VIDEO: The temperature fluctuated between 0 and -3 degrees Fahrenheit as crews from multiple fire departments battled an engulfed barn just after 4 p.m. on Thursday. Strong westerly winds blew thick black smoke across State 26, a full mile east of the fire scene at N4637 Amity Road. "Dispatch, see if we can get a State Patrol officer to sit on 26 to warn drivers of the smoke," a Fond du Lac County Sheriff deputy said over the scanner on his way to the fire.
- PUB DATE: 1/5/2017 8:22:28 PM - SOURCE: Wisconsin State Farmer

VIDEO: The La Crosse Fire Department Station One celebrated Assistant Fire Chief, Warren Thomas' retirement on Thursday. Thomas is retiring after serving the area for 30 years. Chief Thomas says that the La Crosse Fire Department has become his second family and that he's grateful to have served the La Crosse community over the years.
- PUB DATE: 1/5/2017 12:38:39 PM - SOURCE: WXOW-TV ABC 19 LaCrosse

On January 3, 5 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

Investigators with the La Crosse Fire Department are looking into a house fire early Thursday morning. The call came in at around 3:30 a.m. about a fire in the attic of a home on the 400 block of 12th Street North. Firefighters tell News 8 three people and two pets made it out of the house safely. The building owner and the Red Cross were at the scene to help displaced residents.
- PUB DATE: 1/5/2017 4:40:51 AM - SOURCE: WKBT-TV CBS 8 La Crosse

De Pere firefighters are no “cow”ards. On Dec. 27, the department was called to help free cattle from an overturned truck. This morning, the department posted photos of the roundup on Facebook. Click here to view the full set of photos. The post reads: “Cows rescued from trailer! Contrary to popular belief firefighters don’t just save cats from trees.
- PUB DATE: 1/5/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WBAY-TV ABC 2

Mayor Jim Matherly confirmed former Fairbanks Fire Chief Warren Cummings died Tuesday night after a hard fought battle with breast cancer. Cummings became a firefighter in 1972 and worked his way up through the ranks until he was named fire chief in 2000. He retired in October 2015. “The fire service in Alaska has lost a great leader,” said a post on the City of Fairbanks Fire Department Facebook page.
- PUB DATE: 1/5/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Fairbanks News-Miner

After a nearly decade-long legislative fight, Ohio firefighters won their battle to help their colleagues who are battling cancer. Ohio Governor John Kasich was surrounded by firefighters as he signed the Palumbo Act at the state capitol early Wednesday afternoon. The law, renamed after Mike Palumbo, a Beachwood fire captain currently battling brain cancer, presumes firefighters diagnosed with certain types of cancer developed the disease as the result of numerous exposures to toxic chemicals at fire scenes.
- PUB DATE: 1/5/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WEWS-TV IBS 5 Cleveland

Boulder Rural Fire Rescue's chief and deputy chief have been placed on administrative leave following a $1.2 million accounting mishap, although officials won't say whether the disciplinary action is related to the shortfall. Both Chief Bruce Mygatt and Deputy Chief Jeff Webb are on leave from the department, Boulder Rural Fire Board President Kurt Gattman confirmed Wednesday.
- PUB DATE: 1/5/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Boulder Daily Camera

The expiration this month of a $5 million grant that funded 15 firefighter positions at the Chico Fire Department will result in several layoffs by the end of this week, Fire Chief Bill Hack said Wednesday. Come Saturday, five firefighters will have been laid off, reducing the amount of front-line firefighters at the Fire Department from 65 to 60, Hack said.
- PUB DATE: 1/5/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Chico Enterprise-Record

A firefighter's 8-year-old daughter was killed by a falling tree Tuesday night while she was sleeping in her bedroom in Otis, Lincoln County fire officials said. Zaylee Schlecht, the daughter of North Lincoln Fire and Rescue District firefighter Ryan Schlecht, was in her bedroom with her younger sister when strong winds toppled a tree onto her home about 11:15 p.
- PUB DATE: 1/5/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Oregonian

VIDEO: Jason Kellner is scratching his head and thanking his lucky stars. He was on the interstate Wednesday night when the inside console in his car started smoldering and then it burst into flames. "I opened it up and saw a small flame," Jason Kellner told CBS 58 News. "I tried to pat it out with my jacked, it turned into a bigger flame.
- PUB DATE: 1/4/2017 9:37:13 PM - SOURCE: WDJT-TV CBS 58 Milwaukee

On January 3, 6 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

VIDEO: Milwaukee firefighters responded to a fire at the Omega restaurant near 27th and Morgan on the city's south side on Wednesday afternoon, January 4th. The fire was put out -- and the restaurant was closed for the night. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
- PUB DATE: 1/4/2017 3:39:15 PM - SOURCE: WITI Fox Channel 6

On January 3, 4 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

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

On January 1, 8 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

On January 3, 0 residential fire fatalities were reported by the Nation's news media.

La Crosse Fire Chief Gregg Cleveland has announced plans to retire after more than a decade with the city of La Crosse. Cleveland, who has logged more than three decades as a firefighter and chief, will step down in June, according to a statement released Tuesday by Mayor Tim Kabat. Kabat praised Cleveland for his work in getting national accreditation for the fire department, overseeing the merger of building inspections and code enforcement into the department, and helping the department become one of the first in the state to carry an opioid overdose antidote.
- PUB DATE: 1/4/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: LaCrosse Tribune

VIDEO: Police have obtained a warrant for the records of a phone number they hope will lead to whoever placed a phony 911 call to a Milwaukee fire station so burglars could make their move. The heist happened in the wee hours last September. A caller dialed 911 to report his son was unconscious and he couldn't wake him.
- PUB DATE: 1/4/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WISN-TV ABC 12

The city has rejected plans to hire a consultant to review staffing shortages and other needs at the local fire department. Members of the Common Council, in a 10-to-5 vote, defeated on Tuesday a resolution that would have allowed the city to hire Missouri-based consulting firm Fitch & Associates, which some city officials had hoped would help them vet fire department funding requests.
- PUB DATE: 1/4/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Sheboygan Press