U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced the appointment of six leaders in public safety, technology and network financing to serve on the Board of the FirstNet First Responder Network Authority. The new members bring the FirstNet board to a full complement, with 12 non-permanent members selected by the Commerce Department and three permanent seats filled by the Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
- PUB DATE: 11/2/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Commerce.Gov

A sexually explicit video of a Las Vegas firefighter was circulated among her coworkers without her knowledge, according to a human resources complaint obtained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The woman learned in June that her colleagues had the video, according to the complaint. She said in the complaint that the video was sent last year to her ex-boyfriend, a Henderson firefighter.
- PUB DATE: 11/2/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Las Vegas Review-Journal

The call load for firefighters has tripled and variety of their training and responsibilities has significantly expanded in the last few decades, while the personnel population at the Peoria Fire Department has remained relatively flat. Those factors, combined with the continued dwindling of tax revenue flowing into city coffers, create a stark reality, according to the president of the local firefighters union, Ryan Brady.
- PUB DATE: 11/2/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Peoria Journal Star

VIDEO: With hunting season quickly approaching, hunters are not the only ones getting prepared. So is the Black River Falls Fire Department. "We did a scenario with a tree stand with one of our training mannequins in it. And the scenario for our firefighters was that the person had a medical emergency and wasn't able to climb down the stand on their own," said Black River Falls Fire Department Captain Frank Koresh.
- PUB DATE: 11/1/2018 6:30:35 PM - SOURCE: WEAU-TV 13 News

Only two items on the agenda resulted in a short meeting for the Town of Peshtigo Fire Commission on Monday, Oct 29. This meeting was immediately followed by the Board of Appeals meeting which lasted for roughly 10 minutes with only one item on the agenda for discussion. Town of Peshtigo Fire Chief, Mike Folgert updated the committee on the 2019 Budget Proposal, stating the Fire Department operating amount will remain the same as 2018 at $98,795.
- PUB DATE: 11/1/2018 1:05:03 PM - SOURCE: Peshtigo Times

Several kittens are okay after a fire at their apartment building. Firefighters rescued the pets and gave them oxygen, while crews worked to contain the flames on N. 24th Street and W. Kilbourn Ave around 11 p.m. Wednesday. Milwaukee fire department officials say everyone got out of the building okay, and no injuries were reported.
- PUB DATE: 11/1/2018 7:43:17 AM - SOURCE: WISN-TV ABC 12 Milwaukee

A contractor that specializes in locating and marking underground utilities to prevent accidents failed to properly mark a natural gas line that was struck by a communications construction firm, which led to a massive explosion in downtown Sun Prairie in July that killed a fire department captain, according to a search warrant unsealed in Dane County Circuit Court.
- PUB DATE: 11/1/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Wisconsin State Journal

The cast-iron natural gas main that served Dr. Richard Williams' turn-of-the-century home in this Southern college town was as old as the house itself: It was built during Shreveport's first gas-fueled boom in 1911. When that pipeline cracked in 2016, the gas built up slowly and silently in a shed behind Williams' home.
- PUB DATE: 11/1/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: USA Today

For decades, Devil's Night in Detroit was a horror story -- a night when arsonists ran amok, and when homeowners stood on their lawns with garden hoses running while the city reeled amid hundreds of fires that firefighters couldn't douse. Now? The plague of arson seems to be over. As trick-or-treaters made the rounds Wednesday night, Detroit Fire Commissioner Eric Jones released a statement about Devil's Night at the Free Press' request.
- PUB DATE: 11/1/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Detroit Free Press

The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors held a special meeting to get answers from Verizon about fire crews getting their data speeds throttled as they battled the Mendocino Complex Fire over the summer. Santa Clara Fire Chief Tony Bowden and Verizon representatives gave status reports at the meeting.
- PUB DATE: 11/1/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KPIX-TV CBS 5 San Francisco

The Otsego County Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Town of Oneonta Fire District Board of Commissioners on Oct. 31, dismissing the requested injunction by the Town of Oneonta. The Fire Commission may now proceed with its dissolution Friday, Nov. 2 as planned. The Commission voted to dissolve in September following more than a year of stalled budget negotiations between the town, commission and city.
- PUB DATE: 11/1/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Oneonta Daily Star

A San Francisco paramedic and a police officer have lost their jobs after an alleged assault last year on a woman who was restrained in the back of an ambulance on an involuntary mental health hold, officials said Wednesday. The paramedic, Raymond Lee, resigned from the San Francisco Fire Department on Friday after being criminally charged earlier this year for allegedly grabbing the victim’s throat while she was restrained and sedated, officials said.
- PUB DATE: 11/1/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle

VIDEO: A paddleboarder who passed out had to be rescued Wednesday night from Upper Nemahbin Lake in the village of Summit. Firefighters said when they arrived at about 5:45 p.m., the male was unconscious in the water. Western Lakes firefighters said two people were paddleboarding on the lake when one of them passed out.
- PUB DATE: 10/31/2018 9:12:22 PM - SOURCE: WISN-TV ABC 12 Milwaukee

A lightning strike at a condominium activated fire alarms, shut down elevators and caused the smell of burning wiring in a condominium complex on Madison's north side, according to a news release from the Fire Department. Officials said the lightning struck an electrical panel at the Cherokee Garden Condominiums.
- PUB DATE: 10/31/2018 5:26:16 PM - SOURCE: WISC-TV Channel 3000.com Madison

A second driveway proposed by the Sauk City Fire Department could have an impact on the Great Sauk State Trail. The topic was on the agenda of the Oct. 24 Great Sauk State Trail Commission, where a representative from an architectural firm presented details. Ellery Schafer, of Jewell Associates Architects, said the department originally requested the driveway in conjunction with phase one trail planning, but was put off by the Department of Transportation.
- PUB DATE: 10/31/2018 1:36:24 PM - SOURCE: wisc news

On October 30, 2 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

On October 30, 1 residential fire fatality was reported by the Nation's news media.

On October 29, 4 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

Southern California Edison said Tuesday its equipment likely sparked one of two ignition points for the massive wildfire that tore through California’s central coast last year. Witnesses reported flames near the company’s power poles in Ventura County last December and the utility “believes that its equipment was associated with this ignition,” Edison said.
- PUB DATE: 10/31/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KOVR-TV CBS Sacramento

When, in the afternoon of Sept. 13, Lawrence Fire Chief Brian Moriarty first got the call about house explosions and fires across the south side of his city, he was driving back up to the Merrimack Valley from Boston after taking an emergency medical service class, hoping to meet a few guys after work.
- PUB DATE: 10/31/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Lawrence Eagle Tribune