Three Orlando firefighters were injured in a crash Thursday night that shut down a portion of the interstate, according to the Orlando Police Department. Officers said the firefighters were responding to a minor crash on eastbound 408 shortly before 11 p.m. when another vehicle rear-ended the firetruck.
- PUB DATE: 12/21/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WKMG Click Orlando

A police chief says there will be no criminal charges against anyone related to an explosion in southern Wisconsin that killed a firefighter and leveled several buildings. Sun Prairie Police Chief Patrick Anhalt said Thursday "There is not probable cause to believe a crime was committed." Sun Prairie firefighter Cory Barr was killed in the July 10 explosion that destroyed a bar he owned, five other businesses and a home.
- PUB DATE: 12/20/2018 9:31:07 AM - SOURCE: Today's TMJ4

On December 19, 5 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

Town of Richmond Chairman Jeff Karbash says the town's remote location likely contributed to how long it took to control a fire that destroyed a residential home Tuesday night. The town, which has a population just over 2,000, sits between several fire districts in Walworth County. Karbash says without a fire station of its own, fires can go on for an extended length of time before a unit arrives.
- PUB DATE: 12/20/2018 3:28:22 AM - SOURCE: WSAW-TV CBS 7 Wausau

Ten veterans will be fully funded to participate in an upcoming Stars and Stripes Honor Flight, thanks to the Kenosha Area Pipes and Drums Association. Association members Scott Laack and Matt Martin, who both work for the Kenosha Fire Department, presented Stars and Stripes Honor Flight Board of Directors member Kent Rice with a $5,000 check at the Kenosha Fire Department Station No.
- PUB DATE: 12/20/2018 1:49:57 AM - SOURCE: Kenosha News

When St. Petersburg Fire Rescue responded to a call about a self-inflicted gunshot suicide Tuesday evening, the emergency crew discovered the victim was one of their own. "We're seeing a real spike in suicides," James Large, St. Petersburg Fire Rescue Chief, said. More first responders died by suicide last year than in the line of duty.
- PUB DATE: 12/20/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WFLA-TV NBC 8

Wayne County prosecutors kicked a warrant request back to the Detroit Police Department in the case of a fire union official accused of publicly sharing sensitive information about witnesses in a homicide case. Police Chief James Craig confirmed earlier this month that detectives were investigating social media posts by Mike Nevin, president of the Detroit Fire Fighters Association.
- PUB DATE: 12/20/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Detroit Free Press

At a time when firefighter associations nationwide are struggling to keep afloat, nearly $245 million sits untouched in a fund designed to help New Jersey firefighters — thanks to an “antiquated” law restricting its use, the state comptroller asserted Wednesday. The money — collected through a tax and intended for the New Jersey State Firemen’s Association, as well as the state’s 538 local relief associations — has barely been touched in decades, and the state nonprofit’s monitoring of its use has been flawed, according to Comptroller Philip James Degnan.
- PUB DATE: 12/20/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Philly.com

A released video shows a fire engine running away without a driver behind the wheel. While it may seem comical at first watch, when you watch it again and again, you will hopefully realize the seriousness of this incident. While fireground safety is always a concern for every firefighter and incident commander, we really don’t think or consider the danger of a runaway engine – because it’s not supposed to be a part of our consideration.
- PUB DATE: 12/20/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FireRescue1

Officials are pushing for the reinstatement of FDNY Engine Company 261 to support the growing population of Long Island City. Politicians, firefighter union leaders and local residents say it was a mistake to remove the firehouse from active use 15 years ago during Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s time, reports CBS2’s Dave Carlin.
- PUB DATE: 12/20/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: CBS New York

A onetime Baraboo destination will burn Saturday as the fire department conducts a training exercise at the Farm Kitchen Restaurant. Entrepreneur Randy Scott is working to establish Tumbled Rock Brewery inside the footprint of the Farm Kitchen, a vacant eatery once known for its Sunday brunches, dinner theater plays and civic club meetings.
- PUB DATE: 12/19/2018 4:05:29 PM - SOURCE: wisc news

Fire Chief John Reed has decided not to retire in the wake of what he considered a breakdown in the relationship among the city’s top officials. “I’m really proud to be part of this city,” he said. “Once in a while a train gets derailed, and it’s got to be fixed.” Reed was on the verge of resigning after being excluded by Mayor Lloyd Heier from a closed session on Nov.
- PUB DATE: 12/19/2018 8:58:13 AM - SOURCE: Green Bay Press-Gazette

On December 18, 7 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

On December 16, 9 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

PHOTO: A fire that broke out in the basement of a Manitowoc home Tuesday was reportedly caused by a portable heater. Just before 4:30 p.m., fire crews were called to a home in the 1100 block of South 25th Street for a report of smoke, according to a press release from the Manitowoc Fire Department. When crews arrived they noticed a significant amount of smoke in the area and reported the basement to be on fire, the release stated.
- PUB DATE: 12/19/2018 6:24:35 AM - SOURCE: Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter

On December 17, 5 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

The ex-con accused of beating a FDNY firefighter to death in a road-rage incident faced a line of angry Bravest on Tuesday as cops walked him out of a Brooklyn police station. Joseph Desmond, 29, a reputed Latin Kings gang member, kept his head down as he exited the 62nd Precinct stationhouse in Bath Beach and filed past the silent firefighters.
- PUB DATE: 12/19/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Daily News

A former Marine diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after combat service in Afghanistan filed a discrimination lawsuit against the city last week after being rejected for a job as a city firefighter. Brett D’Alessandro claimed in his lawsuit that he finished third on a civil service test for one of the Paterson Fire Department jobs in 2017 and was then sent to the Institute for Forensic Psychology, which is based in Oakland, for an evaluation.
- PUB DATE: 12/19/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: North Jersey.com (Bergen County Record & Herald News)

Investigators on Tuesday arrested a 28-year-old woman suspected of posing as a firefighter’s wife and collecting more than $2,000 in donations for firefighters battling the Holy fire that she then kept for herself, authorities said. Ashley Bemis, of San Juan Capistrano, posted photos on multiple social media pages of herself and her “fictitious firefighter husband” asking for donations, said the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
- PUB DATE: 12/19/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Los Angeles Times

A state district judge on Tuesday dissolved a temporary restraining order blocking implementation of the voter-approved charter amendment granting pay parity to Houston firefighters and denied further attempts by the city and police union to delay the measure. State District Judge Randy Wilson, ruling in favor of the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association, decided that voters were informed of the amendment’s price tag — more than $100 million a year — before the election and approved it anyway.
- PUB DATE: 12/19/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Houston Chronicle