VIDEO: The newest member of a fire department in Lincoln County trained for years to help the community but his experience doesn't include fighting fires. Instead, David Szeto's years as a pastor qualified him for the newly created role of chaplain with the Merrill Fire Department. "To have that privilege and the blessing to do that is just nerve wracking but on the other hand I'm very honored that they selected me to be the very first one," said Szeto.
- PUB DATE: 8/21/2019 5:22:03 PM - SOURCE: WJFW-TV NBC 12 Rhinelander-Wausau

PHOTO: Sometimes, a cow just needs to take a dip. Firefighters with the Ettrick Fire Department responded to an unusual rescue Tuesday. They were needed to help get a cow safely out of a pool. Thankfully, their hard work paid off and the cow was returned home safely. Ettrick is a village of around 500 people located in Trempealeau County.
- PUB DATE: 8/21/2019 6:41:06 AM - SOURCE: WISC-TV Channel 3000.com Madison

On August 16, 7 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

Firefighters battled a shed fire despite multiple explosions near Vesper in Wood County Tuesday night. First responders were dispatched around 11:20 p.m. to the structure fire at 4535 County C in the town of Sigel, according to the Vesper Fire Department. Firefighters arrived to find a shed on fire with many pieces of farming equipment and a large fuel tank inside.
- PUB DATE: 8/21/2019 5:21:49 AM - SOURCE: Marshfield News-Herald

VIDEO: The Corpus Christi and surrounding areas are experiencing an industrial boom, with several new projects in the works. With that growth comes the need for response services tailored to handle industrial emergencies. The Refinery Terminal Fire Company, a global company, has branches which fill that need; but it does more than just fight fires.
- PUB DATE: 8/21/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KRIS-TV NBC 6 Corpus Christi

Drexel University scientist Jasmine Y. Wright was dedicated to helping first responders who are assaulted while trying to help others. Physical attacks on first responders are a felony in Pennsylvania. Yet justice, Philadelphia firefighters and medics have said, is hard-won. In 2015, Wright was leading a federally funded study to find out what was going wrong.
- PUB DATE: 8/21/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Philadelphia Inquirer

Almost four years after the Aliso Canyon gas leak broke out near Porter Ranch, the number of firefighters who have filed a lawsuit against Southern California Gas Co. over the 2015 gas leak continues to grow. In total, 55 Los Angeles firefighters who helped Porter Ranch residents after the 2015 blowout filed a lawsuit against the utility, alleging the utility knowingly exposed them to hazardous levels of toxins like benzene and formaldehyde, according to a complaint filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.
- PUB DATE: 8/21/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Los Angeles Daily News - Metered Site

The Kansas City, Kansas, Fire Department is starting a program to recruit more paramedics amid a national shortage. KCKFD Assistant Fire Chief Morris Letcher told 41 Action News the department is short about 20 paramedics right now. "Firefighting is more than just firefighing," Letcher said. "We're an EMS-based service, so we have to keep up with the times.
- PUB DATE: 8/21/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KSHB-TV NBC 41 Kansas City

VIDEO: Those who struggle with opioid addiction in Chattanooga will soon have a new place to begin their journey to recovery - or, just get some immediate help. The Chattanooga Fire Department (CFD), along with Hamilton County Coalition’s Nu-Start program, has partnered to launch the “Safe Stations” initiative in Chattanooga.
- PUB DATE: 8/21/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTVC-TV ABC/FOX 9 Chattanooga

A couple of things stick out for Mazomanie Fire Chief Mark Geisler when he thinks back to Aug. 20, 2018. The station started empty with everyone out for sandbagging operations. It was quickly filled with evacuees from about 100 homes, along with volunteers who wanted to help. “A lot of people you know on a first name basis, so to see those people with all of their belongings scattered across their front yard and trying to air-dry or salvage what they can, just the loss and devastation was pretty hard to see," Geisler said.
- PUB DATE: 8/20/2019 9:00:00 PM - SOURCE: WMSN-TV Fox 47 Madison

VIDEO: Jim Olson moved into his home on Hudson Street in 1965. In the 54 years since, he’s seen a lot of flooding in his backyard. That will happen when the property borders moving water. “It was just getting better until last year,” Olson said. “Then, everything went wrong then.” When it started raining, Olson and some others posted up in his garage to watch the storm roll in.
- PUB DATE: 8/20/2019 7:47:02 PM - SOURCE: WMSN-TV Fox 47 Madison

A couple gunshots rang through Prairie View Elementary School on Tuesday and soon after emergency workers dragged a limp body through the cafeteria. The body belonged to a volunteer actor and the guns used blanks as Beaver Dam police and fire personnel staged an active shooter training at the school.
- PUB DATE: 8/20/2019 3:47:29 PM - SOURCE: wisc news

Madison firefighters say an 8-year-old girl called 911 Monday night after her uncle became unresponsive behind the wheel. The car was headed westbound on the Interstate near the Beltline, according to Cynthia Schuster, a spokesperson for the Madison Fire Department. The little girl called 911 after her uncle swiped a guardrail and came to a stop on an off-ramp.
- PUB DATE: 8/20/2019 11:40:36 AM - SOURCE: WISC-TV Channel 3000.com Madison

Lee Douglas has built a career as a firefighter and emergency service worker, joining the Chippewa Falls Fire Department a year after graduating from high school. He’s been promoted through the ranks, and now he’s eager for his biggest challenge yet — being the department’s fire chief. “I’m excited. We’ve got a lot of good things going on in our department,” he said.
- PUB DATE: 8/20/2019 6:54:26 AM - SOURCE: Chippewa Herald

A town of Oconomowoc family is safe, thanks to a passerby who spotted a fire before the family was aware of it. The passerby's report also greatly limited the amount of damage at the home, according to Western Lakes Fire District Chief Brad Bowen. "We found smoke and flames coming from the rear of the house," Bowen said.
- PUB DATE: 8/20/2019 4:20:29 AM - SOURCE: Lake Country News

The Harrisburg-Carlisle area has the third-fewest occupational firefighters per capita of any metro region in the United States, according to a new ranking based on government data. The ranking developed by security information website ASecureLife compared 2018 census population data and federal employment statistics.
- PUB DATE: 8/20/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Sentinel

If you live outside the City of Batavia in Genesee County, the ability of volunteer fire companies to get enough able-bodied manpower to your house in a timely manner if it ever caught on fire is reaching a crisis stage, Tim Yaeger, emergency management coordinator told members of the County Legislature today.
- PUB DATE: 8/20/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Batavian

On a Thursday afternoon, a rain storm drenched the mountains surrounding the Allenspark Fire Protection District’s Station No. 1 off of Colo. 7. As water tapped against the roof, Stephen Coles , vice president of the Allenspark Fire Protection District , gathered with staff around a table with a stack of papers at the ready.
- PUB DATE: 8/20/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Times-Call

VIDEO: An aircraft nearly 50-years-old is being restored to help fight wildfires in Washington state. The Department of Natural Resources is using $1.1 million from the state's budget to bring the Huey helicopter back to life. The helicopter was first built in 1970 and used in Vietnam. The DNR already has nine former Hueys in their fleet to drop water on fires across the state.
- PUB DATE: 8/20/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KING-TV NBC 5 Seattle

The city of Decatur says it's time to hold first responders who don't arrive to an emergency in a timely manner responsible. They say it's been a problem for years. The First Response Ambulance Service must arrive to city calls within minutes. If they don't, they'll pay a hefty fine. Decatur Fire and Rescue Chief Anthony Grande and his team work directly with the city ambulance services.
- PUB DATE: 8/20/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WAAY-TV ABC 31 Huntsville