On January 29, 14 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

An Eau Claire man will spend two years on probation for setting a fire at his former residence. Jayson R. Harding, 27, 2007 Second St., pleaded no contest recently in Eau Claire County Court to an amended misdemeanor count of negligent handling of burning material. He was originally charged with a felony count of arson.
- PUB DATE: 1/31/2018 2:16:57 AM - SOURCE: Eau Claire Leader-Telegram

On the night Mark Reninger’s snowmobile vanished beneath the icy waters of Geneva Lake, conditions were so treacherous that rescuers had difficulty reaching the accident scene. Reninger did not survive. Now his family has raised money to equip the Fontana Fire Department with a high-powered, sophisticated rescue boat to make future such rescues less challenging.
- PUB DATE: 1/31/2018 2:06:25 AM - SOURCE: Lake Geneva News

The FDNY is no longer just a boy’s club. Two women will be sworn into top positions in the department at FDNY headquarters in Brooklyn Wednesday, a historic moment for the male-dominated agency. Laura Kavanagh will be named the department’s first deputy commissioner while Elizabeth Cascio — who has served for more than three decades — is the department’s chief of staff.
- PUB DATE: 1/31/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Daily News

Bill Clayton, a wildland firefighting expert who saved countless lives and entire towns during a career that spanned 50 years, died Sunday at the age of 77 of natural causes at his home in Carlsbad. "He was a legend in the fire service," said lifelong friend and recently retired Cal Fire Battalion Chief Ray Chaney.
- PUB DATE: 1/31/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: San Diego Union-Tribune

A state Supreme Court judge ruled in the city’s favor to block arbitration over the “minimum manning” clause in its labor contract with the firefighters, which requires 15 firefighters must be on duty at all times. It’s been the main sticking point during the city’s 3½-year contract stalemate with the Watertown Professional Fire Fighters Association Local 191.
- PUB DATE: 1/31/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Watertown Daily Times

The top woman leader in the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department has resigned in a scathing letter to Chief Richard Bowers. Kathleen Stanley, who is one of only three women battalion chiefs in the fire department, was appointed by Bowers to be the Women's Program Officer. Her job was to help women in the department do their jobs without fear of harassment, misconduct or retaliation.
- PUB DATE: 1/31/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WUSA-TV 9 DC

The Fort Wayne Fire Department plans to be even more effective when responding to emergencies. By July, the department hopes to have nearly 80 firefighters trained in advanced life support on the crews of 18 of its fire engines, Chief Eric Lahey said Tuesday. That would allow the department to have firefighters trained in advanced lifesaving on every fire engine every day so they can start lifesaving care as soon as they arrive at an emergency situation.
- PUB DATE: 1/31/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Fort Wayne News-Sentinel

Former Akron fire union treasurer Joseph Ruhlin pleaded guilty Tuesday to stealing funds from the Akron fire department’s union. Ruhlin pleaded guilty under an agreement with prosecutors to a charge of theft in office and tampering with records, both third-degree felonies, which carry penalties of up to three years in prison.
- PUB DATE: 1/31/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Akron Beacon Journal

VIDEO: Grafton's youngest certified firefighter stepped up at the local Shopko when a co-worker had a medical emergency. That man, thanks to the teenager's quick response, will survive. All of Daniel Dowty's equipment is brand new, untouched by smoke. His time with the Grafton Fire Department, however, has prepared him for a critical moment that happened just weeks ago.
- PUB DATE: 1/30/2018 9:38:43 PM - SOURCE: WDJT-TV CBS 58 Milwaukee

A Sauk County Board member is safe after his house was destroyed by a fire early Tuesday morning. Baraboo Fire Chief Kevin Stieve said Supervisor Tom Kriegl was in Madison around 3 a.m. when crews were called to his home along County Highway W in the town of Greenfield. Stieve said the fire was difficult to extinguish because the house — which was a total loss — had partially collapsed.
- PUB DATE: 1/30/2018 8:21:06 PM - SOURCE: wisc news

Firefighters are reminding people of the dangers of going out onto the ice after a truck sank into Lake Winnebago Tuesday morning. According to a post on the fire department's Facebook page, the rescue happened near the mouth of the Fox River. Firefighters say that's one of the most dangerous areas of the lake, since the current makes for thinner ice than on other areas of the lake.
- PUB DATE: 1/30/2018 3:04:22 PM - SOURCE: WLUK TV Fox 11

On January 29, 12 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

On January 28, 13 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

Firefighters battled the flames in the Forest Junction area of Calumet County. The fire broke out early today (TUESDAY) right off Highway 10, in the area of Highway 32/57. The fire is located at Legacy Automotive. No injuries reported....no word on how the fire started. Roads were closed for time while crews got the fire under control.
- PUB DATE: 1/30/2018 5:52:46 AM - SOURCE: WIXX-FM 101

On January 29, 10 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

Ed Umnus and Tom Riggs were not about to let their pride stand in the way of letting someone else take a turn at leadership of the Town of Burlington Fire Department. They might have been willing to stay on the 25-member paid-on-call department for another couple of years, but when another name — in addition to his — was nominated to be chief at the annual election of officers, Umnus decided he would instead step down after 28 years with the department and the past six as chief.
- PUB DATE: 1/30/2018 2:15:13 AM - SOURCE: Racine Journal Times

One firefighter suffered a minor injury battling a garage fire in Superior Monday morning. The Superior Fire Department responded to 2217 Lackawanna Ave. for a report of a structure fire Monday morning, according to a release from acting Battalion Chief Howard Huber. The units found a detached garage with heavy smoke showing and flames visible through the windows.
- PUB DATE: 1/30/2018 2:05:00 AM - SOURCE: Daily Telegram-Superior

An investigation is underway into the cause of a chemical fire at an Elmwood Avenue business that sent 14 firefighters to the hospital. According to Cranston Fire Chief William McKenna, crews from across the state responded to a chemical fire that broke out shortly before 5 p.m. Monday, including various fire departments, hazmat crews and the state fire marshal.
- PUB DATE: 1/30/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WPRI-TV Providence 12

A newcomer to the Brunswick Fire Department will earn $9.29 per hour to rush into a burning building. That comes out to $28,370 per year when with their 24 hours on, 48 hours off schedules. Brunswick Fire Chief Randy Mobley said this bottom line is the primary factor behind the department’s perpetual revolving door, in which firefighters the city hires and trains soon depart to fight fires elsewhere for more money.
- PUB DATE: 1/30/2018 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Brunswick News