VIDEO: A local fire captain was honored at a technology council luncheon at UW-Stout, Tuesday. Jeff Dykes, owner and founder of Northern Star Fire, won the 2017 Governor's Business Plan contest with an eight-directional electronic compass. Firefighters place the compass inside their breathing apparatus to help find their way inside burning structures.
- PUB DATE: 9/19/2017 4:04:46 PM - SOURCE: WEAU-TV 13 News

VIDEO: A man who police said killed his wife and blew up his home made his first court appearance on Tuesday afternoon in Dane County. The Dane County District Attorney's Office found probable cause to move forward with charging Steven Pirus, 59, of 1st degree homicide, arson, and reckless endangerment because of a Probable Cause Affidavit from investigators.
- PUB DATE: 9/19/2017 2:22:15 PM - SOURCE: WMTV-TV NBC 15 Madison

A Watertown man was transported to the hospital after escaping a fire in his 410 S. Sixth St. apartment early Sunday morning. Watertown firefighters responded to the scene around 3 a.m. to rescue the man and extinguish the fire, but he was able to get out of the building by the time they arrived. "The guy that was trapped had broken a window to escape and our EMS that was there took him to the hospital for injuries and smoke inhalation," Watertown Interim Fire Chief Kraig Biefeld said.
- PUB DATE: 9/19/2017 4:24:48 AM - SOURCE: Watertown Daily Times

Sheboygan's Common Council spent much of their meeting Monday night talking about whether or not to approve a $54,000 study of the city's Fire Department. The study is being done to determine how to better staff the department, as there is a push to add some new firefighters and additional management in the coming years.
- PUB DATE: 9/19/2017 3:51:08 AM - SOURCE: WHBL-AM 1330

If you live near Waupun, you may have seen flames shooting into the sky Monday night. No need to worry, it was training done by the Waupun Fire Department. Seventeen fire departments and about 100 firefighters participated in the live propane fire training. The training consisted of five propane fire scenarios with a variety of propane tanks.
- PUB DATE: 9/19/2017 3:29:31 AM - SOURCE: WIXX-FM 101

Houston firefighter Brian Sumrall, described by friends and co-workers as "an amazing person" on Sunday, was in the midst of doing what set him apart: helping others. He was traveling southbound on FM 770 about two miles from the rural town of Batson in a Kubota tractor when he was hit from the rear by a Chevrolet pickup driven by Joe Patton, 35, of Hull.
- PUB DATE: 9/19/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Houston Chronicle

A fire chief said he had to take matters into his own hands when a UPS driver was attacked by pit bulls. Orting Valley Fire and Rescue Battalion Chief Steve Goodwin said he rammed a gate when someone at the house refused to open it. The rolling chain-link gate in question is back upright now after the Fire Department crashed through it Wednesday.
- PUB DATE: 9/19/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KOMO-TV ABC 4

Broward County’s firefighter-paramedics are used to wearing protective gear for battling blazes. Now they’ll be getting new protection — body armor vests and helmets — for when they’re assisting victims in incidents involving guns or other dangerous weapons. It’s a sign of the times, officials say, with the proliferation of active shooter and mass casualty cases across the country, including deadly incidents at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in January and at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando last year.
- PUB DATE: 9/19/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Sun Sentinel

A City of Houston Hurricane Harvey Preparation Plan, obtained by Channel 2 Investigates, shows the Houston Fire Department has shockingly little flood rescue equipment, and it appears to have contributed to millions of dollars in losses for the city in totaled fire trucks. “The reason I think we sank six engine companies is (that) they’re not built for a high-water environment,” said Houston Fire Chief Sam Pena.
- PUB DATE: 9/19/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KPRC-TV NBC 2 Houston

The National Fire Protection Association announced the launch of the NFPA Fire and Life Safety Policy Institute. The Policy Institute will look at a range of issues and advise policymakers on how to improve safety for their citizens, according to NFPA. “We have made tremendous progress in reducing loss from fire since NFPA’s inception, but we are painfully reminded every day that there is more to be done,” NFPA President Jim Pauley said.
- PUB DATE: 9/19/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FireRescue1

On September 16, 3 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

On September 17, 4 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

A Madison man shot and killed his wife weeks ago and blew up their Southwest Side house on Wednesday as an attempt to cover up the homicide, Madison Police Chief Mike Koval said Sunday. Lee Anne Pirus, 50, was identified by the Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office as the body found amid the rubble of a house at 7806 Stratton Way.
- PUB DATE: 9/18/2017 3:16:57 AM - SOURCE: Madison.com-Wisconsin State Journal-Capital Times

Firefighters extinguished what they determined to be an intentionally set fire early Sunday morning. The blaze caused $6,000 in damage to 1240 Superior St., a vacant home set to be razed by order of the city, according to a Racine Fire Department release. The fire was set to the rear of the house at about 5:45 a.
- PUB DATE: 9/18/2017 2:25:06 AM - SOURCE: Racine Journal Times

When Alexander Bingham graduated from the Houston firefighter training academy in 2016, one of his classmates was missing. Steven Whitfield, a cadet in Bingham's class, had perished in a training accident in March 2016 and would not graduate alongside those who had become his brothers. Bingham and his classmates still mourn Whitfield's death, but on Saturday, Bingham said, he felt uplifted by the celebration honoring Whitfield and 189 other firefighters during this year's Fallen Fire Fighter's Memorial ceremony in Memorial Park.
- PUB DATE: 9/18/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Colorado Springs Gazette

The city of Trenton has approval to layoff 64 firefighters who are currently being funded by a federal grant that runs out at the end of October, according to a plan approved by the state. The layoffs are set to occur Nov. 1, 2017, and affected firefighters would need to be officially notified no later than Saturday, Sept.
- PUB DATE: 9/18/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NJ.com

Alarms were ringing inside a dormitory at UConn in the early morning of October 16, 2016, and as firefighter Dana Barrow began driving out of a firehouse garage, the right front tire of his Chevy Tahoe bumped into something, bringing the SUV to a sudden stop. One second passed. And then Barrow, focused on a possible fire emergency, pressed the gas pedal, inching the 7,130-pound vehicle over the obstruction blocking his way.
- PUB DATE: 9/18/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Hartford Courant

Santa Cruz firefighter Clayton Ogden died, at age 47, after a short bout with cancer this summer. This week, Santa Cruz Fire Chief Jim Frawley posthumously awarded Ogden the Medal of Valor for his involvement in protecting a civilian during the fatal Feb. 26, 2013 shootout that left two Santa Cruz police officers dead.
- PUB DATE: 9/18/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Santa Cruz Sentinel

A former Cleveland firefighter has filed a discrimination lawsuit claiming the department and city officials mishandled a complaint he filed following an altercation with two other firefighters last year. Samuel Livingston, who was hired as a firefighter in 2000, is seeking an unspecified amount in damages accusing the department of reverse discrimination after an April 5, 2016 physical altercation with his coworkers June Colon and Larry Gray.
- PUB DATE: 9/18/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Cleveland Plain Dealer & Cleveland.com

On September 15, 1 residential fire fatality was reported by the Nation's news media.