The Waupaca County Sheriff's Office has launched a text to 911 program. This means if you're in an emergency, you can send a text to 911. The sheriff's office said the texting program should only be used when a call is not possible. "For instance, if the caller is deaf, hard-of-hearing, speech impaired or when speaking out loud would put the caller in danger," authorities said in a news release.
- PUB DATE: 4/19/2024 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WGBA-TV NBC 26 Green Bay

VIDEO: Three firefighters with the Charlotte Fire Department have been hospitalized following a two-alarm house fire that was intentionally set Thursday morning in north Charlotte. The department responded to a structure fire around 2:45 a.m. on Grimes Street and had to call for more support due to the size of the fire.
- PUB DATE: 4/19/2024 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WSOC-TV ABC 9 Charlotte

New proposed legislation would make it easier to demolish or remediate dangerous vacant buildings in the City of Seattle. Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell announced the legislation Thursday morning which he developed in partnership with councilmembers Tammy Morales and Bob Kettle, which would give the Seattle Fire Department the power to order complete demolition or remediation of unsafe vacant buildings.
- PUB DATE: 4/19/2024 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KING-TV NBC 5 Seattle

VIDEO: April 16 is a day still remembered in Texas City – the day of an unimaginable disaster. It happened during prosperous times for the growing oil, shipping and chemical industry in Galveston County in 1947. Texas City was a growing town of 16,000 where many of the residents worked at chemical and petroleum plants that had sprouted up along the ship channel during World War II.
- PUB DATE: 4/19/2024 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KVUE-TV ABC 24 Austin

Whether or not Auburn’s singing firefighter has a hit to rise up the charts one day, look up in the sky. You might see him soaring another way. “I like to have realistic goals for myself, and one of those is to become a pilot,” said Ducote Talmage, who until recently was a contestant on NBC’s singing competition “The Voice.
- PUB DATE: 4/19/2024 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Montgomery Advertiser - Metered Site

PHOTOS: A fireball shot into the sky Thursday evening as an apartment house went up in flames in Pilsen. Firefighters were called to the scene at 8:15 p.m., and found flames raging at the two-and-a-half-story, multi-family frame house at 1355 W. 16th St., Chicago Fire Department Assistant 1st District Chief Jim McDonough said.
- PUB DATE: 4/18/2024 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WBBM-TV CBS 2 Chicago

VIDEO: Firetrucks in Pigeon Forge now have dash cameras, recording how crews respond to calls and helping them improve how they approach emergencies. Fire Chief Tony Watson said crews and fire department leaders can watch videos to learn how to better fight fires. He said the cameras cost around $130,000 and they help expand the station's training opportunities.
- PUB DATE: 4/18/2024 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WBIR-TV NBC 10 Knoxville

VIDEO: San Francisco is marking the 118th anniversary of the 1906 earthquake and fire that nearly destroyed the city. Every year on April 18, a moment of silence is observed at 5:11 a.m. at Lotta's Fountain on Market Street to remember those who lost their lives in the 7.8-magnitude tremor. More than 3,000 people died in the quake and fire, and hundreds of thousands lost their homes.
- PUB DATE: 4/18/2024 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KGO-TV ABC 7 San Francisco

VIDEO: Law enforcement agencies across four states were left scrambling following reports of major 911 outages that saw millions unable to contact authorities late Wednesday. Many of the outages — reported in Nebraska, Nevada, South Dakota and Texas — were restored by the late evening. So far, there’s no indication that the outages were caused by a cyberattack or other malicious act, law enforcement officials told NBC News on Thursday.
- PUB DATE: 4/18/2024 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NBC News

The City of Altoona's population has grown significantly in the past couple of decades, making it one of the fastest growing cities in Wisconsin. Population growth in Altoona means there’s been a higher demand for firefighters and police officers. The growth now has the fire department and police departments rethinking the size of their location.
- PUB DATE: 4/17/2024 10:20:00 PM - SOURCE: WKBT-TV CBS 8 La Crosse

VIDEO: Milwaukee residents who are deaf or hard of hearing can now receive a special device that would alert them in a fire. It is thanks to the donation of 100 LIFETONE HL Bedside Fire Alarm units from the Professional Firefighters of Wisconsin Charitable Foundation. On Wednesday, April 17, the Milwaukee Fire Department introduced a bedside fire alarm.
- PUB DATE: 4/17/2024 2:01:47 PM - SOURCE: WITI-TV FOX 6 Milwaukee

Madison Fire Department officials said a squirrel may have played a role in a solar panel fire that occurred at a home Monday afternoon on the city's far east side. Crews were called to a home in the 7100 block of Littlemore Drive just before 2:45 p.m. Smoke and flames could be seen coming from a solar panel on the roof of the home.
- PUB DATE: 4/17/2024 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WISC-TV CBS/MyNetworkTV 3 Madison

VIDEO: The Maui Fire Department on Tuesday presented the results and recommendations from a highly-anticipated “after-action” report on last year’s wildfire devastation, saying changes had already been made based on lessons learned. The after-action report was put together by the Western Fire Chiefs Association and includes a detailed timeline of Aug.
- PUB DATE: 4/17/2024 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Hawaii News Now

VIDEO: As Captain Mark Egloff approaches 30 years as a Buffalo firefighter, he's made history, receiving the first-ever line-of-duty cancer diagnosis within the department. "You know, you're scared when you hear it," he told 7 News. "Everyone hears cancer, you get scared of it. That's just the natural reaction.
- PUB DATE: 4/17/2024 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WKBW-TV ABC 7 Buffalo

It was one of the darkest days in Charlotte’s history when a 5-alarm fire engulfed a SouthPark apartment complex under construction, trapping two workers inside. Ruben Holmes and Demonte Sherill lost their lives; the fire almost took more. “We almost lost eight to 10 firefighters that day when they called for ‘Mayday’ when they got trapped,” said North Carolina State Fire Marshal Brian Taylor.
- PUB DATE: 4/17/2024 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Queen City News

VIDEOS: Mark Coleman was woken up by his dog around 4 a.m. on March 12 at his parent's house in Fremont, Ohio. The former UFC fighter recalled his room being unusually warm and thought he was having a nightmare. Coleman headed to the kitchen to see what was happening and saw clouds of smoke. Still, he didn't realize what was happening.
- PUB DATE: 4/17/2024 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTOL-TV CBS 11 Toledo

The City of Janesville has named a sole finalist for the position of fire chief. The city announced Tuesday the selection of Ryan Murphy as its next fire chief, pending the acceptance of an offer letter from the city. The Police and Fire Commission voted to select Murphy as the sole finalist after a nationwide recruitment and extensive selection process.
- PUB DATE: 4/16/2024 10:52:00 PM - SOURCE: WKOW-TV ABC 27 Madison

Elevated fire weather conditions will persist across northern Wisconsin during the afternoon. Mild temperatures and low relative humidity will continue as east winds increase and gust to 30 to 45 mph this afternoon. Rain will arrive tonight, and bring a temporary end to the fire concerns. Persons are urged to be careful with any activities that could potentially lead to a wildland fire. Campfires, outdoor grills, smoking materials, chain saws, and all-terrain vehicles all have the potential to throw a spark and ignite a fire. Burning bans are in effect across most of the area, so be sure to heed any restrictions that are in place in your county. Special Weather Statement 2024-04-16T04:01:00-05:00 2024-04-16T04:01:00-05:00 2024-04-16T04:01:00-05:00 2024-04-16T19:15:00-05:00 Actual Alert Met Expected Moderate Observed Vilas; Oneida; Forest; Florence; Northern Marinette County; Lincoln; Langlade; Menominee; Northern Oconto County SAME 055125 SAME 055085 SAME 055041 SAME 055037 SAME 055075 SAME 055069 SAME 055067 SAME 055078 SAME 055083 UGC WIZ005 UGC WIZ010 UGC WIZ011 UGC WIZ012 UGC WIZ013 UGC WIZ018 UGC WIZ019 UGC WIZ020 UGC WIZ021 AWIPSidentifier SPSGRB WMOidentifier WWUS83 KGRB 160901 NWSheadline ELEVATED FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS EXPECTED ACROSS NORTHERN WISCONSIN TODAY BLOCKCHANNEL EAS BLOCKCHANNEL NWEM BLOCKCHANNEL CMAS EAS-ORG WXR

VIDEO: "High" and "Very High" fire warnings can be seen across the state. On Sunday, Marshfield fire crews responded to a shed fire off of East 17th Street. Fire officials say it caught other sheds on fire as well, and started when a homeowner left the fire for just a few minutes. Deputy Chief of Fire Prevention Everett Mueller said, "The gentleman that was tending the fire had left because his dog ran off, and he went to grab his dog.
- PUB DATE: 4/16/2024 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WXOW-TV ABC 19 La Crosse

A Brooklyn merchant wound up in fire marshals’ handcuffs for improper storage of highly-flammable lithium-ion batteries inside his business — the first arrest of its kind ever reported in New York City, FDNY officials announced Monday. Tian Liang Liu, of the Electric Bicycle Shop at 1239 Flatbush Ave.
- PUB DATE: 4/16/2024 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: amNY