City officials hope a consultant can help attract a more diverse pool of job applicants to the Pittsburgh Fire Bureau. City Council on Tuesday introduced a resolution that would authorize the hiring of the National Testing Network at a maximum cost of $49,875 for a study of fire bureau hiring practices and the inability to attract more women and minorities.
- PUB DATE: 9/25/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: TribLIVE

About 70 local police officers, firefighters, paramedics, high school and mall security and emergency dispatchers from North Riverside, Brookfield, Riverside and Brookfield Zoo got a crash course in handling incidents involving people on the autism spectrum last week during special training sessions at the North Riverside Village Commons.
- PUB DATE: 9/25/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Riverside-Brookfield Landmark

Authorities say a fire that killed three residents of a Wisconsin group home was likely accidental and caused by smoking materials that were improperly discarded. The Fond du Lac Fire Department released the preliminary findings of its fire investigation on Tuesday. Three people died in last Thursday's fire at a home for intellectually disabled people in the eastern Wisconsin city of Fond du Lac.
- PUB DATE: 9/24/2019 5:49:47 PM - SOURCE: WDJT-TV CBS 58 Milwaukee

Madison firefighters at Station 5 were paid a special visit by a furry friend named Buddy, who is training as a service dog to help children in need. The Madison Fire Department posted to Twitter saying that “it was time for him to learn what a firefighter looks like in gear.” Buddy is being trained through a program called Dogs In Vests.
- PUB DATE: 9/24/2019 5:43:42 PM - SOURCE: WMTV-TV NBC 15 Madison

Investigators have not determined what caused the fire that destroyed a storage shed in the Town of Hewitt in Marathon County early Tuesday morning. Firefighters were paged to Pine Haven Road, east of County Highway J, just after 5 a.m. Hewitt Fire Chief Robin Siikarla tells NewsChannel 7 the shed was used to store hay bales and machinery.
- PUB DATE: 9/24/2019 11:48:25 AM - SOURCE: WSAW-TV CBS 7 Wausau

At least four people were hurt in a house explosion Monday afternoon. Several fire departments responded just before 4 p.m. to the site in the town of Grant. Officials said four people were taken to hospitals via helicopter for their injuries. Sheriff's detective sergeant Gordon Kowaleski says the names and ages of the injured aren't being made public right now.
- PUB DATE: 9/24/2019 8:26:22 AM - SOURCE: WEAU-TV 13 News

"People can flip on a dime, this situation was so quick and so crazy," Detroit Fire Union Chief Mike Nevin said, describing the dangerous scene his fire crew faced Saturday night. They were called to Arizona Street for a man in his 50s who had a possible heart attack. When medics arrived they started CPR.
- PUB DATE: 9/24/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WJBK-TV FOX 2 Detroit

The families of Hialeah firefighters gathered together Monday with a very public message about pay. They are upset over a pay cut and the timing of the city's announcement about the cut. Monday's news conference was organized by the Hialeah Firefighters Union, but the faces of the event were the spouses and the children of the local firemen and women.
- PUB DATE: 9/24/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WPLG-TV ABC 10 Miami

In addition to their textbooks and classwork, Nicholls State University students Ira Bourg and Landon Woolridge always carry their pagers to class with them. The small radios let these students know when it’s time to take action on their other role as firefighters with the Thibodaux Volunteer Fire Department.
- PUB DATE: 9/24/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Houma Today

The city's firefighters will soon be able to apply for deferred retirement, and the City of Beckley will likely see a net gain of $2 million into the city's pension funds as retirement-age municipal employees opt to work an additional five years, said Beckley Mayor Rob Rappold. The West Virginia Consolidated Public Retirement Board on Friday approved an application by city treasurer Billie Trump that will allow Beckley Fire Department firefighters to defer retirement for five years.
- PUB DATE: 9/24/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Register-Herald - Metered Site

After being sued by the City of Howardwick, firefighters there are starting a new volunteer department that’ll mainly respond to incidents outside the city limits. The District 9 Volunteer Fire Department started a month ago after receiving approval from the Donley County Commissioners’ Court. It will respond to areas north of Howardwick going toward I-40 and mainly west on the interstate.
- PUB DATE: 9/24/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KFDA-TV CBS 10 Amarillo

The De Pere Fire Department learned a few lessons from fighting a massive fire on Broadway in April. Crews used water from the Fox River to fight the flames, which helped firefighters gain control over the blaze. “That was the turning point in that fire fight where we were losing ground. We were able to gain control of that fire with the additional water flow we could pull from the Fox River,” said De Pere Fire Chief, Alan Matzke.
- PUB DATE: 9/23/2019 8:03:14 PM - SOURCE: WBAY-TV ABC 2 Green Bay

The Madison Fire Department is warning people charcoal takes 72 hours to cool down, after a man placed coals into the trash that later sparked a garage fire on Madison's West Side. According to the Madison Fire Department's Public Information Officer Cynthia Schuster, multiple units were sent to a home on the 4900 block of Ascot Lane on Sunday at 8:20 p.
- PUB DATE: 9/23/2019 8:41:08 AM - SOURCE: WMTV-TV NBC 15 Madison

The Green Bay Metro Fire Department credits an automatic sprinkler system with containing a fire that broke out at the Hilton Garden Inn. Crews say they were called to the hotel just after 1 am Sunday. When they arrived, firefighters say they found moderate smoke on the first floor and saw occupants evacuating the building.
- PUB DATE: 9/23/2019 12:41:43 AM - SOURCE: WFRV-TV and WJMN-TV Green Bay

A Houston firefighter has died at Station 27 while performing assigned station duties, according to Chief Samuel Pena. Kenneth Stavinoha was cutting grass when the medical emergency occurred. He had been part of the Houston Fire Department since 2018. "We are grateful for Stavinoha's service, unwavering courage as a first responder and his dedication to protecting citizens since joining HFD in January 2018.
- PUB DATE: 9/23/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTRK-TV ABC 13 Houston

A Kunkle Fire Company firefighter who was hit and severely injured by a dump truck almost exactly one year ago has died, the fire department announced Friday. “We deeply regret to announce the passing of Firefighter Ed Nulton Sr. who passed away Thursday,” the department said in a Facebook announcement.
- PUB DATE: 9/23/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Citizens' Voice

VIDEO: A massive, four-alarm fire spread to five homes and displaced two families early Monday, Cincinnati fire officials said. Firefighters responded to Addison and Halstead streets in the Clifton Heights-Fairview-University Heights neighborhood just after 4:30 a.m. Monday. They received a report of a house fully involved.
- PUB DATE: 9/23/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WXIX-TV FOX 19 Cincinnati

Two women are smashing the University of Notre Dame Fire Department‘s gender barrier. Michelle Woolverton and Christi Shibata were sworn in recently as the department’s first-ever full-time female firefighters since its inception 140 years ago. Woolverton, 42, started with NDFD in August and Shibata, 37, in July.
- PUB DATE: 9/23/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: South Bend Tribune

To stem the tide of declining membership and award volunteers, the state House Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee approved legislation last week to expand the use of volunteer relief money for volunteer firefighters. House Bill 1673 would create the Length of Service Award Program to provide tax-deferred income benefits to active volunteer firefighters, and expand the use of relief funds to include assistance and materials for volunteer recruitment and retention.
- PUB DATE: 9/23/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Intelligencer

After making 16,833 responses in 2017, the Racine Fire Department saw its responses grow by 13% in 2018, up to 19,023 total. “We’re going on over 1,000 calls a month,” Fire Chief Steve Hansen told the Racine Police and Fire Commission on Sept. 9. However, fires made up a tiny portion of the increase.
- PUB DATE: 9/22/2019 3:46:48 PM - SOURCE: Racine Journal Times