Fire Chief John A. Pond said Thursday that six firefighters deserve commendations for work that included rescuing seven people from a burning building on Jan. 1 while others have been ordered to undergo ladder truck retraining. Two men and a woman died and 49 tenants were displaced in a blaze at 106 North East St.
- PUB DATE: 5/5/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Republican

Crews who battle wildfires will have to wait at least another year before getting better fire shelters than those that failed to save 19 firefighters trapped by flames in Arizona four years ago, officials told The Associated Press on Thursday. The deaths pushed the U.S. Forest Service to speed up work to get an upgraded shelter in place this year, but the effort has been delayed a year after prototypes could not outperform the shelter developed in 2002.
- PUB DATE: 5/5/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: ABC News

"Good Morning America" anchors Michael Strahan and Jesse Palmer marked International Firefighters' Day today by shadowing Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) firefighters as they fought a simulated fire at the FDNY training facility on Randall's Island in New York. The facility, nicknamed "The Rock," features a mock restaurant that can be lit on fire.
- PUB DATE: 5/5/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: ABC News

The interim Sioux Falls fire chief sent a department-wide email Tuesday night ordering firefighters to bar former Chief Jim Sideras from any fire stations or the fire headquarters building. The warning from Interim Chief Brad Goodroad came hours after news broke that authorities had served a search warrant at Sideras' Sioux Falls home on Tuesday.
- PUB DATE: 5/5/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Argus Leader

Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert’s opponents are again criticizing her record on public safety, drawing a rebuke Wednesday from the city’s police and fire chiefs. The commercial in question, paid for by Firefighters for Better Government, says Stothert’s policies are “stretching Omaha’s police too thin.” It also criticizes Stothert for police patrols near her home.
- PUB DATE: 5/5/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Omaha World-Herald

California’s firefighting agency plans to discipline two employees blamed for forcing the state to redo a battalion chief examination for nearly 500 employees, the department’s director said Thursday. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection notified 488 applicants that they will have to retake the promotion exam this summer because the initial test “had significant irregularities.
- PUB DATE: 5/5/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KOVR-TV CBS Sacramento

VIDEO: A Milwaukee alderman says an alarming number of arson cases in the city are going unsolved -- pointing to an understaffed police force. This isn't the first time Alderman Bob Donovan has spoken out about police staffing. The sad reality is there are consequences," Donovan said. "The cuts to the strength level to the department.
- PUB DATE: 5/4/2017 5:59:41 PM - SOURCE: WITI Fox Channel 6

VIDEO: About two dozen families around Merrill should feel a little safer now. All 24 students in Jay Peterson's 5th grade class at Kate Goodrich Elementary filled out a home fire safety evaluation. That helped his class win a tour of the Merrill Fire Department on Thursday. The students got to see various tools, rigs, and gear at the fire house.
- PUB DATE: 5/4/2017 5:26:26 PM - SOURCE: WJFW-TV NBC 12 Rhinelander-Wausau

VIDEO: The State Fire Marshal is investigating after a fire at a construction site in Mukwonago. Crews were on the scene for hours. Around 3:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 4th, smoke could been seen for miles as flames engulfed an apartment building at Phantom Woods Road and Main Street in Mukwonago. "Fortunately, the water service was in place, so we were able to use the hydrants that were here," said Mukwonago Fire Chief Jeffrey Stien.
- PUB DATE: 5/4/2017 3:51:30 PM - SOURCE: WITI Fox Channel 6

Multiple crews had to respond to a fire at the Dane County landfill on Madison’s southeast side early Thursday morning after a pile of construction materials caught fire. Firefighters arrived on the scene of the fire at 7102 U.S. Highway 12-18 just after 5 a.m. Thursday. When they arrived, they found a pile of rubbish on fire in the area of a building the houses construction waste.
- PUB DATE: 5/4/2017 4:58:04 AM - SOURCE: WISC-TV Channel 3000.com Madison

VIDEO: A former Milwaukee firefighter took a plea deal on Tuesday, pleading guilty to two of four charges connected to a crash that killed two people following last year's Opening Day game at Miller Park. Joshua Larson pleaded guilty to two counts of homicide by use of a vehicle with a PAC (prohibited alcohol concentration).
- PUB DATE: 5/4/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WISN-TV ABC 12

An Adair County woman has admitted deliberately setting a blaze that led to the death of a firefighter. Brandi Pritchard, 41, of Columbia pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in Bowling Green to one charge of arson and one charge of mail fraud, according to her plea agreement. Pritchard admitted taking part with her husband, Steve Allen “Boo” Pritchard, in a plan to set fire to the house they rented in order to collect insurance payments.
- PUB DATE: 5/4/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Lexington Herald-Leader

In zero visibility conditions, Toledo Fire Capt. Luke Harman described for a jury in Lucas County Common Pleas Court today how he crawled on his hands and knees, feeling with his hands every inch in front of him when he felt what would turn out to be a face mask. “My hand dipped into an opening in the debris and grabbed what was without a doubt a human leg,” he said.
- PUB DATE: 5/4/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Toledo Blade

A trio of Los Angeles city firefighters have earned the dubious distinction as the top public employee overtime earners in California, thanks to a generous overtime policy. Transparent California found that Charles F. Ferrari, a Los Angeles City Fire Captain II, collected $334,655 in overtime, to earn a total of $483,770 in 2016.
- PUB DATE: 5/4/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KCAL-TV Los Angeles

After a marathon mediation in the Matthew Badger lawsuit against the city, Legal Affairs Director Kathryn Emmett announced late Tuesday the parties have settled for an undisclosed amount, three weeks before a trial was to begin. S. Campbell Badger, brother of Matthew — who died in February — the city, Operations Director Ernie Orgera and Chief Building Official Robert DeMarco have resolved the claims in the civil suit "without reflecting any liability or fault on the part of the defendants," Emmett said in an email.
- PUB DATE: 5/4/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Stamford Advocate

A toddler laughing while firefighters worked to free him from a locked car has gone viral. Today.com reported that 14-month-old Brandon Emery locked himself in his mother's car. His mother had put him in the back seat while she unloaded groceries into the trunk. After closing the trunk with the car keys still inside, the toddler pushed the power locks.
- PUB DATE: 5/4/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FireRescue1

As part of last week’s meeting of the city’s Health and Safety Committee, Merrill Fire Chief Dave Savone received the green light to move forward with a Community Care Paramedic pilot program. As Savone explains, the program has been utilized by EMS services and fire departments nationwide and around the state for quite some time; including Wausau and Stevens Point.
- PUB DATE: 5/3/2017 11:25:35 PM - SOURCE: Merrill Foto News

A man and a child were killed Wednesday in a house fire in Shullsburg, police said. Emergency crews were called to a home on Victor Street just before 2:30 a.m., officials said. Crews were eventually able to put out the fire. According to a release from the Shullsburg Police Department, a man was pronounced dead at the scene, and four other people were taken to an area hospital.
- PUB DATE: 5/3/2017 10:26:43 PM - SOURCE: WMSN-TV Fox 47 Madison

With additional funding approved by the Madison City Council Tuesday, the Madison Fire Department will be able to expand its southeast side fire station that includes training space and a community meeting room. The approved resolution authorizes the fire department to design Fire Station 14 with an additional 6,000 square feet — totaling a 20,000 square feet station — at a total estimated cost of $6.
- PUB DATE: 5/3/2017 1:24:37 PM - SOURCE: Madison.com-Wisconsin State Journal-Capital Times

The Oshkosh Fire Department's second in command is stepping down after more than three decades with the department. Assistant Chief Jeff Schettle will retire Friday, the department announced Wednesday. He has served the city for nearly 33 years. Schettle started as a firefighter/paramedic with the department in 1984, rising through the ranks to become lieutenant in 1998 and captain in 2005, according to a department news release.
- PUB DATE: 5/3/2017 9:47:06 AM - SOURCE: Oshkosh Northwestern