officials say the fire started inside an exterior wall — and moved up inside the rear wall space into the attic. No additional details have been released — including the cause of the fire or if any injuries were sustained.
- PUB DATE: 11/6/2019 6:21:25 AM - SOURCE: WITI Fox Channel 6

Most of us have one—a “junk drawer” for all the miscellaneous items that do not belong anywhere else in our homes. One Wisconsin family’s junk drawer, however, turned out to be a fire hazard. Last Friday, homeowners in Madison noticed smoke coming from a drawer in their kitchen, according to the Madison Fire Department.
- PUB DATE: 11/6/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KMSP-TV FOX 9 Minneapolis

VIDEO: West Metro firefighters got a glimpse at what could be the future of public safety Tuesday. It was all part of a competition to see which product prototypes help firefighters best navigate dangerous conditions. All of the devices were incorporated in the firefighter’s gear and involved haptic technology, which involves using a vibration or touch sensation to communicate which direction to go in a dangerous or hectic situation.
- PUB DATE: 11/6/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KCNC-TV CBS 4 Denver

There was “no way in hell” Victoria Sinclaire was rebuilding in Paradise. She’d thought she was going to die during the six hours it took her to escape the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history. The town where she’d raised her family was nearly wiped out, two of her three cats had disappeared into the flames, and she “was done.
- PUB DATE: 11/6/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NBC Bay Area News

It started with a conversation three years ago. Hays CISD met with the Kyle Fire Department and discussed what kinds of professionals were needed in the community. The consensus? More firefighters and emergency medical technicians. And so the district's Firefighter Academy was birthed. This isn't a school field trip.
- PUB DATE: 11/6/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KVUE-TV ABC 24 Austin

Rushing to the aid of Pennsylvania towns that need to recruit more volunteer firefighters and emergency personnel, the state House of Representatives passed 16 bills in the past two weeks to support their efforts. State Rep. Frank Farry, R-142, of Langhorne, co-introduced House Bill 1459, which would create an Emergency Responder Mental Wellness and Stress Management Program that would assist first responders, including 911 dispatchers and coroners.
- PUB DATE: 11/6/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Intelligencer

VIDEO: A local fire department is fighting for a bill that would offer protections for firefighters with cancer. Midway Fire Rescue is holding a town hall meeting Wednesday to spread awareness of the Presumptive Firefighter Cancer Bill. “We’re trying to make (people) aware and have people call their legislatures and tell them to support this bill,” President of Midway Professional Firefighters Association Justin Lenker said.
- PUB DATE: 11/6/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WBTW-TV CBS 13 Florence

First responders across the state are remembering a local firefighter who died over the weekend. Brian Serdynski leaves behind a wife and three kids. "He was one of the first ones to come down and be at the firehouse and one of the last ones to leave," said Assistant Fire Chief Ryan Johnson. Johnson says Brian was with the Union Grove-Yorkville Fire Department for 18 years.
- PUB DATE: 11/5/2019 7:47:33 PM - SOURCE: WDJT-TV CBS 58 Milwaukee

The students of the Union Grove High School chapter of the National Honor Society went into the community to raise $10,000 to help purchase protective gear for the Union Grove-Yorkville Fire Department Tactical Response Team. Each year, members of the Union Grove High School National Honor Society select group projects, in addition to individual service opportunities, that allow the members to positively impact their community.
- PUB DATE: 11/5/2019 3:37:35 AM - SOURCE: Racine Journal Times