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

A campaign to oppose three proposed City Charter amendments backed by the local firefighters union began Thursday with the forming of a political action committee expected to raise “well north of half a million dollars.” The PAC, called San Antonians for Fiscal Discipline, was set up soon after City Clerk Leticia Vacek told the City Council that the San Antonio Professional Firefighters Association had collected enough valid signatures on its petitions to force a charter-amendment election.
- PUB DATE: 5/18/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: San Antonio Express News

Rosemarie Melanson can barely remember hearing a man speak to her after she was shot in the Las Vegas massacre. She soon blacked out and wouldn't recall anything about the next few weeks. The mother of four would spend six months in a hospital and endure nine surgeries. Last week, she finally got a chance to meet the retired Los Angeles firefighter who her family says saved her life.
- PUB DATE: 5/18/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: CNN

VIDEO: Charges were filed Thursday against a suspect in Wednesday's church fire in Fountain City. Jesse Bromaghim, from Winona, is being held on a $10,000 cash bond after being charged with arson, criminal damage to personal property and attempted car theft in Buffalo County Circuit Court Thursday. Bromaghim is accused of starting Wednesday morning's fire and tipping over a statue at St.
- PUB DATE: 5/17/2018 4:20:41 PM - SOURCE: WXOW-TV ABC 19 LaCrosse

The City of Lake Mills and Lake Mills Emergency Medical Services (EMS) are coming together to determine the best way of serving the community. The two groups met May 7 and discussed a myriad of topics including the possibility of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two agencies. Both agencies will have a workshop May 15 to continue the discussion.
- PUB DATE: 5/17/2018 1:08:31 PM - SOURCE: Lake Mills Leader

A fire in Merrill spread to a pasture and a barn before it could be put out. The Merrill Fire Department tells us a 911 call came in about 5:20 p.m. Wednesday with a report of a grass fire on Joe Snow Road. The DNR and several other fire departments were also called out. Owners of the property had been trying to burn out the inside of an old silo foundation.
- PUB DATE: 5/17/2018 9:52:29 AM - SOURCE: WJFW-TV NBC 12 Rhinelander-Wausau

On May 12, 11 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

For the second straight year, St. Bernard Parish in Madison hosted the annual Blue Mass in honor of all first responders. Fr. Michael Radowicz, pastor of St. Bernard, celebrated the Mass, along with several other priests from the Diocese of Madison. In attendance were Dane County Sheriff Dave Mahoney, Madison Police Chief Mike Koval, Madison Fire Department Chief Steven Davis, UW-Madison Police Chief Kristen Roman, members of their departments, and members of surrounding police, fire, and emergency worker agencies in Dane County.
- PUB DATE: 5/17/2018 1:42:01 AM - SOURCE: Catholic Herald Madison

A firefighter suffered a medical emergency while driving a firetruck according to a preliminary crash investigation. The firetruck struck five other vehicles before rolling onto its side and coming to a stop. According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Lake Travis Fire and Rescue firetruck was traveling southbound on FM 620 on Wednesday, May 16, 2018 when the driver had a medical emergency and lost consciousness.
- PUB DATE: 5/17/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Fox 7 Austin

A fire call Saturday in the town of Campbell sparked La Crosse’s fire chief to ignite the concept of forming a regional department. But Chief Ken Gilliam, just shy of a year into the job, said leaders of La Crosse’s neighboring municipalities extinguished the idea. That means — at times — firefighters closest to an emergency won’t be the first to respond when another agency needs help.
- PUB DATE: 5/17/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Lacrosse Tribune

Residents in the small Butte County community of Bangor still tell tales about the night they escaped the LaPorte Fire that burned more than 6,100 acres and destroyed 74 structures. The wind-swept flames sent people scrambling in the middle of the night last October. Some of the fire victims said they were outraged that when they called the fire department to report the fire, many of them were told there was no fire in Bangor.
- PUB DATE: 5/17/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KRCR-TV ABC 7 & KCVU-TV Fox 20

AT&T Chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson told an audience at the J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference that AT&T will double LTE speeds for its customers in 500 markets this year. "As we exit this year, we will have 500 markets with that full capability in place, where the LTE speeds will double," he said.
- PUB DATE: 5/17/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FierceWireless

Multiple 911 calls, the alarm sounds, responding units weave through choking traffic, the first engine reports; "Fire showing from the first floor with people hanging off the balconies above." While bystanders record the events, hoping for the right shot that gives them their 15 seconds of fame, firefighters go to work, make the rescues, put the fire out and go home – all is well in Whoville.
- PUB DATE: 5/17/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FireRescue1

Newly-appointed Merrill Fire Chief Josh Klug will start his new job on Monday, May 21. While his title may be new, Klug is no stranger to the Merrill Fire Department, having started his career in Merrill 16 years ago. Klug is a Merrill High School graduate and served 11 years with the Merrill Fire Department.
- PUB DATE: 5/16/2018 11:11:04 PM - SOURCE: Merrill Foto News

On May 16, 2 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

The Sheboygan Fire Department responded to a house fire in the 2300 block of North 25th Street on Wednesday afternoon. The 911 caller who lives in the home called to report that she was trapped inside of the home and unable to exit due to the heavy smoke. The fire department arrived on scene within three minutes.
- PUB DATE: 5/16/2018 5:36:25 PM - SOURCE: WDJT-TV CBS 58 Milwaukee