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

Wisconsin officials say a state law prevents them from enforcing a fire sprinklers rule that fire officials say is one of the best ways to save lives. The 7-year-old rule requires sprinklers be installed into new apartment buildings that have between three and 20 units. A spokesman for the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services tells the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the rule is more restrictive than a state law approved in 2011.
- PUB DATE: 8/17/2017 7:51:45 AM - SOURCE: WMTV-TV NBC 15 Madison

The Marinette Fire Department celebrated its 150th year anniversary with an open house Saturday, Aug. 12 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Children's activities included a bounce house, water ball, face painting, and Skippee's inter-active fire house. Marinette High School Student Senate, family members, and U.
- PUB DATE: 8/17/2017 2:44:00 AM - SOURCE: Peshtigo Times

Matt Jaggar has responded to multiple fires during his 19 years as an Eau Claire firefighter, but Wednesday marked the first time he did so while off duty. Jaggar, a battalion chief, was driving along Main Street on the East Side Hill shortly before 11:30 a.m. when he noticed smoke in the sky. His firefighting instincts took over, and he decided to track down the source of the smoke.
- PUB DATE: 8/17/2017 2:25:13 AM - SOURCE: Eau Claire Leader-Telegram

Firefighter Robert Alexander always followed in his father’s footsteps — even in death. The 43-year-old — who worked on FDNY fire boats — died Monday of a brain tumor stemming from his time at Ground Zero. For Alexander, succumbing to a 9/11 illness is a heartbreaking family affair — a year earlier, his father Lt.
- PUB DATE: 8/17/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Daily News

An independent investigator has determined that the fire department suffers from a fractured leadership team and perceptions of racism and favoritism that are worsened by the "racial insensitivity" of Chief Thomas Ronalter. The monthslong review did not document racism in hiring or discipline, but concluded "it is not unreasonable that a minority firefighter could perceive the existence of racial bias.
- PUB DATE: 8/17/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Hartford Courant

After more than 30 hours, the massive air and sea search continues for five missing soldiers who were on board an Army chopper that crashed late Tuesday off Oahu. Rescuers are focusing their efforts on a debris field that's three to five miles offshore. "This is still a search and rescue mission. We are here to bring our soldiers home," said Lt Col.
- PUB DATE: 8/17/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Hawaii News Now

Charlotte City Manager Marcus Jones chose someone many feel can unite the fire department which has been engulfed in controversy for years. Deputy Chief Pete Key Key joined the Charlotte Fire Department as a firefighter in 1977 and now 40 years later, he’s in charge of its more than 1,200 employees and protecting more than 840,000 citizens.
- PUB DATE: 8/17/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: wsoctv.com