On January 26, 4 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

VIDEO: A state proposal to lower requirements for fire prevention devices in new buildings in Wisconsin sparked a heated debate at a public forum hosted by Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services in Eau Claire. One of the proposed changes is to reduce the number of buildings requiring a sprinkler system.
- PUB DATE: 1/31/2017 5:42:54 PM - SOURCE: WQOW-TV ABC 18 Eau Claire

On January 27, 11 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

On January 30, 3 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

It’s a tight squeeze fitting fire trucks and other equipment into the Eagle Point Fire Station, which was built in the 1970s. Things will get much tighter once the fire department gets a new 18-foot-plus trailer with a hitch. “Right now we can fit it in here, but you wipe out the meeting space,” said Joel Woodruff, deputy fire chief.
- PUB DATE: 1/31/2017 4:34:02 AM - SOURCE: Chippewa Herald

The city of Chula Vista is on the hook for more than $1 million after losing a lawsuit filed by a former fire chief. Former Deputy Fire Chief James Garcia sued the city after he claimed he found himself the victim of discrimination. "I was one of those little boys who was 8 years old that decided I wanted to be a firefighter when he grew up," said Garcia.
- PUB DATE: 1/31/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KGTV ABC 10 San Diego

Investigators from the state fire marshal’s office have determined the cause of an explosion that injured two student firefighters and an instructor back in the fall. The incident took place on October 4 during a training exercise at a Mobile Live Fire Training Unit trailer, which was set up in South Hadley.
- PUB DATE: 1/31/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WWLP-TV Springfield

The two El Paso County emergency districts are seeking a declaratory judgment from the 448th District Court to prevent the county from having final authority of their budgets and tax rates. The emergency services districts filed a lawsuit against the county Dec. 29. The lawsuit was discussed by the Commissioners Court on Monday in executive session, but no action was taken in public.
- PUB DATE: 1/31/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: El Paso Times

A former city fire inspector was awarded just over $1 million for his lawsuit claiming he suffered years of harassment from the fire department because he had cited safety violations at businesses in the city. A Superior Court jury on Friday awarded Fred Bonda $750,000 for lost wages and $350,000 emotional distress.
- PUB DATE: 1/31/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NJ.com

Calling 911 can be a lifesaver for those who need help or medical attention, but not everyone who calls actually has an emergency. In February 2016, firefighters with the Tucson Fire Department noticed they were getting called to a few hundred homes all the time. Those people, many of them elderly, were overusing the 911 button.
- PUB DATE: 1/31/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Tucson News Now

The South Area Fire Response District unveiled it's new $650,000 fire truck. It's meant to do the job of multiple rescue vehicles. It's the first new rig purchased since multiple fire departments merged to create the SAFER District. The truck was welcomed with a traditional "wet down" ceremony where the firefighters wet down the entire truck and then push it back into the garage.
- PUB DATE: 1/30/2017 9:23:48 PM - SOURCE: WSAW-TV CBS 7 Wausau

On January 30, 1 residential fire fatality was reported by the Nation's news media.

VIDEO: Investigators on Monday found no evidence of foul play in the death of a man in a house fire on Janesville's near east side Sunday night, according to a Janesville police news release. Janesville firefighters and police, together with the state Department of Criminal Investigations, Fire Marshal's Office and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, searched 603 S.
- PUB DATE: 1/30/2017 5:34:07 PM - SOURCE: Walworth County Today - Metered Site

On January 28, 6 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

On January 27, 10 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

Firefighters used an airboat Sunday night to rescue two people from a partially submerged truck that had gone through the ice on Lake Winneconne. Lt. Craig Quick of the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office said the truck had stopped sinking. "One individual was stuck inside the vehicle, and one was out of the vehicle on the roof of the truck," Quick said.
- PUB DATE: 1/30/2017 6:46:44 AM - SOURCE: Oshkosh Northwestern

On January 29, 8 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

On January 28, 3 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

On January 27, 5 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

VIDEO: I crawled to the edge of the ice and slid into the water, and my extra-large neoprene suit suctioned to my body. I felt warm and buoyant — very unlike a drowning victim, even though I played that part at an ice-rescue training hosted by the Pittsville Fire Co. on Saturday. The exercise drew firefighters from as far as Sheboygan who spent time in a classroom with instructors, then suited up to practice in an icy pond.
- PUB DATE: 1/30/2017 4:41:06 AM - SOURCE: Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune