A narrative of the January 5 fire that resulted in the death of one Clinton firefighter and critical injury of another suggests that the men didn’t need to be on top of the silo at all. Seconds before the explosion in the grain silo, an Archer Daniels Midland official told the Clinton Fire Department that he believed that water could have been applied through a side hatch as CFD had originally planned, according to an incident narrative report by the Iowa Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
- PUB DATE: 7/31/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Clinton Herald

The chief of the West Thurston Regional Fire Authority says more than a dozen career firefighter positions could be cut and two of the department's four full-time fire stations could close if a maintenance and operations levy proposal fails in the up-coming primary election. Property owner Jim Elsner supports the levy.
- PUB DATE: 7/31/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KOMO-TV ABC 4 and Radio 1000

The one small saving grace over these last two years of horrendous wildfires in California was that they came at a time when the state had ample resources to respond without having to divert money from schools or healthcare. That won’t always be the case. As a result of climate change, we can expect catastrophic fires to occur with grim regularity.
- PUB DATE: 7/31/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Los Angeles Times - Metered Site

VIDEO: A group of Kansas firefighters is doing more than just putting out fires. “You always worry about those situations where you need medical attention,” says Chief Jeffrey Hooper, Hutchinson Police Department. “It is difficult then to get medics in the hot zone.” Beating the heat is something firefighters are used to.
- PUB DATE: 7/31/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KSNW-TV NBC 3 Wichita

A 53-year-old Kenosha man died in an industrial accident Tuesday morning. According to Kenosha Police, emergency responders were called at 9:12 a.m. to Heartland Produce, 4550 70th Ave. Upon arrival, officers found an injured person who ultimately died from his injuries. Police said the accident occurred while maintenance work was being completed on the property.
- PUB DATE: 7/30/2019 1:01:32 PM - SOURCE: Kenosha News

The Beloit Police and Fire Commission on Monday unanimously approved a process to hire a search firm in seeking a new Beloit Fire Department chief. City Attorney Elizabeth Krueger will issue the request for proposals from executive search firms to prompt the nationwide search. The PFC could review responses as soon as the end of August, followed by interviews of firms starting in September.
- PUB DATE: 7/30/2019 8:34:02 AM - SOURCE: Beloit Daily News

On July 25, 8 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

The Tomah Fire Department is planning to construct a new facility. Tim Adler, Tomah Fire Department chief, said the plan is to share a facility with the Tomah Area Ambulance Service to create a single emergency service complex. The architectural firm Keller from Appleton is drafting a building design to get some rough numbers for the cost, and it should be brought before the city council in August, Adler said.
- PUB DATE: 7/30/2019 3:18:09 AM - SOURCE: Tomah Journal

Cal Fire San Diego is mourning the loss of one of their own: 28-year-old firefighter Yaroslav Katkov, who passed away on duty Monday morning. Katkov suffered a medical emergency during a training hike Sunday morning with his engine crew, CAL FIRE/San Diego County Fire Chief Tony Mecham said in a statement.
- PUB DATE: 7/30/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KNSD-TV NBC 7 San Diego

Minor wounds, rashes, gout pain — these are some of the many medical conditions that should be taken seriously, but they may not merit a 911 call or a trip to the emergency room. Hawaii health officials are considering how to reduce unnecessary ER visits through a community paramedicine program. The revised emergency transport system that could begin next year would allow medical professionals to transfer patients to predesignated destinations, such as urgent care clinics, or even provide complete treatment at the scene.
- PUB DATE: 7/30/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Honolulu Civil Beat

Every evening from late spring to early fall, two planes lift off from airports in the western United States and fly through the sunset, each headed for an active wildfire, and then another, and another. From 10,000 feet above ground, the pilots can spot the glow of a fire, and occasionally the smoke enters the cabin, burning the eyes and throat.
- PUB DATE: 7/30/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Phys.org

Saturday featured a late-night rescue effort by Van Meter firefighters, as they helped get 13 people off of a sandbar. It was the first time the team used this new air-boat for a real operation, but they say they could never go back to working without it. In Van Meter, water rescues don’t happen often, there are only a handful of them every summer.
- PUB DATE: 7/30/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WOI-TV ABC 5 Des Moines

More monitoring and manpower is needed for Harris County to better respond to chemical fires like the three that struck the region earlier this year, worrying residents and shutting the Houston Ship Channel, according to a study evaluating the county’s response to the fires. The most critical response gap identified involved staffing in the Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office, where another 16 hazardous materials technicians —at a cost of $1.
- PUB DATE: 7/30/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Houston Chronicle

On July 29, 2 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

On Monday evening, multiple fire crews responded to reports of a house fire in the City of Schofield. The single-family home is located on the corner of Robert Street and Spring Street, near Mayoral Park. No people or pets were in the building at the time of the fire. "The windows of the home were open when we arrived," said Deputy Chief Rob Bowen with the Riverside Fire District.
- PUB DATE: 7/29/2019 5:55:31 PM - SOURCE: WSAW-TV CBS 7 Wausau

Menomonee Falls Director of Protective Services Anna Ruzinski on July 29 resigned from her position overseeing the village's fire department, officials announced in a news release. Village Manager Mark Fitzgerald said that there is no hiring timeline set in place to replace Ruzinski, who oversaw both the fire and police departments and will continue to serve as police chief.
- PUB DATE: 7/29/2019 4:37:52 PM - SOURCE: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Emergency responders tackled an early morning rescue in Cudahy on Monday, July 29 -- just hours before two fire departments were training for the exact same thing. "We are a lakeside community, and with that community -- the lakeside has hazards," said Robert Schmidt, battalion chief for the Cudahy Fire Department.
- PUB DATE: 7/29/2019 3:39:17 PM - SOURCE: WITI Fox Channel 6

On July 26, 3 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

A Hayward man says Wisconsin Rapids Fire Chief Scott Young is a hero after the chief saved his life July 18. Bruce Claflin said the incident happened just before a weekend golfing event he had been planning with family and friends. He had been doing yard work to prepare for visitors to his Hayward home and putting in time in the golfing magazine he owns.
- PUB DATE: 7/29/2019 5:46:48 AM - SOURCE: Wausau Daily Herald

A neighbor helped a woman escape a burning home in Racine County this weekend. The fire started at a home on Blackhawk Drive in Caledonia Saturday afternoon. Nicholas Patrenets, who lives behind the home, was in his kitchen when he saw the smoke. "We happened to glance up and we saw all we smoke and we assumed it was a grill or something cooking.
- PUB DATE: 7/29/2019 3:44:57 AM - SOURCE: WDJT-TV CBS 58 Milwaukee