William Kleich, owner of Loopy’s Saloon and Grill in the ntown of Wheaton, has filed a lawsuit against the Chippewa Fire District in an effort to allow the volleyball dome at his facility to continue operating 240 days a year without seeking a new permit. Kleich filed the lawsuit in Chippewa County Court on Monday.
- PUB DATE: 2/19/2019 10:46:05 AM - SOURCE: Chippewa Herald

On February 17, 4 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

On February 16, 3 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

On February 13, 16 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

Firefighters on Tuesday morning, Feb. 19 responded to the scene of house fire near Arcadian Avenue and Cotton Court in Waukesha. The call came in around 3:15 a.m. The fire was reported by a neighbor who called 911. One adult and one juvenile were evacuated and required medical treatment. "Well I woke up to loud banging on the door, and the doorbell going off.
- PUB DATE: 2/19/2019 3:44:25 AM - SOURCE: WITI Fox Channel 6

Citing rats, broken plumbing, leaky ceilings, poor ventilation and run-down equipment, firefighter unions across the state are sounding the alarm about station houses they say receive little attention, saying poor conditions raise safety fears and hurt morale. “There’s concerns statewide,” said Richard MacKinnon Jr.
- PUB DATE: 2/19/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Boston Herald

Federal transportation officials are requiring railroads to establish regional response teams along oil train routes following a series of fiery derailments. The new rule announced Thursday is aimed at having crews and equipment ready in the event of an accident. It applies to oil trains in continuous blocks of 20 or more loaded tank cars and those having 35 loaded tank cars.
- PUB DATE: 2/19/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NWI.com

California’s most affluent special districts nearly doubled their spending over the course of a decade, while the value of their cash and investments nearly tripled, according to a Southern California News Group analysis of state data. The figures revive the question many good-government advocates have been asking for decades: Do special districts, which operate largely under the public radar, simply have too much money? Critics say they do, and argue that their functions should be absorbed into cities and counties that overlap their boundaries.
- PUB DATE: 2/19/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Daily Breeze - Metered Site

Local firefighters claim in a federal lawsuit against the town that they have been denied overtime pay for nearly a decade. The suit filed Saturday by Chesterton Firefighters Local 4600 also claims that despite assurances from the town that "nothing would change," a policy change was enacted just days after the current labor contract was signed that limits firefighters ability to use four 24-hour periods of earned time off each year, according to the union's attorney, Angela Jones.
- PUB DATE: 2/19/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NWITimes.com

An Orlando firefighter fired last year for a positive drug test was given his job back last week, after he argued the cocaine in his system was a result of drinking a tea made with coca leaves, an internal investigation shows. The positive drug test results, recorded during an annual physical exam in December 2017, prompted the Orlando Fire Department to fire Kevin Reynolds two months later, according to documents released this week in response to a Jan.
- PUB DATE: 2/19/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Orlando Sentinel

Firefighters save lives but now the lives they need to save may be their own. When Mark Rine was first diagnosed with Melanoma, it had already progressed to stage four. "I don't know how many times people said oh, you got lucky, you got skin cancer... but a person dies from melanoma every 57 minutes," Rine said.
- PUB DATE: 2/18/2019 9:42:40 PM - SOURCE: WDJT-TV CBS 58 Milwaukee

An 83-year-old woman died in house fire on Linn Road in the Town of Delavan Sunday night, Feb. 17. The flames were so intense, firefighters right across the street couldn't save the woman's life. The call came in shortly before 6 p.m. after a relative noticed smoke coming from the house. When crews arrived on scene at Linn Road and Sage Road, they found smoke and flames coming from the residence.
- PUB DATE: 2/18/2019 7:41:06 AM - SOURCE: WITI Fox Channel 6

Members of the Sable Flames firefighter group in Madison are creating a new community service award to honor Richard Garner, who died in the line of duty April 1, 2018. The award, given at the annual Second Alarm Scholarship Benefit Dance, will carry on the legacy of a man whose friends describe him as a gentle giant.
- PUB DATE: 2/17/2019 10:23:00 PM - SOURCE: WMSN-TV Fox 47 Madison

The Madison Fire Department celebrated the grand opening of Fire Station 14 on Friday afternoon. It’s located on the southeast side of the city in the 3200 block of Dairy Drive. Cynthia Schuster, a spokesperson with the Madison Fire Department, said the station will serve the Owl Creek Neighborhood, Dutch Mill Road, and the nearby vicinity.
- PUB DATE: 2/16/2019 6:15:25 AM - SOURCE: WMTV-TV NBC 15 Madison

Veteran Union Grove-Yorkville Fire Department member Tim Allen has been selected as the department’s new chief, the joint Union Grove and Yorkville Fire Commission announced Friday. Allen, a 30-year veteran of the department, has been assistant chief for 17 years. He will step into the role of chief March 1, replacing current Chief Tom Czerniak, who has been chief for 17 years.
- PUB DATE: 2/15/2019 11:42:13 PM - SOURCE: Racine Journal Times

On February 13, 12 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

VIDEO: A Cal Fire engine assigned to respond to rain-related incidents in the North County went off the road and rolled over in Bonsall Thursday. The truck veered off Old Highway 395 south of Camino Del Rey and landed in an embankment about 20 feet below the roadway at about 6:15 a.m., California Highway Patrol said.
- PUB DATE: 2/15/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KNSD-TV NBC San Diego

VIDEO: Iowa State Senator and Cedar Falls Firefighter Jeff Danielson says he is resigning from both the Iowa State Senate and the Cedar Falls Fire Department, effective immediately. Danielson tells KWWL News his resignations are directly related to the ongoing dispute over the use of Cedar Falls Police Officers being cross-trained to also work as Cedar Falls Firefighters in the City’s Public Safety Officer program.
- PUB DATE: 2/15/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KWWL News 7

When William “Bud” Paine descended to the lower levels of the Naval Destroyer Escort to stand by on fire watch as welders took to maintenance of the ship, he was handed a canteen and a bandanna. “‘Just keep the bandanna wet,’ they said. ‘This stuff won’t hurt you,’” Paine, now 63, recalled. “This stuff” was the 96,000 pounds of asbestos sharing living quarters on board with the Navy sailors.
- PUB DATE: 2/15/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Idaho Press

The Madison Fire Department has installed an infrared sauna into its new station 14 helping firefighters sweat out dangerous carcinogens which can sometimes cause cancer. Kevin Hembrook has worked for the Madison Fire Department for nineteen years. He serves on the Fire Fighters Local 311 Health and Safety committee.
- PUB DATE: 2/15/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WMTV-TV NBC 15 Madison