It's been nearly five years since Bay City's fire and police departments merged into a public safety agency. Now, a City Commissioner is proposing to increase the number of full-time firefighters, a move that would drastically change the course of the combined department. Commissioner Ed Clements, 8th Ward, has authored a resolution calling for the Bay City Department of Public Safety to staff no fewer than 22 full-time firefighters, instead of having a staff made up entirely of public safety officers who can fight fires and perform law enforcement tasks.
- PUB DATE: 8/21/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: MLive.com

Police have cited York Township's assistant fire chief, alleging he improperly used the emergency lights on his duty vehicle to pull over a driver. If found guilty, Assistant Fire Chief Scotty Bowman, 32, who lives in the township, could face a substantial fine, plus about $150 in court costs and fees.
- PUB DATE: 8/21/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: York Dispatch

A former Atlantic City firefighter pleaded guilty Friday to health care fraud in connection with a large-scale prescription-drug fraud ring. It was the fifth guilty plea in the past two days and the first to involve a public employee. Federal authorities have been investigating health-benefits fraud in three Absecon Island municipalities, including Atlantic City, over the past few months.
- PUB DATE: 8/21/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Press of Atlantic City

Researchers found that a household product can effectively clean fentanyl spills. Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and Bowling Green State University President Mary Ellen Mazey announced that OxiClean Versatile Stain Remover has been proven effective in cleaning up fentanyl spills. Sodium percarbonate is an ingredient in the product, which has been shown to break down fentanyl.
- PUB DATE: 8/21/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FireRescue1

Holding a fundraiser to help some of their own, the “Axemen” Milwaukee chapter came together for four local firefighters on Saturday, August 19th. The group comprised of mostly firefighters grilling and hanging out at “The Point” bar in Walker’s Point. Raising money for two firefighters from Milwaukee and two from West Allis.
- PUB DATE: 8/19/2017 8:54:42 PM - SOURCE: WITI Fox Channel 6

VIDEO: Beloit Fire is bracing for big changes next year. That's when the Federal Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response (SAFER) grant runs out. Without the funding, the department could lose three positions. "When I started in 1989, we were running 2400 calls a year," Beloit Fire Chief Brad Liggett said.
- PUB DATE: 8/19/2017 5:13:17 PM - SOURCE: WKOW-TV 27 ABC

VIDEO: A barn is a total loss after a fire this morning in Chippewa County. The Chippewa Fire District says it happened just after 5 a.m. on 40th Street in the Town of Wheaton. The owner of the property was feeding farm animals when he saw the fire in the northwest corner of the barn. When crews first arrived on scene, they say the fire had extended the entire length of the 270 ft.
- PUB DATE: 8/19/2017 3:50:06 PM - SOURCE: WEAU-TV 13 News

On August 15, 9 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

A child playing with fire reportedly was the cause of a closet blaze on the near northside Wednesday evening. Racine firefighters were called to what appears to be a two-story, single family home at 1231 Marquette St., just after 6 p.m. for a report of a fire. When crews arrived they found an adult had doused a fire in a closet with buckets of water.
- PUB DATE: 8/18/2017 2:30:31 AM - SOURCE: Racine Journal Times

The 63-year-old man who died Tuesday after falling down an elevator shaft at the Androy Hotel in Superior was a maintenance worker, authorities said Wednesday. The Superior Police Department said in a news release that it is classifying the death as accidental, and that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has been made aware of the incident and will be conducting an investigation.
- PUB DATE: 8/18/2017 2:18:55 AM - SOURCE: Daily Telegram-Superior

Local government representatives will look at the next steps in building a new joint EMS-Fire Department station on Aug. 21. The Lodi Fire Board annual meeting will examine a Request for Proposals that solicits a firm to review current EMS and fire facilities, plus target sites for a future station. At an Aug.
- PUB DATE: 8/18/2017 1:47:06 AM - SOURCE: Lodi Enterprise

The Shawano County Sheriff’s Department has concluded that one person was killed in the Thursday morning explosion in the Town of Wescott. “We were able to determine that there was one female in the residence at the time of the explosion and we found her deceased inside the home.” Shawano County Detective Gordon Kowalski says there were able to make contact with one of the homeowners, who was out of town and not home at the time of the explosion.
- PUB DATE: 8/18/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: TCH Daily News

Gov. Scott Walker’s administration has determined it cannot enforce a 7-year-old requirement that fire sprinklers be put in new apartment buildings with three to 20 units — a rule that fire officials contend is one of the best ways to save lives. The development comes six months after an administration official pledged to keep the rule in place.
- PUB DATE: 8/18/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: journal sentinel

Two off-duty Oakland firefighters were shot, one fatally, in San Jose's Japantown on Thursday night, and one person has been detained in connection with the crime, police say. The shooting was reported at 9:37 p.m. near 8th and Taylor streets, across the street from Gordon Biersch Brewery, according to police.
- PUB DATE: 8/18/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NBC Bay Area

A rule requiring fire sprinkler systems be put in new apartment buildings has been deemed unenforceable by the state. This comes just six months after the Department of Safety and Professional Services decided to keep the rule. It said new apartment buildings with three to 20 units have to have fire sprinkler systems installed.
- PUB DATE: 8/18/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Channel3000.com

The city put embattled Fire Chief Thomas Ronalter on leave Thursday and appointed an acting leader for the department, but Ronalter publicly declared he won't quit over accusations of mismanagement and racial insensitivity. "I detest racism and all of the harm it causes. While I have made mistakes, I have never treated people — firefighters or otherwise — differently based on the color of their skin," Ronalter said in a statement emailed to reporters Thursday afternoon.
- PUB DATE: 8/18/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Hartford Courant

U.S. Rep. Trey Hollingsworth met with local fire service members Wednesday to discuss a bill aimed at tackling increased cancer rates among firefighters. The Firefighter Cancer Registry Act, co-sponsored by Indiana's 9th Congressional District representative, would provide the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with the funding and capability to collect and analyze data related to cancer incidents within the profession.
- PUB DATE: 8/18/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: News and Tribune

The Spokane Fire Department said Thursday that two people are alive thanks to a program called Automatic Aid. On Wednesday afternoon, a mother and daughter were hit by a car in the North Spokane Costco parking lot. Officials said at one point, the mother was pinned under the car and crews had to lift the car to pull her out safely.
- PUB DATE: 8/18/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KREM-TV CBS 2

On August 17, 5 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

VIDEO: A Shawano County home was leveled in an early morning explosion that shook other homes in the neighborhood. The explosion happened on Richter Court in the Town of Wescott. On the way to the scene, our crew found house insulation littering the road. A Shawano County Sheriff's Deputy says the house is leveled.
- PUB DATE: 8/17/2017 7:51:45 AM - SOURCE: WMTV-TV NBC 15 Madison