After approval by the Poynette-Dekorra-Lowville Fire Commission, the Poynette-Dekorra Fire Department will purchase breathing apparatus to replace five 1999 pieces. At its April 4 meeting, the commission unanimously approved the transfer of funds from the contingency/vehicle replacement fund for self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBAs) gear.
- PUB DATE: 4/20/2017 2:44:38 AM - SOURCE: Poynette Press

VIDEO: Thousands of people were left without power after a strong storm passed through southeast Wisconsin early Thursday morning. Nearly 11,000 people were still without power as of 8:30 a.m. The storm brought down trees and power lines across the area. There are reports of damage from Waukesha, Milwaukee and Racine counties.
- PUB DATE: 4/20/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WISN-TV ABC 12 Milwaukee

"Chief charged with embezzlement." "Paramedic takes her life." "Firefighters face discipline." It doesn't take a headline like those or a medical degree to realize the job of protecting lives and property takes a toll on firefighters. Cumulative stress, traumatic events and the pressure to live up to mythical standards set by us and the public results in firefighters making horrific personal choices.
- PUB DATE: 4/20/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: FireRescue1

Dallas Fire-Rescue is facing its own 911 emergency. It's losing people faster than it can replace them. The 1,800 member department is stretched thin and overworked. “When I meet with them, and I meet with our members pretty regularly, they're tired,” said Fire Chief David Coatney. “They look worn out.
- PUB DATE: 4/20/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WFAA-TV ABC 8 Dallas - Fort Worth

It happened in a flash. A father desperate to save his child from the smoke and flames quickly filling his apartment, tossed his baby from the second floor of a burning apartment building.Fortunately, DeKalb County firefighter Robert Sutton, who was among the first firefighters to arrive at the Parks on Glenwood, caught the baby in one swift move.
- PUB DATE: 4/20/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WAGA-TV Atlanta MyFox 5 News

On April 19, 1995, Oklahoma City fell victim to the worst act of domestic terrorism the United States has ever experienced on its own soil — as did the lives of 168 men, women and children. Dr. Johnny Kirk, assistant professor of psychology at Northeastern State University, witnessed the horrors and damages of the Murrah Building bombing.
- PUB DATE: 4/20/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Enid News

A Las Vegas Fire & Rescue captain arrested in a child prostitution case engaged in sexual activities with a 15-year-old girl at his assigned fire station, according to a Metro Police arrest report made public on Wednesday. Richard Odell Loughry, 46, was arrested on Monday as he left a store with his wife, according to police.
- PUB DATE: 4/20/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Las Vegas Sun

Allentown's firefighters made a public plea to the City Council on Wednesday to invest in new firetrucks for the city, saying the current equipment shortage has reached a "crisis" level. Keith Pierce, the city fire department's safety representative, said that as of this week, all of the city's reserve fire equipment has been moved to the front line due to breakdowns with several pieces of the city's first responding equipment.
- PUB DATE: 4/20/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Allentown Morning Call

VIDEO: Twenty-thousand pounds of cheese is gone after a semi catches fire Tuesday. Police say that a semi's brakes caught fire while the driver was on the highway. The driver pulled off into a store parking lot to try to put it out himself, but the fire department had to take over. "It's a very difficult fire once the cheese gets going.
- PUB DATE: 4/19/2017 8:02:34 AM - SOURCE: WFRV-TV and WJMN-TV Green Bay

VIDEO: A Milwaukee firefighter testified Tuesday how he found the bodies of a mother and daughter after a house fire authorities say was set to cover the stabbing deaths. The woman's boyfriend, Patrick Fowler, is now on trial in their deaths. "He picks up a knife, or knives, and he stabs Ms. Ellenberger over 30 times while her daughter stands there and screams, 'Mommy, mommy,'" Milwaukee County prosecutor Michael Lonski said.
- PUB DATE: 4/19/2017 5:54:08 AM - SOURCE: WISN-TV ABC 12 Milwaukee

Fire Chief Larry Reilly will retire this June after four decades with the Norwalk Fire Department. “It’s been 42 years and I turned 65 in March so I think it’s a good time go,” Reilly said. “I’ve enjoyed the 42 years working with people in the department and working for the people in Norwalk but it’s time to move on.
- PUB DATE: 4/19/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Hour

The Texas Senate has endorsed allowing paramedics and other first-responders, including volunteer firefighters, to carry concealed handguns in restricted areas. The bill by Sen. Don Huffines of Dallas met little resistance in the Republican-controlled Senate on Tuesday. A similar measure is pending in the House.
- PUB DATE: 4/19/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WFAA-TV ABC 8 Dallas - Fort Worth

Philadelphia firefighter Joyce Craig’s “personal alert” device was at least 12 -- maybe even 17 -- years old. Her breathing device included a “breathing hose” that also was 12 years old. Both pieces of equipment, vital to a firefighter inside a structure fire, failed Craig in the moments before fellow firefighters pulled her from an early morning blaze in December 2014.
- PUB DATE: 4/19/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WCAU-TV NBC 10 Philadelphia

An early morning house fire in Logansport on Monday led to the discovery of a drug growing operation, according to officials. The fire broke out around 7 a.m. near the intersection of 14th and High streets. Four people were inside the house at the time. They all got out OK, but two firefighters were injured.
- PUB DATE: 4/19/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WISHTV.com Channel 8

Today a Detroit teenager got a chance to meet the firefighter who saved his life. Detroit Fire Fighter Lt. Theresa Halsell wasn’t at the house fire that burned the teen’s home, but she was the guest speaker who taught his class at Woodward Academy how to survive a house fire. Her lesson played out in real life for Thomas Locke when he woke up to a fire inside his Grandmother's home.
- PUB DATE: 4/19/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WXYZ-TV ABC Detroit

VIDEO: Starting this fall, Sun Prairie could have a new group of recruits for its fire department, training future firefighters while they're still in high school. "I’m looking to staff this fire department and one out on the west side 24 hours a day and I need help,” said Fire Chief Christopher Garrison talking to a group of Prairie Phoenix Academy students.
- PUB DATE: 4/18/2017 7:41:24 PM - SOURCE: WMTV-TV NBC 15 Madison

VIDEO: A fire broke out in a multi-unit apartment building near 57th and Hampton and a firefighter was injured while battling the blaze. A neighbor tells us they saw someone being carried out on a stretcher and loaded into an ambulance. The Milwaukee Fire Department says that the firefighter suffered non-life threatening injuries when falling from the 2nd to 1st floor of the building.
- PUB DATE: 4/18/2017 7:06:42 PM - SOURCE: Telemundo Milwaukee,WI

PHOTO: A fire at a restroom at Kiwanis Village Park has led the village to shut down the building until further notice to clean and restore the building. The April 18 fire in the women's restroom caused fire and smoke damage to the entire building, according to the village. A post on the Pewaukee Park and Recreation Department's Facebook page said the park has had "an extraordinary amount of vandalism" in the last 10 days.
- PUB DATE: 4/18/2017 3:28:12 PM - SOURCE: Lake Country News

An interim fire chief has been named by the Town of Wilson board following the resignation of the town's existing chief last week. Todd Hittman, a firefighter with the department, has been named to the interim position until a permanent chief is selected. "You guys do a tremendous service to the town and I really appreciate all the work you're doing to step up and serve us during this difficult time," Town Board Chairman John Ehmann said following the decision Monday.
- PUB DATE: 4/18/2017 1:37:45 PM - SOURCE: Sheboygan Press

On April 16, 4 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.