By Christmas, all 855 members of the Cincinnati Fire Department will have received their custom-fitted bulletproof vests. I'll repeat that -- slowly. Bullet. Proof. Vests. If this is a new reality, it runs counter to how I have always viewed this honorable occupation. In my mind's eye, a firefighter is a hero who would climb a ladder and pluck Morris from a towering oak tree.
- PUB DATE: 10/13/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Cincinnati Enquirer

A firefighter fell through a staircase and landed in the basement of a burning house off Lalor Street early Thursday, fire officials said. The firefighter was on the first crew climbing to the second floor with a hose at a house on Benton Road at about 3:10 a.m., fire spokesman Capt. Ferdinand Mather said.
- PUB DATE: 10/13/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NJ.com

In a recent column about building character in young firefighters, I wrote that trust should be given to all members of the organization; that trust should be assumed unless violated. Trust should not have to be earned through popularity or individual achievement. At least one reader took issue with this statement.
- PUB DATE: 10/13/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FireRescue1

City firefighters are being credited with saving the life of a suicidal man found with a rope around his neck on the top deck of the Elliot Hospital parking garage Thursday around 2 a.m. “I looked across the top level, and I saw a man on the other side of the guardrail, on the opposite side of the garage from me,” 16-year veteran Lt.
- PUB DATE: 10/13/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Manchester Union Leader

From the outside, they appeared to be the perfect family. He was an Ivy League-educated doctor; she was a congressional press aide. They had four beautiful children. However, in 2011, on a trip home from Cape Cod, an argument began between Jerri Sparks and her now ex-husband. She said that's when the nightmare started.
- PUB DATE: 10/13/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: 13WHAM.com

VIDEO: For the first time in a decade the Milwaukee Fire Department is recruiting applicants for firefighter positions, despite cuts outlined in the mayor's budget. Roosevelt Walker is one of many applying to be a Milwaukee Firefighter. "It's an awesome opportunity. Personally I have a passion for helping people in general," Walker said.
- PUB DATE: 10/12/2017 10:59:57 PM - SOURCE: WTMJ-AM 620 Milwaukee

VIDEO: Milwaukee firefighters were honored for the work they do everyday in the city Thursday night at the department's Meritorious and Community Service Award ceremony. People like Fire Lt. Peter Nycz ran into a burning home on Mount Vernon Avenue on June 22. He went in before any water was on the fire just after three children had been dropped out a window.
- PUB DATE: 10/12/2017 10:55:51 PM - SOURCE: Today's TMJ4

On October 10, 7 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

The student killed Wednesday in a crash involving a semi-trailer has been identified as a New Richmond girl. The St. Croix County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that 16-year-old Megan K. Bennig, a New Richmond High School student, died at the scene. The crash occurred at 3:08 p.m. at County Road G and 140th Avenue in the town of Richmond when Bennig’s 2001 Toyota Corolla entered the intersection.
- PUB DATE: 10/12/2017 7:29:06 AM - SOURCE: Hudson Star-Observer

One person was injured Wednesday night in a crash near Ho-Chunk Gaming that took down a tree and a fire hydrant, officials said. Crews were sent around 7:45 p.m. to the intersection of Savannah and Millpond roads for reports of a single-vehicle crash, according to a release. Firefighters found a van on its passenger side with one unsecured person inside, officials said.
- PUB DATE: 10/12/2017 6:56:53 AM - SOURCE: WISC-TV Channel 3000.com Madison

On October 9, 14 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

Massive wildfires sweeping through California have killed at least 26 people and damaged thousands of homes, businesses and other buildings, authorities said. Firefighters were still battling 22 wildfires in multiple counties as of Thursday morning. Intensified by strong winds, the flames have charred more than 170,000 acres of land, damaged or destroyed at least 3,500 structures and forced nearly 20,000 residents to evacuate, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
- PUB DATE: 10/12/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: ABC News

Massive wildfires sweeping through California have killed at least 23 people and damaged thousands of homes, businesses and other buildings, authorities said. Firefighters were still battling 22 wildfires in multiple counties as of Thursday morning. Intensified by strong winds, the flames have charred more than 170,000 acres of land, damaged or destroyed at least 3,500 structures and forced nearly 20,000 residents to evacuate, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
- PUB DATE: 10/12/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: ABC News

President Trump nominated Kirstjen Nielsen, a deputy to White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, to be Homeland Security secretary on Wednesday, filling the vacancy left by Kelly when he took his current post in late July. "Ms. Nielsen has extensive professional experience in the areas of homeland security policy and strategy, cybersecurity, critical infrastructure, and emergency management," the White House said in a statement announcing the nomination.
- PUB DATE: 10/12/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: USA Today

Superior Court Judge Julio Mendez ruled Wednesday that the state overseers will be able to cut the city’s Fire Department by 15 members as a cost-saving measure. The cuts are not allowed to be made before Feb. 1, according to the court ruling. "Upon careful consideration of the facts and legal arguments, the court is of the view that the plan and timeline for immediate reductions is problematic but it’s not impermissible by the Recovery Act," according to the 13-page ruling.
- PUB DATE: 10/12/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Press of Atlantic City

The Fire District Board accepted Chief Buddy Emerson’s retirement request Wednesday amid allegations from the firefighters union that he endangered employees' lives during Hurricane Irma and acted recklessly as chief. Emerson had submitted his retirement effective at the end of February, but the board, at a special meeting, unanimously accepted it effective immediately.
- PUB DATE: 10/12/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: TCPalm

Shooting off fireworks in Ohio, a time-honored tradition of lawbreaking across the state, would become fully legal just in time for July 4, 2020, under a bill that passed the House on Wednesday. For decades, Ohioans have been allowed to purchase fireworks but not legally set them off inside the state.
- PUB DATE: 10/12/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Columbus Dispatch

On October 11, 2 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

A fire station on Appleton's northeast side will close for repairs on Thursday. The Appleton Fire Department says a sturctural engineer determined that the apparatus floor of Fire Station #4, 724 E. Greenfield St., needs to be repaired. While the repairs are done, the station will be closed for 8-10 weeks.
- PUB DATE: 10/11/2017 6:38:57 AM - SOURCE: WLUK TV Fox 11

A fire inside a dryer at an East Side laundromat Monday night produced enough smoke to carry over into an adjoining restaurant, with nobody hurt in the blaze. The fire was reported at about 9 p.m. at Dana Lou's Coin Laundry, 3583 E. Washington Ave., the Madison Fire Department said. The smoke wafted into OM Indian Fusion Cuisine, 3579 E.
- PUB DATE: 10/11/2017 6:25:51 AM - SOURCE: Madison