A deputy Jansville fire chief will be taking over until a permanent replacement can be found for retiring chief Randy Banker. The Police and Fire Commission Wednesday night chose Jim Ponkauskas to serve after Banker’s retirement date of January 11th. Banker had recommended Ponkauskas. The commission wants to minimize the time between Banker’s departure and the hiring of a permanent successor.
- PUB DATE: 10/4/2018 7:44:35 AM - SOURCE: WCLO-AM 1230

Nashville Mayor David Briley on Wednesday announced he's promoted William Swann to be new director chief of the Nashville Fire Department, becoming the first African-American to hold the leadership post. Swann, a 22-year veteran of the department who has served as interim fire chief for 11 months, replaces Ricky White, who retired as director chief in 2017 after serving in the job for just one year.
- PUB DATE: 10/4/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Nashville Tennessean

The town of Clearwater is down several first responders after they turned in their resignation moments after their fire chief and EMS director quit. Tuesday morning the fire department and emergency services woke up to the news that Scott Cooper, its EMS director and fire chief was suspended. A city council meeting late Tuesday decided Cooper's fate, and it is not what many of those who serve for him expected.
- PUB DATE: 10/4/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KSN-TV NBC Wichita

The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) is preparing to honor 103 firefighters who have died in the line of duty during the organization's annual ceremony and is providing a wealth of resources to help you be a part of the remembrances. The official ceremony will be held on Sunday, Oct. 7, and pays tribute to the 80 firefighters who died while on duty in 2017 and 23 others who fell in previous years.
- PUB DATE: 10/4/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Firehouse

The Washington State Department of Health is actively investigating nine members of the Bellingham Fire Department for their roles in the July 31 incident at Station 1 in which an intubation procedure was attempted on the body of a recently deceased patient. Health Department spokesperson Sharon Moysiuk said Wednesday in an email to The Bellingham Herald that the department “has nine active investigations concerning the fire/EMS intubation incident.
- PUB DATE: 10/4/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Bellingham Herald

San Antonio firefighters union President Chris Steele told firefighters that his goal is to secure a labor contract and make Councilman Greg Brockhouse (D6) the next mayor of San Antonio, according to an audio recording shared Wednesday by the campaign to defeat three union-backed ballot propositions.
- PUB DATE: 10/4/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Rivard Report

VIDEO: Any other Wednesday, Doug Teitge would have hopped on a bus and taken the short ride to Yahara Elementary School in DeForest. He would have filed off the bus with his classmates and went about his usual day. Not this Wednesday though. This was an unusual school day. Wednesday morning, Doug's mom, Renee Teitge, woke him up and told him he'd be riding to school in a firetruck.
- PUB DATE: 10/3/2018 5:30:12 PM - SOURCE: WISC-TV Channel 3000.com Madison

The Solon Springs Fire Department was awarded a $3,030 grant from the East Central Energy Operation Round Up Trust to help purchase portable radios for the department. The radios are used to communicate on emergency scenes. The addition of eight new firefighters in 2017 left the department short on the number of radios it needs to work efficiently and safely.
- PUB DATE: 10/3/2018 4:27:56 AM - SOURCE: Daily Telegram-Superior

A Neenah resident is hoping to raise $15,000 for the Fire Department's Water Rescue Team. Taylor Olsen lives on Lake Winnebago and tells FOX 11 he's seen on multiple occasions how the lack of proper equipment has impacted the rescue and potentially put rescuers at risk. "It's surprising that the equipment that I have on my rather basic fishing boat is the same equipment they have on their water rescue boat.
- PUB DATE: 10/3/2018 3:58:41 AM - SOURCE: WNFL SPORT REDIO

Marshfield's Finance, Budget, and Personnel Committee has approved the hiring of three additional firefighter/paramedic positions for the city. That's according to Fire Chief Scot Owen who told the committee Tuesday night that the extra staffing is sorely needed. "The staff has remained the same since 2009, while the city's boundaries have continued to grow, and call volume has continued to increase.
- PUB DATE: 10/3/2018 2:38:31 AM - SOURCE: WRIG-AM Fox Sports 1390

Controversy about the Public Safety Officer program spilled into the Cedar Falls City Council meeting Monday. The discussion came as Jason Campbell — 2018 Firefighter of the Year — resigned, the fifth firefighter to do so in a month. Rural residents Darren Yoder and Andrea Southall spoke about the recent departures.
- PUB DATE: 10/3/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier

A frightening scene erupted in an area of Kenner and it was all caught on camera. John Panzavecchia sent WDSU video of a vehicle fire that was reported on West Loyola Drive. The video starts out with the SUV slowly being engulfed in flames from the passenger side. At one point, firefighters who were trying to extinguish the fire approached the SUV and then the flames suddenly engulfed them as well.
- PUB DATE: 10/3/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WDSU-TV NBC 6 New Orleans

The National Mutual Aid System (NMAS) partnership today announced the launch of the new NMAS, an emergency resource management system where all users can access cutting-edge technology to request, geospatially locate and strategically deploy response resources. The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), Juvare, and Esri have been working since the fall of 2017 to build NMAS to serve state and local governments throughout the U.
- PUB DATE: 10/3/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: International Association of Fire Chiefs

Of the 50 highest-paid city of Sacramento employees, more than half work for the Fire Department. All made more than $200,000 in 2017 and in some cases, $300,000. City Manager Howard Chan tops the list at $332,000 in salary, retirement and health benefits according to the California State Controller's website.
- PUB DATE: 10/3/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Capital Public Radio

Firefighters in Reno helped free a few furry scavengers that had found themselves trapped in a difficult situation in the middle of the night. Late Saturday, crew members of the Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District, Station 39 said they were awoken by the crashing sound of their garbage dumpster outside being tipped over.
- PUB DATE: 10/3/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTVU-TV

The Beaver Dam Fire Department should have a “new” antique firetruck in its fleet soon. The city’s police and fire commission approved allowing the transfer of funds from the budget’s fire prevention funds to help pay for the antique firetruck, which would be used for things like the Father’s Day Car Show and children’s events.
- PUB DATE: 10/2/2018 6:48:33 PM - SOURCE: wisc news

An Adams County man is facing arson charges after police say he lit a vehicle on fire. Police said officials responded to the vehicle fire around 8 p.m. Monday. When they arrived, the vehicle was fully engulfed flames. Once the fire was out, officials determined the vehicle was a total loss. Witnesses told police Eric R.
- PUB DATE: 10/2/2018 3:41:16 PM - SOURCE: WISC-TV Channel 3000.com Madison

VIDEO: A Pepin County man is charged after being accused of setting the home he was renting on fire. According to the criminal complaint, on September 13, the Durand Fire Department responded to a house fire in the Township of Frankfort. Brian Gillespie, 61 was found standing in the middle of the road jumping in front of cars.
- PUB DATE: 10/2/2018 8:44:53 AM - SOURCE: WLAX & WEUX-TV Fox 25 & 48

Greenfield Fire-Rescue is showing the Milwaukee Brewers support this postseason. On Wednesday, the department posted on Facebook saying firefighters and paramedics will be allowed to wear Brewers baseball hats on duty for as long as the Brewers keep playing.
- PUB DATE: 10/2/2018 6:56:33 AM - SOURCE: WDJT-TV CBS 58 Milwaukee

A 61-year-old Stevens Point man pleaded not guilty Monday to trying to kill his former girlfriend and a man he found her with in bed by pouring gasoline on the bed and lighting it. Gary L. McDonald is charged with two counts of attempted first-degree intentional homicide. McDonald's home was in foreclosure and he was being evicted, according to court records.
- PUB DATE: 10/2/2018 6:12:31 AM - SOURCE: Stevens Point Journal