Lawmakers will hold a hearing Friday on data throttling during the Mendocino Complex Fire after Santa Clara County’s fire chief said his department’s firefighters were put in danger when Verizon slowed the speed of their wireless transmissions while they were battling the blaze. The Select Committee on Natural Disaster, Response, Recovery, and Rebuilding, led by Assemblyman Marc Levine, D-San Rafael, and Assemblywoman Monique Limón, D-Santa Barbara, will hold the hearing to probe wireless provider policies for restricting cell phone plans during emergencies like wildfires.
- PUB DATE: 8/24/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle

On Savannah Highway, out beyond the car dealerships and across the street from a barber college, lies one of the most significant projects for the city of Charleston and its firefighters. The site is an empty L-shaped lot for now. It’s bordered by a doughnut shop, a park and a quiet residential neighborhood where neatly subdivided homes line gentle, swooping streets along a curve in the Stono River.
- PUB DATE: 8/24/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Charleston Post and Courier

A nationwide telecommunications company that slowed internet service to firefighters as they battled the largest wildfire in California history says it has removed all speed cap restrictions for first responders on the West Coast. Verizon Senior Vice President Mike Maiorana says the service restrictions were removed as of Thursday and include Hawaii, where emergency crews have rescued people from areas flooded by Hurricane Lane.
- PUB DATE: 8/24/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: ABC News

Four fire departments from the surrounding area converged on an apartment building located at 2695 Highway 64 in the Town of Forest to put out a fire that started in Thursday, Aug. 23, around 8:50 a.m. The building is located just west of County Road D in Forest Township and is owned by Randell Olson, according to St.
- PUB DATE: 8/23/2018 1:57:00 PM - SOURCE: New Richmond News

The Appleton International Airport has been awarded $10.4 million by the U.S. Department of Transportation to build a regional aircraft fire and rescue training facility, U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin announced Thursday. Baldwin worked to secure federal funding for the project after similar training facilities closed in Michigan and Minnesota, which made it difficult for airport firefighters to find a place to train in the region.
- PUB DATE: 8/23/2018 1:53:09 PM - SOURCE: Appleton Post-Gazette & Post Crescent.com

The car was on fire, and the driver was at risk. Tom DeWitt, with seven others, acted fast: They pulled the driver out of the car, saving his life. DeWitt, who is an assistant fire chief for the village of Plover, on Tuesday received the department's highest honor, the medal of valor, for his role in saving a man from a burning car in February near Rocky Run and Little Chicago Road in the town of Carson.
- PUB DATE: 8/23/2018 10:36:50 AM - SOURCE: Stevens Point Journal

Mayor Rahm Emanuel is looking for a new Chicago Fire Department commissioner, as Jose Santiago hits mandatory retirement age and steps down. Emanuel tried to find a way to let Santiago stay past his 63rd birthday that’s coming up in a few days, but the city statute bars firefighters of any rank from serving beyond that, according to spokesman Adam Collins.
- PUB DATE: 8/23/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Chicago Tribune

A fire department whose data was throttled by Verizon Wireless while it was fighting California's largest-ever wildfire has rejected Verizon's claim that the throttling was just a customer service error and "has nothing to do with net neutrality." The throttling "has everything to do with net neutrality," a Santa Clara County official said.
- PUB DATE: 8/23/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: ars Technica

A jury awarded $3.35 million Wednesday to a former Circleville firefighter who sued the city, alleging years of harassment and discrimination, including unwanted sexual advances, denied promotions and bodily fluids on her belongings. Amie Morningstar, 38, of Circleville, the first full-time female firefighter on that community’s force, filed suit in late 2015 and was fired in early 2016, said her attorney, Brian K.
- PUB DATE: 8/23/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Columbus Dispatch

Two Key West firefighters were fired Monday in connection with a police narcotics investigation centered on the city’s fire department. The firings, announced Tuesday, followed an Aug. 10 sweep of all three Key West fire stations by Key West police and Homeland Security, who were tipped off by the KWPD special investigations units that fire personnel were engaging in “narcotic activity,” according to an arrest report.
- PUB DATE: 8/23/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FL Keys News

California cities and counties have too few cops and too many wildfires to get a handle on their soaring overtime budgets. That’s how they explain the $3.7 billion they spent collectively on overtime last year, a 60 percent increase from the $2.3 billion they shelled out for overtime in 2012. The dynamic means police and firefighters have no shortage of opportunities to pad their paychecks with overtime hours, but for some, the extra work is taking a toll on their bodies and families.
- PUB DATE: 8/23/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Modesto Bee

VIDEO: It was all hands on deck in Belleville Wednesday, as the community pitched in to help its volunteer firefighters clean up their damaged fire station. Community members joined active and retired firefighters to tackle the flooding that came into the Belleville Volunteer Fire Department after heavy rains Monday caused the Sugar River to spill over.
- PUB DATE: 8/22/2018 6:46:14 PM - SOURCE: WKOW-TV 27 ABC

The wildfires in California are at historic highs as active fires continue to burn from Northern to Southern California. But the firefighters there aren't alone. As of this Tuesday morning, Wisconsin has 37 state affiliated firefighters on state assignments and four type 6x engines on assignment. Below is a list of where the firefighters are stationed and how many are there: Wyoming - 3, one engine.
- PUB DATE: 8/22/2018 5:08:20 PM - SOURCE: WFRV-TV and WJMN-TV Green Bay

A natural gas leak in a townhome Tuesday afternoon caused the evacuation of adjoining units, according to the fire department. The leak at 1807 Robin Way was reported at 2:30 p.m., Appleton Fire Department Battalion Chief Ethan Kroll told USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. The first firefighters to arrive confirmed a smell of gas and meter readings on the outside of the building.
- PUB DATE: 8/22/2018 4:57:24 PM - SOURCE: Appleton Post-Gazette & Post Crescent.com

VIDEO: Investigators are working to determine the cause of a four-alarm fire at a Burlington concrete factory. The fire did a lot of damage -- but didn't stop employees from going to work. Investigators don't know when the fire at Gleason Redi-Mix started -- because no one had been in the building for hours.
- PUB DATE: 8/22/2018 12:11:42 PM - SOURCE: WITI Fox Channel 6

The plan to revamp the Winnebago County 911 emergency communications center has made little progress since talks started last December, with stakeholders wondering how long any potential consolidation process will take. The Winnebago County Board may vote Thursday on a $31,283 budget amendment from Winnebago County Sheriff Gary Caruana to fund the 911 center through September, the end of the county's budget year.
- PUB DATE: 8/22/2018 9:29:16 AM - SOURCE: Beloit Daily News

Beloit Fire Department staff assisted with flood rescue efforts in Dane County after torrential rains caused widespread flooding Monday night around Madison. Six swift water rescue team members and Fire Chief Brad Liggett were dispatched to rural parts of the county at 11:50 p.m. Monday, with rescue efforts continuing into Tuesday morning.
- PUB DATE: 8/22/2018 9:18:54 AM - SOURCE: Beloit Daily News

PHOTO: A portion of Verlin Road was closed this morning in response to a small fire in a Bellevue warehouse. Firefighters got to the scene at about 6:20am, where no one was hurt and damage to the warehouse at Lok-Safe Storage was minimal. Verlin was closed between Bellevue Street and Lime Kiln Road for a couple of hours as the small flames were taken care of.
- PUB DATE: 8/22/2018 8:27:05 AM - SOURCE: WFRV-TV and WJMN-TV Green Bay

On August 21, 1 residential fire fatality was reported by the Nation's news media.

On August 20, 1 residential fire fatality was reported by the Nation's news media.