Westbrook has settled a lawsuit filed by its fire chief and deputy fire chief that alleged the city retaliated against them after they complained about a volunteer firefighter who had been hired as a city fire inspector. The city agreed to pay Fire Chief Andrew Turcotte and Deputy Chief Stephen Sloan $25,000 for their legal fees and other expenses associated with the suit.
- PUB DATE: 10/2/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Portland Press Herald

Members of City Council are questioning whether a controversial new policy that treats some city fire runs as lower priority is warranted amid concerns over its rocky implementation. Detroit Fire Commissioner Eric Jones led a presentation Monday on the policy he put in place in August that has emergency dispatchers coding runs as emergent and non-emergent, a classification that now deploys crews to some scenes without lights and sirens.
- PUB DATE: 10/2/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Detroit News

The City Council’s investigative body is moving forward with its own probe into the misuse of $8.2 million in emergency public safety dollars to cover payroll and other expenses. The probe, in part, seeks to determine which employees at city hall were aware of the misuse, according to Councilwoman LaVetta Sparks-Wade, who originally made a request last month to the mayor’s office for financial records and correspondence related to Fund 224.
- PUB DATE: 10/2/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Northwest Indiana Times (nwitimes.com)

A Jacksonville fire captain testified Monday in federal court about what he calls discrimination and retaliation by his fellow firefighters. "I felt rejected and dejected," Capt. Eric Mitchell testified before a jury. Mitchell filed a lawsuit against Division Chief Gail Loput, Fire Chief Kurt Wilson and the city of Jacksonville.
- PUB DATE: 10/2/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WJXT-TV CBS 4 Jacksonville

One year after the mass shooting in Las Vegas hit home the dangers faced by first-responders, Mesa leaders voted to spend $262,000 to equip firefighters and medical teams with body armor. The protection already is available in Chandler, Scottsdale and Tempe, and will be in place in Gilbert this year.
- PUB DATE: 10/2/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Arizona Republic, AZCentral.com & KPNX-TV NBC 12 Phoenix

VIDEO: Fire crews responded to a house fire earlier Monday afternoon. The Chippewa Falls Fire Department says a home on 703 High Street caught fire, that's near the courthouse. The department says there was heavy smoke and flames when the more than 20 firefighters arrived on scene around 1 p.m. The department says the house is vacant and was condemned last year.
- PUB DATE: 10/1/2018 10:19:37 PM - SOURCE: WEAU-TV 13 News

Domino’s Pizza near 14th and Forest Home is teaming up with the Milwaukee Fire Department to promote Fire Prevention Week (Oct. 7-13) and make sure everyone has a working smoke detector. According to a news release, on Oct. 8, from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m., anyone who orders a pizza has the chance to be surprised at their front door when their pie arrives on board a fire engine.
- PUB DATE: 10/1/2018 9:11:57 PM - SOURCE: WITI Fox Channel 6

Four people have been displaced after a house fire in Green Bay. It broke out around 10:30 p.m. Sunday on Velp Avenue. One firefighter was taken to the hospital for evaluation, but has been released. No one else was injured. The fire caused about $50,000 worth of damage. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
- PUB DATE: 10/1/2018 4:56:14 AM - SOURCE: WLUK TV Fox 11

San Antonio fire union President Chris Steele has been reprimanded for overseeing a political news conference while wearing a fake uniform that was nearly identical to its official San Antonio Fire Department counterpart. On Sept. 20, Steele held a rally and news conference at the headquarters of the Bexar County Democratic Party, where he announced that the organization had endorsed the three proposed charter amendments the union had placed on the Nov.
- PUB DATE: 10/1/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: San Antonio Express-News

Bucyrus Fire Chief Jay Keller has sued the city for $1 million in damages that he believes were accrued while he was on paid leave last year. The lawsuit was filed Friday afternoon in the United States District Court, Northern District of Ohio, Cleveland Division, by Keller's attorney, Adam Stone. "We have no further comments," Stone said after telling the Telegraph-Forum that the city would be served notice of the lawsuit via certified mail.
- PUB DATE: 10/1/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Mansfield News Journal

The firefighters union is criticizing the search process to replace retiring Fire Chief Stephen Geldart after none of the 19 candidates who applied for the position – including four Hudson firefighters – was selected. The initial candidate pool was whittled down to six finalists – including two Hudson firefighters – who attended an assessment center that put candidates through a battery of exercises covering all aspects of the profession such as technical knowledge, personnel administration, leadership and grant writing.
- PUB DATE: 10/1/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: MetroWest Daily News

It was 11:19 p.m. on Oct. 8, and a panicked caller to Sonoma County’s 911 dispatch center was incredulous the operator wasn’t aware her world had exploded in flames. “What’s on fire?” the 911 dispatcher asked. Everything, the caller said. The trees, the houses, anything standing on Mountain Home Ranch Road in the foothills of the Mayacamas Mountains.
- PUB DATE: 10/1/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Santa Rosa Press Democrat

Maybe they should take baked Alaska off the menu. More firefighters are getting burned – thanks in part to a 32 percent spike in cooking injuries in firehouse kitchens. Overall, there were 247 firefighter burns in fiscal year 2018, a 22 percent increase from 2017, according to the latest Mayor’s Management Report.
- PUB DATE: 10/1/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Post

Authorities on Sunday confirmed that three “males” died in a fiery car explosion Saturday night in Center City Allentown, what they called an “isolated incident.” They also believe “the perpetrator” was killed in the blast, an explosion that shook city buildings and residents, leaving many to wonder what could have led to such carnage.
- PUB DATE: 10/1/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Allentown Morning Call

A Sunday crash in Portage County killed one person and injured another. A vehicle driven by an 82-year-old woman, with an 81-year-old man in the passenger's seat, crashed at about 12:15 p.m. near Amherst Junction, according to a news release from the Wisconsin State Patrol. The woman died at the scene and the man was transported to Aspirus Hospital in Wausau with non-life threatening injuries.
- PUB DATE: 9/30/2018 6:43:58 PM - SOURCE: Stevens Point Journal

A Saturday afternoon house fire in West Racine caused an estimated $40,000 in damage but no injuries, the Racine Fire Department reported. Fire crews were dispatched to 608 Monroe Ave. for a call that came in at 2:27 p.m. The found smoke coming from the house. After a “quick” interior search of the home, a heating/air-conditioning duct showed heavy smoke damage to the second floor.
- PUB DATE: 9/29/2018 6:46:09 PM - SOURCE: Racine Journal Times

VIDEO: A dispute over a clause in the contract for Janesville Firefighters is causing a rift between the department and the city. In March, Jason Daskam the president of Janesville's firefighter union-Local 580, said the city issued a new rule saying city employees could not use city resources to wash their personal vehicles.
- PUB DATE: 9/28/2018 8:35:30 PM - SOURCE: WMTV-TV NBC 15 Madison

Firefighters were called to a report of structure fire in Madison on Friday morning. Cynthia Schuster, a spokesperson with the Madison Fire Department, said firefighters responded around 7:35 a.m. to a home in the 3800 block of Nakoma Road. No word on how much damage the fire caused. No one is believed to be injured.
- PUB DATE: 9/28/2018 7:46:30 AM - SOURCE: WMTV-TV NBC 15 Madison

Governor Walker declared September 27, 2018 as First Responders Appreciation Day. Our sister station NBC 15 visited the Sun Prairie Fire Department and the Middleton Police Department asking them to reflect on the appreciation they’ve seen after two tragic events hit their communities. "You get into this job to help people and that's exactly what we did on that day but you never really know what magnitude your response has on people,” said Middleton Police Sergeant Jessica Quamme.
- PUB DATE: 9/28/2018 6:47:51 AM - SOURCE: WSAW-TV CBS 7 Wausau

Holmen Area Fire District Association board members say they recognize the Holmen Area Fire Department has some catching up to do. To adequately staff and equip the department to meet the demands of the district, fire board members say they realize funding for operations needs to increase by double digits.
- PUB DATE: 9/28/2018 1:45:19 AM - SOURCE: Coulee News