A Lodi Area emergency services building may be inching closer to fruition, but the current Lodi Fire Department needs unavoidable repairs, according to a report at a Fire/EMS April 24 meeting. The future of the fire department was on the table at a special joint midterm meeting of the town boards of Lodi and West Point, the city of Lodi council, the Lodi Area Fire Commission and the Lodi Area Emergency Medical Service (EMS) Commission.
- PUB DATE: 5/11/2017 2:02:09 AM - SOURCE: Lodi Enterprise

A Lucas County Common Pleas Court judge ordered today that a man convicted of setting a fire that killed two Toledo firefighters spend a maximum of 20 years in prison. The defendant’s plea, conviction, and sentencing came just after Judge Stacy Cook declared a mistrial in the case because jurors heard testimony that was considered incriminating toward the suspect.
- PUB DATE: 5/11/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Toledo Blade

Alameda County supervisors extended their ambulance contract with Paramedics Plus by three years despite fierce criticism by firefighters complaining the process wasn’t open for competitive bids and changes in service delivery were not included. Supervisors voted in favor 3 to 1, with one recusal, extending the contract until June 1, 2020.
- PUB DATE: 5/11/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: East Bay Times

A fire in Brooklyn Criminal Court injured eight state court officers and five firefighters and forced an early recess Wednesday afternoon. The 4:04 p.m. blaze on the sixth floor generated heavy smoke that led to the evacuation of the 10-story building in downtown Brooklyn. "There was a lot of smoke in the hallway," said one court staffer who declined to give his name.
- PUB DATE: 5/11/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Daily News

VIDEO - A Fort Madison fire engine rolled into a slough along the Mississippi River on Wednesday night while responding to an accident. Thursday morning Fort Madison Fire Chief Joey Herren said that he was planning to get a crane to move the truck and the road will be closed until further notice. Chief Herren says the truck was headed down 35th Street when it slid off the edge of the gravel road.
- PUB DATE: 5/11/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WGEM-TV Quincy

Burton Fire District Capt. Ralph Neiderhiser celebrated his 80th birthday Tuesday. Sixty five of those years have been spent in fire service. “If you do what you enjoy, it ain’t (like) going to work,” he said Wednesday. Neiderhiser began his career as a volunteer with his father in Pennsylvania when he was 16, he said.
- PUB DATE: 5/11/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Island Packet

VIDEO: Gov. Scott Walker signed Executive Order #242 Wednesday declaring a State of Emergency in response to elevated wildfire conditions. Wisconsin is experiencing above average fire occurrence levels leading to a statewide wildfire threat. “This is a precautionary measure we’re taking to help protect the people of our state,” Walker said.
- PUB DATE: 5/10/2017 5:33:04 PM - SOURCE: WEAU-TV 13 News

One person was taken to a local hospital Tuesday evening after a fire broke out near downtown Sheboygan. The cause of the fire, inside a home at 713 N. 4th St., is still under investigation, but officials late Tuesday night estimated damages at about $120,000. The incident was reported shortly before 5:30 p.
- PUB DATE: 5/10/2017 7:10:33 AM - SOURCE: Sheboygan Press

The cause of a Tuesday night house fire at 11959 N. Old Highway 26 in the town of Milton, has been ruled “undetermined and accidental,” said Pete Mory, deputy chief of the Milton Fire Department. Firefighters were dispatched at 7:05 p.m. when they found two adult female tenants and a dog outside the single-family, two-story wood structure, he said.
- PUB DATE: 5/10/2017 6:58:57 AM - SOURCE: Janesville Gazette

VIDEO: Fire crews are looking into a fire that tore through a home early Wednesday. Crews responded at about 1:30 a.m. to a home on State Park Road, according to the Village of Harrison Fire and Rescue. Everyone inside the home made it out safely. "I heard some loud bangs, came down, looked out my door and saw the garage engulfed in flames," said Rick Burdick, a resident of the burned home.
- PUB DATE: 5/10/2017 6:36:45 AM - SOURCE: WLUK-TV FOX 11

The size of a new north side Eau Claire fire station will depend on bid prices for building the structure, city officials said Tuesday. The Eau Claire City Council approved a resolution authorizing moving forward with design plans and seeking bids for a new station along Malden Avenue, just north of Birch Street.
- PUB DATE: 5/10/2017 4:52:43 AM - SOURCE: Eau Claire Leader-Telegram

Members of Montgomery County Fire/EMS are mourning the loss of a longtime firefighter who died following his shift. Firefighter/Paramedic James "Dewon" Wells, 52, worked an eight-hour shift on May 5. Twice before he left the station around 4 p.m. he told colleagues he wasn't feel well, including suffering numbness to the mouth.
- PUB DATE: 5/10/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Firehouse

Authorities are on the scene of a sanitary tanker fire on Dauphin Street just west of I-65. News 5 cameras captured the dramatic moments as a firefighter narrowly escaped injury. The video shows the firefighter approaching the truck, as he walks towards it a tire suddenly explodes. The blast sends him reeling as a small amount of debris blasts towards him.
- PUB DATE: 5/10/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WKRG-TV News 5 Mobile

The 23 fire engines set for their Boston debut this year will be equipped with foam that can be powerfully effective in helping quash certain blazes and are intended to decrease the risk of cancer for city firefighters, officials said Tuesday. Fire Commissioner Joseph E. Finn said that foam will be used only on dumpster and vehicle blazes, which are most hazardous to firefighters’ health.
- PUB DATE: 5/10/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Boston Globe

In response to hazing scandals resulting in lawsuits, FDNY Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro recently announced that he would meet in person with every fire officer on the New York City Fire Department, over 900 of them. Groups of officers would attend meetings at the Randall’s Island training facility.
- PUB DATE: 5/10/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FireRescue1

A Fairfax County supervisor says she’s “fit to be tied” over comments condoning bullying allegedly made by fire department captain. WUSA9 broke the story of a letter written by a parent of a fire recruit, one year after the suicide of Fairfax County paramedic Nicole Mittendorff, who was bullied online by people who appeared to be firefighters.
- PUB DATE: 5/10/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WUSA-TV 9 DC

The Riverside Fire District has announced that Kelly Hanink will be its new Fire Chief. Hanink had been serving as the Assistant Fire Chief for the Eden Prairie Fire Department in Minnesota. Hanink will take command of about 30 volunteers within the department. She will also manage the over $700,000 budget the department has.
- PUB DATE: 5/9/2017 12:42:03 PM - SOURCE: WIZD-FM Rock 94.7

Firefighters on Tuesday morning, May 9th responded to the scene of a building fire on Milwaukee’ south side. Crews were called out to the area of 8th and Orchard shortly before 6 a.m. No additional details have been released — including the cause of the fire or the amount of damage sustained.
- PUB DATE: 5/9/2017 6:59:28 AM - SOURCE: WITI Fox Channel 6

The Texas House easily passed Houston's pension reform bill Monday, but not without making several changes friendly to firefighters, setting the stage for a reconciliation showdown between the upper and lower chambers. The House accepted four amendments to the bill the Senate passed last week before voting 112-28 to preliminarily approve Houston's reform measures.
- PUB DATE: 5/9/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Firehouse

A Chicago Fire Department chief suffered a massive heart attack and died Sunday afternoon. Chief Michael V. Murphy, 56, was taking part in an aquatic event at Mount Carmel High School on the South Side with his 16-year-old son when he suffered a massive heart attack, according to a statement from the Chicago Fire Department.
- PUB DATE: 5/9/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WLS-TV ABC 7 Chicago