VIDEO: Ask any fire department chief and they will tell you, burning a building on purpose has become much harder to do over the years. Why would a department want to burn a building on purpose? Chief B.J. DeMaa of the Waupun fire department says it is for training firefighters. “The need to provide live-fire training is paramount, as it provides an opportunity for firefighters to practice situational awareness, decision making, and a multitude of other skills,” DeMaa says.
- PUB DATE: 1/13/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Fond du Lac Reporter

VIDEO: The Pickerel and Argonne Fire Departments will fight fires faster and more efficiently thanks to a grant from the Wisconsin Public Service Foundation. Brennan Cook works for both fire departments. He is a firefighter with the Argonne Fire Department and a captain with the Pickerel Fire Department.
- PUB DATE: 1/13/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WJFW-TV NBC 12 Rhinelander-Wausau

VIDEO - Crews are working to clear a Zeeland Township fire truck that fell down an embankment while en route to a crash. The fire truck was heading southbound on 72nd Avenue near Chicago Drive when the driver lost control on the ice. The truck slid across the northbound lane and drove into a ditch before rolling on its side.
- PUB DATE: 1/13/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WLNS-TV CBS 6 Lansing

California state firefighters will receive substantial raises of up to 13.8 percent this year, according to newly released details from a proposed contract that their union negotiated just before Christmas. The big pay raises have two objectives: Slowing turnover among mid-career firefighters and reducing wage compaction, a term that refers to shrinking gaps between salaries for entry-level firefighters and more experienced ones.
- PUB DATE: 1/13/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Sacramento Bee

The Fond du Lac County fire service community is mourning the loss of one of its own. Rodney Menne, the former Town of Eldorado Fire Chief, was found dead at the fire department early Tuesday morning. His death doesn’t appear suspicious. Menne’s death won’t just leave a void at the fire department, but in the community as well.
- PUB DATE: 1/13/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WBAY.com

VIDEO - What does a “Chicago Fire” actor do when he’s trapped in an elevator? He calls the Chicago Fire Department. Actor Joe Minoso, who stars on the hit NBC show, said he was trapped in an elevator Wednesday. “Slightly embarrassed cause I know who I’m gonna have to call,” he wrote on Instagram. “But less than 15 minutes later the #chicagofiredepartment was there when I needed them.
- PUB DATE: 1/13/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NBC Chicago

A firefighter who helped pull bodies out of the rubble of the Ghost Ship warehouse over a month ago is speaking out about how the blaze has affected him. East Bay Incident Management Team Lt. Mark Tait helped remove the last 10 bodies from the warehouse, including two victims who were found to be embracing when they died in the late night blaze on Dec.
- PUB DATE: 1/13/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTVU-TV Oakland, San Francisco, Bay Area

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is accepting applications for the 2017 James M. Shannon Advocacy Medal to recognize outstanding advocacy efforts that further NFPA’s mission of helping to save lives and reduce loss with information, knowledge and passion. The James M. Shannon Advocacy Medal honors an individual or group that shares the values of former NFPA President Jim Shannon.
- PUB DATE: 1/13/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Firehouse

On January 12, 0 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

VIDEO: A new national rating names one local fire department as one of the best in the country. The Campbell Fire Department has received a Class 3 rating in Public Protection Classification from the Insurance Services Office (ISO). The ISO rates fire departments across the nation on a 10 point scale with 1 being the highest and 10 being the lowest.
- PUB DATE: 1/12/2017 7:39:28 PM - SOURCE: WXOW-TV ABC 19 LaCrosse

VIDEO: An area man has invented a device that will help firefighters in low-visibility conditions. Jeff Dykes, an Eau Claire Firefighter for 20 years, invented the Northern Star, which is an eight-directional electronic compass firefighters can place inside masks to orientate themselves in low-visibility conditions.
- PUB DATE: 1/12/2017 5:15:31 PM - SOURCE: WEAU-TV 13 News

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

On January 7, 11 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

The city of Appleton might buy four new fire trucks from a local company, over the next four years. In all, the Pierce Manufacturing trucks would cost more than $2.6 million. Ald. Kyle Lobner says they would get a better price with a package deal. The savings would add up to over $80,000.The safety and licensing committee unanimously agreed last night to let the fire department buy the trucks, without seeking bids.
- PUB DATE: 1/12/2017 4:59:09 AM - SOURCE: WHBY-AM 1150 News Talk

Two passengers of a vehicle that broke through the ice on Rock Lake are OK after being rescued on Tuesday afternoon. The pair had been fishing on the lake since noon Tuesday and when they turned around to head back toward Bartel's Beach the vehicle broke through the ice about 50-100 yards offshore. The Lake Mills Fire Department got the call to help at 3:30 p.
- PUB DATE: 1/12/2017 4:21:13 AM - SOURCE: Watertown Daily Times

A weight has been literally lifted at the Ashland Fire Department as the rows of dumbbells that used to sit on the floor of its new weight room now have a designated resting spot. A set of weight racks has been installed there. That comes courtesy of a few Ashland High School students and a grant awarded to the AFD through the Walmart Corporation.
- PUB DATE: 1/12/2017 2:15:03 AM - SOURCE: Ashland Daily Press

At its last meeting in November, the Poynette-Dekorra-Lowville Fire Commission approved the sale of four vehicles, all of which have been recently sold. The money from the sales was distributed back to the three municipalities in the district, as directed in the district’s agreement. However, at the Jan.
- PUB DATE: 1/12/2017 2:11:37 AM - SOURCE: Poynette Press

Six children were found dead after a fiery house collapse that injured four other family members who escaped from the home in Northeast Baltimore's Cedmont neighborhood Thursday morning, the city Fire Department said. The first of the children's bodies was recovered about 10:30 a.m., Baltimore Fire Department spokesman Chief Roman Clark said.
- PUB DATE: 1/12/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Baltimore Sun

A divided Wisconsin Supreme Court has reinstated a drunken driving conviction against a Sauk County man who argued his blood was illegally drawn. The court overturned a state appeals court ruling with a 5-2 opinion Friday. The appeals court had ruled that the blood draw was unconstitutional because the emergency medical technician acted under the direction of police, not a doctor.
- PUB DATE: 1/12/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WBAY-TV ABC 2

A fire broke out at a fire station in Buena Park early Thursday morning. The blaze broke out at around 3:30 a.m. at the station on the 800 block of Western Avenue, according to Captain Larry Kurtz, spokesman of the Orange County Fire Authority. Five firefighters, including the batallion chief, were asleep at the station when they heard an explosion coming from the garage.
- PUB DATE: 1/12/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KNBC-TV NBC 4 Los Angeles