The chief of the Burbank-Paradise Fire District was fired Wednesday night following a unanimous vote by the district’s board. Mike Hillar, 55, who had been with the district for 26 years and chief for seven, had been on unpaid leave since June 23. In March, Scotty Douglass, the executive director of Stanislaus Regional 911, which dispatches for the district, sent Hillar a memo regarding “deprecating tone and language” he used with a dispatcher on a call the week before.
- PUB DATE: 7/14/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Modesto Bee

Now that Gov. Rick Snyder has signed major changes to retirement benefits for new teachers into law, another contentious battle is on the horizon for the fall when legislators hope to extend those changes to other public employees. Those affected would include police officers and firefighters, as well as other municipal employees.
- PUB DATE: 7/14/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Detroit Free Press

Court documents in a lawsuit filed against the city of Conway and Conway Fire Department reflect one man’s struggle to be promoted in the fire service after a former co-worker, who now serves as chief, mentioned he was “defiant” in the past. That description cost him a promotion, Larry Carter says in a second lawsuit against his former employer that alleges the department breached a settlement agreement that required he get a “neutral employment reference.
- PUB DATE: 7/14/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: MyrtleBeachOnline.com

PHOTO - In a scene straight out of your nightmares, a truck full of "slime eels" lost its load Thursday on U.S. 101, causing a five-car crash, dousing sedans with goo and sending sea creatures slithering across vehicles and the highway. Technically, the fish were not eels, but hagfish, which have a skull but no jaw or spine and they secrete slime when distressed, earning them the nickname "slime eels.
- PUB DATE: 7/14/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Portland Oregonian, Hillsboro Argus, Oregon Live.com

Brandon Visyak used a stolen state firefighter badge in a ploy to rob a woman the first time he got caught impersonating a public safety officer. Two years later, he again claimed to be a Cal Fire firefighter while he tried to get out of a traffic arrest. Both incidents led to criminal convictions on charges that he illegally impersonated a California public safety officer.
- PUB DATE: 7/14/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Firehouse

VIDEO: Coming from St. Paul, Minnesota, La Crosse Fire Chief Ken Gilliam is looking forward to continue his career in La Crosse. "It doesn't take you 30 years to get a policy change enacted, it's a little bit more dynamic and you can work through issues and changes," Gilliam said. With 14 years of experience under his belt, Gilliam can tell you the job is a lot more than fighting fires.
- PUB DATE: 7/13/2017 3:59:54 PM - SOURCE: WKBT-TV CBS 8 La Crosse

It’s up to the town board to set the final date. But a town of Eagle Point committee is recommending town residents on Monday, Oct. 2, will vote to expand the current town fire station or to build a new one near the town hall. It’s also possible town residents will choose to do nothing. The town’s Comprehensive Planning Commission on Monday voted to begin an informational campaign on the fire station at fire department fundraiser on Saturday, Aug.
- PUB DATE: 7/13/2017 4:33:36 AM - SOURCE: Chippewa Herald

PHOTO: The City of Burlington and Racine County each declared a state of emergency Wednesday morning. More than a dozen roads closed due to nearly 7 inches of rain that fell between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning in some parts of the county. The worst flooding was seen on the county’s west end. By 6:30 p.
- PUB DATE: 7/13/2017 2:20:43 AM - SOURCE: Racine Journal Times

Former Fire Captain Thomas Gerstner who was charged with drunken driving and driving with an expired license after he struck a parked car with a fire truck during last year's Memorial Day Parade was fined $456.50 during his sentencing hearing on Wednesday, July 12. Judge Michael Maxwell amended the OWI charge to a reckless driving charge, which the court imposed the fine for based on Gerstner's blood alcohol level at the time of the incident, which was 0.
- PUB DATE: 7/13/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Northwest Now

Two friendly rivalries heat up as South End Days begins July 21. One takes place on the field, when the Superior Fire Department faces off against the Superior Police Department. The firefighters walked away with last year's inaugural Guns-n-Hoses softball title. As South End Days head organizer Kalee Hermanson remembers it, the score was 20 to 10.
- PUB DATE: 7/13/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Daily Telegram-Superior

A St. Louis fire captain who sustained injuries while fighting a fire during the Fourth of July holiday has died. Capt. John Kemper, 59, died Wednesday after he was injured while battling a structural fire in the 3600 block of Pennsylvania Avenue early the morning of July 5, the department said. Kemper didn’t suffer any burns.
- PUB DATE: 7/13/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Houston firefighters are in search of higher pay. It's part of a "firefighter pay initiative" launched by the firefighters' union. As we first told you last week, Houston firefighters want pay parity with the city's police. They're circulating petitions to try to get the parity issue on the November ballot so voters can decide.
- PUB DATE: 7/13/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KPRC-TV NBC 2 Houston

Fire Chief John Sinclair, IAFC president and chairman of the board, testified today before a Congressional panel that the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program, including the Fire Prevention and Safety grant, and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant programs provide valued assistance to local fire departments across the country and help them protect their communities.
- PUB DATE: 7/13/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: International Association of Fire Chiefs

A city firefighter has been fired following an internal investigation into alleged workers' compensation fraud, Hartford's fire chief said Tuesday. Lt. John Moree, a 21-year veteran of the department who city records show has been unable to perform firefighting duties since July 2015, was seen on surveillance video loading building materials onto a vehicle at a home improvement store, according to sources familiar with the investigation.
- PUB DATE: 7/13/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Hartford Courant

An accounting firm’s new report confirms what Kansas City officials already knew through the budgeting process — firefighter overtime is a huge expense, and a few individuals rake in an oversized share of those wages. But the report from BKD, released publicly on Wednesday, doesn’t offer a magic cure for the millions of dollars in overtime that Kansas City government shells out annually to the Fire Department.
- PUB DATE: 7/13/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Kansas City Star

The Wausau Fire Department has a new way to perform rescues out on the water. The department took delivery of a new rescue airboat Wednesday morning in Wausau. Deputy Fire Chief Josh Klug tells NewsChannel 7 personnel will begin training on how to use the boat in the upcoming weeks. Klug said the airboat will give the fire department more versatility when performing water rescues, as its design allows it to go on water, ice, and even muddy land in some situations.
- PUB DATE: 7/12/2017 9:27:49 AM - SOURCE: WSAW-TV CBS 7 Wausau

On July 8, 9 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

Dennis Saeger retired from the Port Edwards Fire Department recently after a 36-year career. Saeger, the first assistant fire chief, was honored at a dinner and recognition ceremony on May 10. Port Edwards Fire Department retirees, village officials, mutual aid fire department officials and family attended.
- PUB DATE: 7/12/2017 7:03:30 AM - SOURCE: Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune

Work on a new fire station for the Kenosha Fire Department could begin next year. Two fire stations are set to close and be merged into a “super” station on the site of the shuttered Bain Elementary School, 2210 52nd St. The two stations considered for closure: Station 3, 2121 Roosevelt Road, and Station 5, 2125 Washington Road.
- PUB DATE: 7/12/2017 2:40:10 AM - SOURCE: Kenosha News

When writing about the management of emergency incidents, I find myself – as well as other writers – including this verbiage, “Develop an incident action plan.” Why? Because developing this plan, successful communicating their part to fire officers and monitoring progress towards its completion are three of the key responsibilities for the incident commander.
- PUB DATE: 7/12/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FireRescue1