A structure in Manitowish Waters is a total loss after a fire Wednesday morning. The Vilas County Sheriff's Department reports a homeowner at 4755 Lavigne Road called about 8:30 a.m. to report smelling smoke after lightning had struck close by. Firefighters believe the fire started in the basement after the lightning strike.
- PUB DATE: 9/20/2017 5:46:28 PM - SOURCE: WXPR-FM 91.7 Public Radio

About the time the dust appears to have settled around the Holmen Area Fire Department and the Holmen Area Fire District Association Board, an action by a majority of the Holmen Village Board could again create uncertainty within fire department. In a split vote at the village board’s Sept 14 meeting, four village board trustees voted to approve removing trustees Chuck Olson and Bill Ebner as the village’s representatives on the fire association board.
- PUB DATE: 9/20/2017 1:58:39 PM - SOURCE: Onalaska Holmen Courier Life

On September 19, 6 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

VIDEO: The Madison Fire Department opens its doors to prospective firefighters during their Recruitment Open House. On Wednesday, Ben Lardie and Trent Meicher stopped by Wake Up Wisconsin to talk about the event. Unemployment numbers among veterans in the United States are improving, and the Madison Fire Department continues to do its part to introduce current and past military service members to a career that is significant, challenging, and personally rewarding.
- PUB DATE: 9/20/2017 7:06:15 AM - SOURCE: WKOW-TV 27 ABC

Waushara County officials say a home went up in flames before 9 o'clock Tuesday night. The Fire Department says it received a call regarding the house fire on North County Road A at 8:49 p.m. The West Bloomfield Fire Department along with the Poy Sippi Fire Department arrived to find the home fully engulfed.
- PUB DATE: 9/20/2017 6:27:51 AM - SOURCE: WMTV-TV NBC 15 Madison

Shawn White was working as a 28-year-old paramedic when he was called to the home of a young family. As he rushed past the balloons, presents and baby shower decorations he found himself by a backyard pool where all eyes were on an unconscious 2-year-old boy. “The father grabbed me by both arms, looked me in the eyes and said, ‘Save my son,’ ” White said with tears in his eyes.
- PUB DATE: 9/20/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Las Vegas Review-Journal

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott today announced that he has accepted the nationwide public-safety broadband network (NPSBN) deployment plan offered by FirstNet and AT&T on behalf of his state, making Texas the 21st state—not including two territories—to “opt-in” to the FirstNet system. “The safety and security of Texas communities is my number-one priority, and I want to provide our first responders with the best technology possible,” Abbott said in a prepared statement.
- PUB DATE: 9/20/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Urgent Communications

More than two dozen individuals have applied to lead the Providence Fire Department over the last two years, but the city still hasn’t found its next chief. Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare confirmed this week the city has offered the job to “a few” candidates, but none of them have been hired.
- PUB DATE: 9/20/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WPRI-TV Providence 12

Two weeks ago, city council members raised the ire of police officers and firefighters with a unanimous vote that would have changed the city’s employee benefits plan and reduced their holiday pay and vacation time. But on Tuesday, after an apology to city employees from City Manager Ruffin Hall, the mayor and council members unanimously approved an amended benefits plan.
- PUB DATE: 9/20/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: News Observer

Angry bees, low water and a disturbed man armed with a shovel were all hazards firefighters had to deal with on Tuesday while they tried to fight a fire on an island in the Sudbury River. In the end, firefighters decided to let the rain extinguish the fire, Deputy Fire Chief Mark Leporati said. Firefighters got the call about the fire on the island in the Sudbury Reservoir off Central Street around 10 a.
- PUB DATE: 9/20/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Metro West Daily

VIDEO: A body was found Wednesday morning inside a home that caught fire the night before in the town of Bloomfield, according to Waushara County Sheriff Jeffery Nett. The call came out at about 8:49 p.m. Tuesday to the home on North County Road A in Waushara County. Fire units arrived on the scene to find the house totally engulfed in flames.
- PUB DATE: 9/19/2017 10:58:01 PM - SOURCE: WFRV-TV and WJMN-TV Green Bay

On September 19, 0 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

VIDEO: In head to toe fire gear, the recruits at Madison Area Technical College look like your typical firefighter in training. "Get down and crawl," said Lieutenant Lisa Becher, as she leads them around racks of more fire gear. New fire recruits learn how to put on the gear during a fire academy pilot program offered at Madison Area Technical College.
- PUB DATE: 9/19/2017 5:53:24 PM - SOURCE: WMTV-TV NBC 15 Madison

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