A Pascoag volunteer firefighter who died Wednesday after being rushed from the scene of a chimney fire is being remembered as a generous, spirited man who was dedicated to helping others. Lt. Richard Jenks collapsed outside a home on Hill Road, Deputy Chief Keith Carter said, after tripping and falling inside.
- PUB DATE: 2/15/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WPRI-TV Providence 12

The evolution of the fire service in the 40-plus years since the formation of the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) has been remarkable, and the new leadership at the organization and at the top of its National Fire Academy recognizes how much change has occurred and how much is yet to come for our nation's emergency responders.
- PUB DATE: 2/15/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Firehouse

Former firefighter Tanja Vidovic should be reinstated to Tampa Fire Rescue, a U.S. District Court judge ruled Wednesday, nearly two years after she filed a federal lawsuit against the city and was fired the next day. She won her discrimination and retaliation case against the city on Dec. 7, when a jury awarded her $245,000 in damages.
- PUB DATE: 2/15/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Tampa Tribune and TBO.com (Tampa Bay Online)

Lawyers representing the city of Cleveland asked a federal judge Wednesday to disqualify the legal team representing a former fire official who claims in a lawsuit that he was improperly passed over for promotion. The lawyers accused the Chandra Law Firm of violating the Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct for lawyers by improperly obtaining evidence for former Battalion Chief Sean DeCrane's lawsuit.
- PUB DATE: 2/15/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Cleveland Plain Dealer & Cleveland.com

On February 14, 0 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

VIDEO: Eau Claire Floral had special workers helping them with their Valentine's Day deliveries Wednesday. Dressed in their gear, off-duty firefighters with the Eau Claire Fire Department delivered every flower arrangement imaginable to sweethearts around the Chippewa Valley. The fire fighters told News 18 they enjoy seeing the reactions of recipients when they get their bouquet, and that celebrating the day of love is extra unique because their flower delivery job lets them show love as a fire station, to the Eau Claire community.
- PUB DATE: 2/14/2018 4:48:42 PM - SOURCE: WQOW-TV ABC 18 Eau Claire

VIDEO: Lt. Bill Gretzinger of the Grand Chute Fire Department has been named firefighter of the year by the Wisconsin State Firefighters Association. Gretzinger, 55, will accept the award March 3 at the association's annual conference in Middleton. "I feel very honored and, most importantly, very humbled," Gretzinger told USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin.
- PUB DATE: 2/14/2018 1:06:28 PM - SOURCE: Appleton Post-Gazette & Post Crescent.com

On February 13, 2 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

A fire destroyed a maintenance building at the Mt. Olympus Theme Park in Wisconsin Dells early Wednesday morning, with nobody hurt in the blaze. This was the second major fire at a theme park in Wisconsin Dells in three weeks. On Jan. 25, fire destroyed a dormitory under construction at Wilderness Resort, with that fire ruled to be arson.
- PUB DATE: 2/14/2018 7:44:46 AM - SOURCE: Wisconsin State Journal

Following the outcry from a few neighbors, the Mount Pleasant Village Board voted Monday night 5-1 to press the pause button on rezoning a plot of land on Emmertsen Road for an emergency medical service station for two weeks to get some questions answered. Village Trustee John Hewitt was the only one to vote against putting the project on hold.
- PUB DATE: 2/14/2018 2:17:56 AM - SOURCE: Racine Journal Times

On February 13, 0 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

VIDEO - It has been a rough month for first-responders in rural Berkeley County. A few weeks ago a firm hired to assess 26 volunteer departments released its findings from an independent fire study and determined, what a lot of those departments already knew, they are underfunded, understaffed and under pressure.
- PUB DATE: 2/14/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Berkeley Independent

Roughly two-thirds of the firefighters in South Tucson have now indicated they will resign by the end of the month, leaving residents of the small city wondering if there will be enough personnel to adequately respond to emergencies. A former South Tucson firefighter claimed that due to the mass resignations there are two days next month where only one Fire Department employee is scheduled to work on a specific shift.
- PUB DATE: 2/14/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Arizona Daily Star

On Feb. 9 passed the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (H.R. 1892) which funds the federal government through March 22 and raises government spending limits. H.R. 1982 also contains several provisions which address challenges facing the fire and emergency service. H.R. 1892 contains some of the most significant EMS reimbursement reforms that Congress has enacted in several years.
- PUB DATE: 2/14/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: International Association of Fire Chiefs

Sixty years ago, Firefighter Donald Blaskovich left a theatre where "The Dark at the Top of the Stairs" was staged to witness an all-too-real living hell. The 85-year-old FDNY retiree, a member of the now defunct Engine Company 13, is the last firefighter alive to have fought the deadly blaze at the Elkins Paper Company on Wooster St.
- PUB DATE: 2/14/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Firehouse

Mayor Jean Stothert said she first saw the "soda can" alert when she watched our KETV report. Some firefighters place pop cans on top of a printer that activates when emergency calls come in--causing the pop cans to fall to the floor making a loud noise. "When I saw the cell phone video, I was very disappointed firefighters want to give the idea to the public their safety is at risk," Mayor Stothert said.
- PUB DATE: 2/14/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KETV-TV ABC 7 Omaha

VIDEO: According to investigators, there are no injuries after a chimney fire on the 2,000-block of Ellis Street in Stevens Point Tuesday evening. The Assistant Fire Chief for the Stevens Point Fire Department, Jodi Baganz, told our reporter at the scene the there was also fire on the exterior of the home, but everything is out, now.
- PUB DATE: 2/13/2018 9:34:38 PM - SOURCE: WSAW-TV CBS 7 Wausau

Firefighters on Monday night, Feb. 12 were called out to Mr. B’s restaurant on Capitol Drive in Brookfield for a possible chimney fire. The call came in around 6:55 p.m. According to the City of Brookfield Fire Department, a passersby noticed heavy smoke and fire embers from a chimney and informed the business operator.
- PUB DATE: 2/13/2018 9:07:14 AM - SOURCE: WITI Fox Channel 6

A Little Chute firefighter was taken to the hospital after battling a house fire. The call went out around around 5:30 last night (Monday) on Rolling Meadows Drive. When crews arrived, smoke and flames were pouring out of the garage. The firefighter taken to the hospital was treated for smoke inhalation.
- PUB DATE: 2/13/2018 7:11:39 AM - SOURCE: WIXX-FM 101

Firefighters on Monday night, Feb. 12 responded to the scene of house fire in the Town of Rhine. Crews were called out to a residence on County Road EH near Little Elkhart Lake Road shortly before midnight. According to the caller, the fire started while the residents were using their fireplace. No additional details have been released — including the extent of damage to the home.
- PUB DATE: 2/13/2018 4:35:06 AM - SOURCE: WITI Fox Channel 6