Some Detroit firefighters are under fire tonight for wrecking a rig and then trying to cover it up. Last month when two Detroit firefighters out of Engine 55 decided to use a rig for their personal ride - it did not end well. Sources say on March 30, two Detroit firefighters who work out of Engine 55 on Joy Road wanted to go out for a bit of a joy ride.
- PUB DATE: 4/27/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WBJK-TV MyFox Detroit 2

The ongoing legal battle between the city and the firefighters union has cost the city at least $315,000 in attorney fees, according to documents obtained by the Watertown Daily Times. The city’s legal bills hit $315,225.60 as of Jan. 1, according to invoices and bills obtained through the Freedom of Information Act by the Times.
- PUB DATE: 4/27/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Watertown Daily Times

A former Iowa fire academy administrator has pleaded guilty to falsifying test scores that were used to improperly certify thousands of firefighters. Former Fire Services Training Bureau certification manager John McPhee pleaded guilty Wednesday to felony misconduct in office. Judge James Malloy scheduled a sentencing hearing for May 24.
- PUB DATE: 4/27/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Des Moines Register

A rookie Fresno firefighter received a hug from a woman he rescued from a burning car last October as he was awarded a Medal of Bravery from Fresno Fire officials Wednesday. Rene Gonzales was only two months on the job last Oct. 21 and was off-duty and driving home on Highway 180 when he spotted a burning car.
- PUB DATE: 4/27/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Fresno Bee

VIDEO: An off-duty Milwaukee firefighter heading home from work helped saved the life of a young woman threatening to jump off the Hoan bridge. Deputy chief John Litchford was heading south down the Hoan bridge Tuesday night when he saw the young woman outside of her car on at the highest point of the bridge.
- PUB DATE: 4/26/2017 4:45:25 PM - SOURCE: WISN-TV ABC 12 Milwaukee

VIDEO: Authorities investigate a mysterious fire in a Jefferson County town. When it is over, investigators discover human remains -- in fact, what could be the remains of two human bodies. A pole barn went up in flames around 6:00 a.m. on Monday, April 24th. Home video captured the fire and response.
- PUB DATE: 4/26/2017 2:15:57 PM - SOURCE: WITI Fox Channel 6

A woman jumped Wednesday morning from a second-floor balcony after the house she was in caught fire. Beaver Dam firefighters were called at 4:18 a.m. to 115 Chatham Street on a report of a fire with someone trapped on the second floor. When they arrived, they found the first floor fully involved in fire.
- PUB DATE: 4/26/2017 5:39:22 AM - SOURCE: WISC-TV Channel 3000.com Madison

Wauwatosa has a decorated fire chief. The Commission on Fire Accreditation International presented Wauwatosa Fire Chief Rob Ugaste with the Ray Picard Award March 21 at the annual Center for Public Safety Excellence Conference in Anaheim, California. The international award recognizes individual superior leadership and outstanding contribution to the fire service accreditation process.
- PUB DATE: 4/26/2017 2:30:31 AM - SOURCE: WauwatosaNOW

A divided Walton County Commission voted 3-2 Tuesday to place Walton County Fire and Rescue under the command of the Sheriff’s Office. The consolidation of the two public safety divisions was to take effect at 7 a.m. Wednesday, said Louis Svehla, the county’s public information manager. Commission Chairwoman Cecilia Jones sided with commissioners Melanie Nipper and Tony Anderson in favor of the merger, Svehla said.
- PUB DATE: 4/26/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Northwest Florida Daily News.

The City of Petersburg has a new fire chief to replace now retired chief TC Hairston. And while there isn’t much that everyone agrees on right now in the cash-strapped city, it seems everyone is praising the hiring of new Chief Dennis Rubin. “We’re excited with Chief Rubin,” Dan Macaluso, spokesperson for the Petersburg Professional Fire Association, told 8News.
- PUB DATE: 4/26/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WRIC-TV Richmond

A decorated veteran firefighter is contemplating his next move after City Council members Monday upheld a disciplinary action he received regarding a message he posted on social media during the September flood. After two hours of testimony, council members voted 6-0 with one member absent to uphold the action against firefighter Shane Farmer.
- PUB DATE: 4/26/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier

On Monday morning, 32 men and a woman were sworn in as Akron’s newest firefighters. Each firefighter had chosen someone special in their life to join them on stage at the Akron-Summit Main Library auditorium to pin their badge on their jacket, including significant others, spouses and parents. Three firefighters were pinned by their fathers, who are fellow Akron police and firefighters.
- PUB DATE: 4/26/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Akron Beacon Journal and Ohio.com

The cost for training and certifying firefighters can be expensive for fire departments across the state, especially for those that deploy volunteers to the field. That's why a piece of legislation was presented in the Texas House Committee on Licensing & Administration by Rep. Drew Springer, R-Muenster, to put in place a rule that would prevent the state from regulating the more than 1,400 all-volunteer fire departments.
- PUB DATE: 4/26/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Times Record News

As workers bustled around Waukesha's first Firehouse Subs on Tuesday, April 25 just minutes before the restaurant officially opened, new owner Scott Weidner outlined his goals for the business. He said he wanted the Waukesha location, 180 E. Sunset Drive, which he owns with his wife Jennifer, to eventually become the one that donates the most money to Firehouse's non-profit Public Safety Foundation, and as a business that gives back to the community.
- PUB DATE: 4/25/2017 1:03:48 PM - SOURCE: WaukeshaNOW

Authorities are investigating a fire that caused minor damage to a La Crosse storage building Monday afternoon. A fire was reported at 2300 South Avenue shortly after 3 p.m., according to the La Crosse Fire Department. Firefighters extinguished the fire within 10 minutes. The building, which is owned by Gundersen Health Systems and used for storage, was unoccupied at the time.
- PUB DATE: 4/25/2017 4:06:58 AM - SOURCE: Lacrosse Tribune

San Diego’s efforts to boost emergency response times in the sprawling and increasingly congested city would take a big step forward under a new compromise proposal. The proposal, created by the city’s independent budget analyst and endorsed by leaders of the Fire-Rescue Department, would boost response times in “gap areas” more quickly and cheaply than building all of the additional fire stations recommended last month by a consultant.
- PUB DATE: 4/25/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: San Diego Union-Tribune

Suspended Canandaigua Fire Chief Mark Marentette was fired as of Friday because of insubordination and mismanagement of public funds, according to City Manager Ted Andrzejewski. The manager suspended Marentette for 30 days in January over what the city characterized as charges of misconduct, incompetence and insubordination.
- PUB DATE: 4/25/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Daily Messenger

A second Lincoln Fire and Rescue captain has filed a federal lawsuit against the department saying he faced retaliation for reporting harassment of two female firefighters between 2012 and 2015. Captains Brian Giles and Troy Hurd said they were passed up for promotions. They contend firefighters who were less qualified, had less experience and scored lower than them on promotion tests got the jobs.
- PUB DATE: 4/25/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Lincoln Journal Star

A massive five-alarm fire caused an estimated $39 million in damage Monday at an apartment building under construction in College Park, Prince George's County fire officials said. The fire has been the largest suppression effort and the highest fire loss estimate in the history of the Prince George's County Fire Department, officials said.
- PUB DATE: 4/25/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WBAL-TV Baltimore

A Casper firefighter died Saturday night after an extended battle with pancreatic cancer. Captain Matt Trott, 46, joined the fire department in 1995. During his 21 years at the department, he worked as an engineer, a child passenger safety technician and a captain. He retired March 6 due to his cancer, called pancreatic acinar cell carcinoma.
- PUB DATE: 4/25/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Casper Star-Tribune