For one Montecito, CA, man who was trapped in his home when mudslides ravaged his neighborhood, nothing represents the sacrifices of first responders better than a pair of shoes. The kicks mysteriously showed up at his front door months after he gave them to a barefoot firefighter. In the hour after a mudslide tore through Kevin Rittner's home, he signaled for help with a flashlight.
- PUB DATE: 5/22/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WFXG-FOX 54

When someone calls in a time of crisis, emergency medical service providers spring into action. These providers are being recognized for their joint response efforts during national EMS week. EMS week is a way to thank those who help us in a time of need, like paramedics, emergency room staff or firefighters.
- PUB DATE: 5/21/2018 8:51:34 PM - SOURCE: WKBT-TV CBS 8 La Crosse

VIDEO: The Holmen Area Fire Department is expecting changes in the coming months. They were already in need of a new assistant fire chief when Chief Paul Menches announced in April he would not renew his contract. Fire Board President Steve Johnston says it's an opportunity to plan for the future and replace some aging equipment.
- PUB DATE: 5/21/2018 5:55:51 PM - SOURCE: WXOW-TV ABC 19 LaCrosse

VIDEO: A man in a bulldozer, submerged in a pond at Hi-Crush Sand Mine in Whitehall, was rescued Monday morning. Authorities received a call at 7:53 a.m., May 21, and all units were dispatched to the sand mine. The man was pulled to safety by rescue boat and transported to a nearby hospital. "When incidents occur, we periodically have drills from situations such as this so that we are prepared and also look at some of our partners in the area to help," said Joni Olson, CEO of Gundersen Tri-County Hospital.
- PUB DATE: 5/21/2018 12:29:52 PM - SOURCE: WKBT-TV CBS 8 La Crosse

PHOTO - A Southeast Kansas firefighter is under observation after a medical emergency causes him to lose consciousness resulting in the truck he was driving to leave the roadway. Shortly after nine the morning Columbus Fire and Rescue was responding to a fire alarm. The driver of the truck suffered a medical emergency causing him to pass out while driving.
- PUB DATE: 5/21/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KSFX/KOLR-TV FOX 27 Ozarks First

Two firefighters were struck by an SUV while responding to a hit-and-run accident on northbound I-95, officials say, an incident which left multiple people injured and one dead. Miami Fire Rescue received a call of a hit-and-run crash shortly before 2 a.m. Saturday. When crews arrived at the 62nd Street exit ramp, firefighters worked to rescue the driver of the Nissan SUV involved in the hit-and-run.
- PUB DATE: 5/21/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NBC Miami

Starting in September, fire protection for Winfield Township's 3,500 residents will come from other communities. Township supervisors say they will direct Butler County 911 to stop dispatching the Winfield Fire Department to calls within the township because of what supervisors say are long-standing failures by the department to comply with changes sought by supervisors.
- PUB DATE: 5/21/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

EMS prehospital care reports have not been the focus of much research but there is a growing awareness that health care documentation in general is often incomplete and inaccurate. A team of researchers1 wanted to explore the role that memory error may play in how well EMS providers record prehospital care of patients.
- PUB DATE: 5/21/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: U.S. Fire Administration

At the age of 98, Jo Miller remembers as well as ever the last time she saw her late husband and fishing buddy suited up for work. It was three decades ago — 1988, the year Ben Miller retired from a career with the Santa Rosa Fire Department that he’d launched in 1956. After a huge City Hall retirement party, Ben and Jo Miller relocated to rural Oregon and spent many good times hooking salmon and steelhead in the Chetco River.
- PUB DATE: 5/21/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Santa Rosa Press Democrat

A fire displaced four residents Saturday evening and caused about $200,000 in damage to a two-story house at 416 E. Wisconsin St. Fire Chief Tom Cullen said two residents escaped from the burning home and notified a neighbor to call 911. No one was injured. Witnesses reported that the fire might have been caused by an explosion of a propane grill.
- PUB DATE: 5/20/2018 1:03:43 PM - SOURCE: Appleton Post-Gazette & Post Crescent.com

A Sunday morning apartment fire killed a child and left several residents injured in downtown Portage. Police and firefighters responded to the reported fire at 10 a.m. on the fifth floor of the Historic at 207 W. Cook St., commonly referred to by its former name the Ram. “There was a fire on the fifth floor and it was pretty bad,” said second-floor resident Tazia Mills.
- PUB DATE: 5/20/2018 12:36:48 PM - SOURCE: Portage Daily Register

“Fires and emergencies don’t care about the politics or hurt egos. We want what’s best for the people.” – Local firefighter union president Lance Tryggestad. When your house is burning, you want help — and you want it in a hurry. You don’t want fire departments to rely on a complex matrix that could be influenced by political history or professional rivalries or anything of the sort.
- PUB DATE: 5/20/2018 8:38:22 AM - SOURCE: Lacrosse Tribune

VIDEO: Firefighters worked for several hours early Sunday morning to gain control of a fire at a nightclub on the city's north side. First responders were called to "Escape" nightclub near North 35th Street and West Douglas Avenue at around 1 a.m. and quickly upgraded the fire to two alarms. They were on the scene for at least three hours and had to return later in the morning to put out remaining hot spots.
- PUB DATE: 5/20/2018 5:17:32 AM - SOURCE: WISN-TV ABC 12 Milwaukee

Although they took no action on the matter, the Holmen Village Board trustees has indicated its support for the Holmen Area Fire Department’s proposal to buy a new aerial ladder truck with platform. Since the board’s May 10 agenda didn’t list the purchase request as an action item, the village board trustees couldn’t take a vote on buying an $850,000 fire truck.
- PUB DATE: 5/20/2018 2:32:38 AM - SOURCE: Onalaska Holmen Courier Life

On May 18, 0 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

VIDEO: Just days after the major Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church fire in Downtown Milwaukee, the fire chief has announced potential cuts for 2019. At Thursday’s Public Safety Committee meeting Chief Mark Rohlfing said the department would likely have to shed one engine company and approximately 15 personnel in the coming budget year.
- PUB DATE: 5/18/2018 8:52:32 AM - SOURCE: WTMJ-AM 620 Milwaukee

At the end of a full work day, 80 people packed into the Columbia County Administration Building for a three-hour seminar on active shooting incidents. The presentation by members of the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office and Portage Police Department gave the public insight into what is known about mass shootings in the United States and how the expectations for police and the public have changed.
- PUB DATE: 5/18/2018 5:40:30 AM - SOURCE: Portage Daily Register

Multiple people have died as a result of a shooting Friday morning at a high school in the southeastern Texas city of Santa Fe, two law enforcement sources told CNN. This is the third school shooting in the past seven days, and the 22nd since the beginning of the year in the United States. A suspect in the shooting at Santa Fe High School has been arrested, assistant principal Cris Richardson told reporters near the school.
- PUB DATE: 5/18/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: CNN

It's not just the fire that presents a danger. For firefighters, it's common to be exposed to a range of harmful toxins while extinguishing flames. Some of those toxins have been shown to increase the risk of developing cancer. A bill, which has passed the Senate and is in the House of Representatives, calls for the creation of a national firefighter cancer registry.
- PUB DATE: 5/18/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Poughkeepsie Journal.

Former Show Low Fire District Chief Ben Owens will pay $124,656 in restitution to the SLFD after pleading guilty to three felonies in connection with his daughter-in-law Natalie Bingham. Bingham stole about $1.8 million when she was district administrative manager, an amount likely to be the largest embezzlement from a special taxing district in Arizona history.
- PUB DATE: 5/18/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: White Mountain Independent