Eight years ago, the Verona Joint Fire District had a part-time chief, four full-time firefighters and a 35-year-old fire station with no room to put up interns or volunteers overnight. If there was a call in the evening or on the weekends, people would drive to the station, wait for a four-person crew to arrive, get into their gear, then start heading to the incident, all of which could take 10 to 20 minutes.
- PUB DATE: 10/1/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: ConnectVerona.com

The Evanston Fire Department collaborated with local officials on a new law that creates a hiring preference for fire service career applicants with at least 600 hours of fire suppression work in a certified program. The law, signed on August 23 by Governor J.B. Pritzker, amends the Illinois Municipal Code and the Fire Protection District Act.
- PUB DATE: 10/1/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Daily Northwestern

The first day of the Muncie city ambulance service kicked off Monday morning with a busy day of calls, but questions remain because of contracts that are not finalized. MFD started using its own ambulances Monday in much of Muncie, taking over duties from Delaware County EMS. MFD responded to three runs right off the bat, Fire Chief Eddie Bell and EMS Chief Rachel Clark said in a live video on the city's Facebook page announcing the change.
- PUB DATE: 10/1/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Star Press

A program bringing together fire departments, high schools, and Madison College is working to target future firefighters, as departments across the country face challenges in recruiting and retaining volunteer firefighters. The program, called Start College Now, brings together area high schools and fire departments with Madison College to provide training using firefighting equipment to certify students in firefighting, as well as get them college credits.
- PUB DATE: 10/1/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WMTV NBC 15 Madison

For the first time in its history, Skagit County Fire District 14 in Alger has women accounting for more than a third of its 32 firefighters and staff, a marked change in a field still dominated by men. The women take pride in that the Alger department maintains the same standards across the sexes, something they say is a trait of the fire service overall.
- PUB DATE: 10/1/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Skagit Valley Herald (GoSkagit.com)

Starting today, volunteer firefighters in North Carolina who have served for five consecutive years will be eligible to purchase a lifetime hunting and fishing license from the Wildlife Resources Commission for only half of the full cost. House Bill 597 passed the General Assembly in mid-August and was signed into law later that month.
- PUB DATE: 10/1/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WLOS-TV ABC 13

A program bringing together fire departments, high schools, and Madison College is working to target future firefighters, as departments across the country face challenges in recruiting and retaining volunteer firefighters. The program, called Start College Now, brings together area high schools and fire departments with Madison College to provide training using firefighting equipment to certify students in firefighting, as well as get them college credits.
- PUB DATE: 9/30/2019 5:36:31 PM - SOURCE: WMTV-TV NBC 15 Madison

Several people are without a home after a fire at a local apartment complex, according to firefighters, 12 units are damaged. A building at the Northern Meadows apartment complex in Menomonie went up in flames Sunday afternoon. Firefighters say no one was hurt and Menomonie Fire Chief, Jack Baus, credits a bystander with helping to get everyone out safely.
- PUB DATE: 9/30/2019 5:00:55 PM - SOURCE: WEAU-TV 13 News

A barn on the Biadasz family farm in the Town of Buena Vista is a total loss after hay caught fire and spread through the building Monday morning. Firefighters from nine fire departments responded to the fire off County Road EE, just south of County Road D in Portage County. "We're all working together and it takes us all to work on a big fire like this, especially with the hot conditions," Village of Plover Fire Chief Mark Deaver said.
- PUB DATE: 9/30/2019 1:42:54 PM - SOURCE: WSAW-TV CBS 7 Wausau

Firefighters are still on the scene Monday morning where a large fire broke out Sunday on Atkinson Road near South Shore Drive in Surf City. “They’re working through all the hot spots now, making sure we get this thing extinguished so we can start that investigation promptly this morning," Surf City Fire Chief Allen Wilson said.
- PUB DATE: 9/30/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WECT-TV NBC 6 Wilmington

Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Hollie Gallagher has filed an order against the city of Cleveland, the director of public safety and civil service commission, saying the entities must conduct “competitive examinations and make promotions within the fire department,” she ruled Tuesday. The order mandates the city administer these within six months, court documents say.
- PUB DATE: 9/30/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Cleveland.com

The nauseating smell of smoke. The feeling of dark, gritty soot. The sight of orange-red flames flashing about the room. Those who’ve endured a fire say those memories never leave you. And sometimes neither does the memory of the one who saved you from it. Nearly 20 years ago, William Vantress, then 7, received third-degree burns all over his body after his younger brother accidentally set fire to the family home in the Willow Green Mobile Home Community.
- PUB DATE: 9/30/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Monroe Evening News

Sunday marked the 18th annual Tunnel To Towers 5K run and walk. Thousands followed in the footsteps of a hero. They were retracing the steps of FDNY firefighter Stephen Siller, who was on his way home on Sept. 11, 2001, when he got word of a plane hitting one of the World Trade Center towers. He turned back around, strapped on 75 pounds of gear and ran through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to help save lives.
- PUB DATE: 9/30/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Post

After deliberating several hours over two days, a jury on Friday convicted the man who set Augusta’s Twins Peaks restaurant on fire in the middle of lunchtime in 2017. The Richmond County Superior Court jury found Roland Croyle, 37, guilty but mentally ill of all 24 counts of arson, aggravated assault and criminal damage to property.
- PUB DATE: 9/30/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Augusta Chronicle

The fire at Uncle Mike’s Bake Shoppe in De Pere residents called in Friday night, turned out to be a false alarm. The bakery posted on their Facebook saying there was no damage to the building and no one was inside. An owner from the bakery also posted a video explaining how an overheated dishwasher caused the commotion.
- PUB DATE: 9/28/2019 6:43:49 PM - SOURCE: WFRV-TV and WJMN-TV Green Bay

One local fire department opened their station doors to the community on Sunday. The De Pere Fire Department held their annual Open House at Fire Station #1 located at 400 Lewis St. from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. Visitors were able to come hang out with Sparky the dog. In addition, children of all ages were able to explore the “Safety Town” interactive trailer in conjunction with the the station’s health department.
- PUB DATE: 9/28/2019 4:38:29 PM - SOURCE: WFRV-TV and WJMN-TV Green Bay

Donna Opperman is delivering homemade hearts and stars to police, fire and EMS departments across Wisconsin to show appreciation for first responders. "To honor 9/11 and 911. We will never forget. These are not very pretty stars or hearts. A little frayed around the edges, like the USA right now. Like the USA we will bend a little, but we will not break," Opperman wrote in a letter she delivers with the gifts.
- PUB DATE: 9/27/2019 9:00:53 PM - SOURCE: WMSN-TV Fox 47 Madison

Medical students got out of the clinic and got a taste of what it's like to be a first responder. Second year medical students at the Medical College of Wisconsin, Green Bay Campus, learned how firefighters and paramedics treat patients in the field before they get to the hospital. Members of the De Pere and Howard fire departments showed the students how to rescue a patient from a burning building and how to free someone stuck inside a car.
- PUB DATE: 9/27/2019 7:37:27 PM - SOURCE: WBAY-TV ABC 2 Green Bay

Tichigan Volunteer Fire Co. officials said Tuesday that the company is ready to take on the challenge of picking up coverage of the entire Town of Waterford when the current fire and emergency medical services contract between the town and Village of Waterford expires at the end of this year. In a more than hour-long interview with The Journal Times, Assistant Fire Chief Bill Miller and EMS Lt.
- PUB DATE: 9/27/2019 4:49:52 AM - SOURCE: Racine Journal Times

The Milton Fire Department has never had full-time employees, but that would change if the budget recommended by the joint fire commission is approved. The proposed 2020 budget for the fire department operated by the city of Milton and town of Milton includes wages and benefits for three full-time paramedics and the option of retirement benefits for eligible employees.
- PUB DATE: 9/27/2019 3:00:59 AM - SOURCE: Janesville Gazette