On March 10, 11 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

A turning point for Gary Acker came after he moved to Waunakee on the eve of the Fourth of July weekend. At work the very next day, many of his co-workers suddenly left. Acker was told, “They went to 614 Fourth Street. A lightning strike.” He replied, “I live there.” He raced home to find a couple of dozen firefighters – some his co-workers – in the house and damage limited to some cracked trusses.
- PUB DATE: 3/17/2017 4:11:21 AM - SOURCE: Waunakee Tribune

They’ve been talking since 2015 about a three-way merger. Now the Deer-Grove, Cambridge and Marshall EMS services are taking a significant step toward that possibility. In coming weeks, they expect to jointly put out a request for proposal (RFP) seeking a consultant to study the idea. A consultant could be on board this spring.
- PUB DATE: 3/17/2017 1:46:37 AM - SOURCE: Waterloo / Marshall Courier

On March 16, 0 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

VIDEO: The 49th annual Wisconsin State Firefighters Association convention is being held at the KI Convention Center in downtown Green Bay this weekend, and it's open to the public. Chief Todd Blaser of the Manitowoc Fire Department says the weekend is chance for firefighters from around the state to network, learn about training techniques, see old friends, and get a good look at new fire trucks & high-tech gear.
- PUB DATE: 3/17/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WBAY-TV ABC 2 Green Bay

An FDNY paramedic was run over and killed with her own ambulance in The Bronx Thursday — when a man who had been joyriding on the rear bumper commandeered the vehicle. EMT Yadira Arroyo, a mom of five, was crushed under the wheels after she and her partner tried to shoo the man off of the back of the ambulance on White Plains Road at about 7 p.
- PUB DATE: 3/17/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Post

Karen Brack, Charleston's first female fire chief, is stepping down after almost five years of work to modernize one of the nation's oldest departments. "It is with very mixed feelings that I have made a personal decision to resign my position as Fire Chief effective April 7, 2017," Brack said in an email to firefighters Friday morning.
- PUB DATE: 3/17/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Post Courier

State lawmakers passed a bill Thursday to give firefighters special insurance in case they get cancer from the job. Currently, firefighters who get sick may lose their jobs and health insurance. "When we run into these houses to try and put out the fire to save lives, we're being exposed to very toxic carcinogens," said Capt.
- PUB DATE: 3/17/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: wsbtv.com

A former Leander firefighter who refused to get a vaccination because of his religious beliefs has sued the city for firing him. The termination came in March 2016, after firefighter Brett Horvath refused to get the vaccination or wear a surgical mask for his entire 24-hour shift or transfer to a “less desirable” position, said his lawyer, Matt Bachop.
- PUB DATE: 3/17/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: My Statesman

A fast-acting paramedic dove into the frigid water of an Illinois lake where a SUV was submerged on Thursday and found an infant floating inside, then administered CPR on the hood and swam the child to shore, authorities said. The baby is expected to make a full recovery. The infant was one of seven siblings who survived a tragic chain of events that left one person dead in a house fire and second body recovered from the lake where the baby was found.
- PUB DATE: 3/17/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Chicago Tribune

VIDEO: Locations for a new fire station on Eau Claire's north side was one of the topics discussed at Thursday’s Eau Claire Police and Fire Commission meeting. The new building would replace Fire Station 10, which is located at the corner of Hastings Way and Birch Street in Eau Claire. The city says Fire Station 10 was built back in 1949, and it's outdated.
- PUB DATE: 3/16/2017 7:58:47 PM - SOURCE: WEAU-TV 13 News

Firefighters spent three hours searching Little Lake Butte des Morts early Thursday morning after a police officer noticed a light on the ice near the Ninth Street boat launch. Lt. Craig Quick of the Winnebago County Sheriff's Department said a Menasha police officer saw the light from the intersection of Ninth and Racine streets about 1:30 a.
- PUB DATE: 3/16/2017 7:58:30 AM - SOURCE: Oshkosh Northwestern

VIDEO: Firefighters fought a fire in Glendale Thursday morning. The fire started on a pallet of batteries at Batteries and Bulbs Warehouse, firefighters confirm. People were inside at the time, but they all escaped safely. Elise Preston has more.
- PUB DATE: 3/16/2017 6:41:02 AM - SOURCE: The Morning Blend

On March 15, 10 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

Spring is the season for wildflowers and wildfires. As Wisconsin’s winter-weary residents celebrate the warmer weather, the lack of snow cover and still-dry vegetation creates prime conditions for wildfires to start and spread. To educate homeowners to be “firewise” and take steps to reduce property damage from wildfires, Department of Natural Resources forestry team leader Eric Zenz of the Black River Falls Service Center and DNR forestry specialist Amy Luebke.
- PUB DATE: 3/16/2017 2:39:25 AM - SOURCE: Jackson County Chronicle

Two Sumrall volunteer firefighters working a wreck scene in Lamar County are dead after allegedly being struck by a hit-and-run driver. Sheriff Danny Rigel said that the firefighters were directing traffic at a dump truck accident on Mississippi 589 at Oloh Road when they were hit by a driver who fled the scene.
- PUB DATE: 3/16/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Hattiesburg American

When the Squad 8 rescue engine started having compartment frame issues, Harrisburg Fire Lt. Dennis DeVoe did what he always did: He went the extra mile. He researched the issues in detail and drove to Lancaster last month on his time off to talk directly with repair workers. When the department considered buying new vehicle rescue tools, sometimes known as the Jaws of Life, DeVoe researched the tools and crafted an intricate report weighing pluses and minuses for each one under consideration.
- PUB DATE: 3/16/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Pennlive.com

Thousands of web searches for pornography were found on four Country Club Hills fire department computers, according to testimony from a forensic expert. Andrew Garrett — who performed the imaging Jan. 26 on behalf of Dena Lewis-Bystrzycki, a female firefighter involved in a lawsuit against Country Club Hills — testified last month to the presence of porn on the devices.
- PUB DATE: 3/16/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Chicago Tribune

"I love the Milton Fire Department. I love the fire service. I've done it all my life," said 63-year-old Lynn Rogers. He recently filed lawsuits against both the MFD, an organization of which he has been a member for 48 years, and secretary John Bushey. Rogers has been president of Rogers Sign Company in Milton for 45 years and has held leadership positions in a number of organizations throughout his life.
- PUB DATE: 3/16/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Sussex Countian

In between calls for service, amid a dozen reminders of the tragedy that left Fire Capt. William "Iron Bill" Dowling mortally wounded, the firefighters and paramedics at Houston Fire Station 68 watched the two-hour funeral service Wednesday morning on a TV in the upstairs common area. On either side of the TV hung fire axes memorializing the two first responders from this station who died on May 31, 2013.
- PUB DATE: 3/16/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Houston Chronicle