Racine firefighters Tuesday afternoon responded to a house fire blamed on improperly discarded smoking materials, the fourth such incident that the department has responded to since Thursday. Fire crews were dispatched at 3:43 p.m. Tuesday to a report of a house fire at 1911 Harriet St., just west of State Street (Highway 38).
- PUB DATE: 4/21/2020 5:35:55 PM - SOURCE: Racine Journal Times

Steve Schreiber, the fire chief of the Black River Falls Fire Department is retiring next month. Schreiber served a total of 33 years and 7 months as a public employee. He said his passion for the job came in 1980 as he started as he joined the Alma Center Volunteer Fire Department. Throughout his career, Schreiber has had many jobs-as a first responder, police officer, and eventually the fire chief in 2003.
- PUB DATE: 4/21/2020 4:39:04 PM - SOURCE: WXOW-TV ABC 19 La Crosse

The Phelps Volunteer Fire Department recently received a long-awaited upgrade to personal protection uniforms for wild-land firefighting. “We were very fortunate to receive a 50/50 grant from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) — $2,500 from the Phelps Fire Department and $2,500 from the DNR,” said Norm Mesun, fire chief.
- PUB DATE: 4/21/2020 1:05:39 PM - SOURCE: Vilas County News

Governor Tony Evers has declared a State of Emergency for all of Wisconsin in response to elevated wildfire conditions. “Our first priority is protecting the people of Wisconsin and this executive order helps us control existing wildfires and use all available state assets to prevent new ones from starting,” Gov.
- PUB DATE: 4/21/2020 9:40:28 AM - SOURCE: WFRV-TV CBS 5 Green Bay

Firefighters on Tuesday morning, April 21 responded to the scene of a duplex fire near 39th and Wright in Milwaukee. Officials say one person in the lower unit was able to exit the home safely. No one was in the upper unit when the fire broke out. The fire caused an estimated $60,000 in damage to the structure and contents.
- PUB DATE: 4/21/2020 4:40:22 AM - SOURCE: WITI-TV FOX 6 Milwaukee

Two companies worked together to dedicate a special memorial for a fallen Appleton Fire Driver Engineer. Appleton Fire Department Driver Engineer Mitch Lundgaard was killed last year when a man opened fire after a rescue call in downtown Appleton. Police shot and killed the gunman. Karl's Transport and South Side Design and Graphics partnered to make a memorial trailer for Lundgaard.
- PUB DATE: 4/20/2020 5:36:10 PM - SOURCE: WGBA-TV NBC 26 Green Bay

Human remains were discovered at the site of a house fire in Marinette County Monday morning. The Sheriff's Office says the remains are believed to be an elderly woman who lived at the home. Investigators are still working to make positive identification and notify family before the name is released.
- PUB DATE: 4/20/2020 7:50:36 AM - SOURCE: WBAY-TV ABC 2 Green Bay

A fire at a trailer home caused up to $100,000 worth of damage Saturday night. Firefighters responded to a report around 9 p.m. of a fire in a trailer home in the 400 block of Miron Court. They arrived to find the trailer engulfed in flames and two garages on fire, according to the Bellevue Fire Department.
- PUB DATE: 4/19/2020 8:48:24 AM - SOURCE: Green Bay Press-Gazette

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ fire crews remain on scene Sunday after 234-acres burned at the Necedah Wildlife Refuge. The DNR ruled debris burning as the cause of the fire that began Saturday. Upland grass and timber burned until it reached wetter ground in the marsh. They said the weather conditions caused a fire danger to be very high on Saturday and evacuations occurred along 17th Street and Highway 80.
- PUB DATE: 4/19/2020 8:36:04 AM - SOURCE: WMTV-TV NBC 15 Madison

Authorities say more than 70 people are without a home after an apartment building caught fire on Madison's southwest side Saturday afternoon. The Madison Fire Department says several engines arrived just after 1 p.m. to the three-story apartment in the 3100 block of Muir Field Road. The fire took at least an hour to put out with high winds making it difficult for crews.
- PUB DATE: 4/19/2020 3:53:04 AM - SOURCE: WMTV-TV NBC 15 Madison

As the Madison Fire Department worked quickly to put out an apartment fire Saturday afternoon, precautions against fighting the coronavirus became tougher to follow. “When we get in a big fire fight like this, the social distancing rules kind of go out the window,” Chief Steven Davis said. “The [personal protective equipment], the paper, filter masks that we see them wear on calls and things kind of goes out the window because they have a big job to do.
- PUB DATE: 4/18/2020 9:40:11 PM - SOURCE: WISC-TV Channel 3000.com Madison

During the safer at home order there's been an uptick in drive by parades, which are seen as a safe way to celebrate birthdays and other occasions. Saturday in Wrightstown one of those parades was held as a way to honor someone who's a community hero. "One of our members, he's been a firefighter in the village of Wrightstown for over 40 years, has been battling cancer,” said Wrightstown Fire Captain John Christensen.
- PUB DATE: 4/18/2020 7:43:21 PM - SOURCE: WBAY-TV ABC 2 Green Bay

A 43-year-old North Fond du Lac man was arrested Thursday, April 16 on charges related to numerous suspicious fires that recently occurred in the Fond du Lac area. Officials say this arrest is the result of a collaborative investigation between four law enforcement agencies and two fire departments.
- PUB DATE: 4/17/2020 7:54:09 AM - SOURCE: WITI Fox Channel 6

One person was injured following a mobile home fire on Thursday. According to Janesville Fire, firefighters were dispatched to the 500 block of Kentucky Drive in Janesville at 5:18 p.m. for a report of a mobile home fire. The fire was quickly brought under control, but the mobile home was called a total loss with an estimated $50,000 in damage.
- PUB DATE: 4/17/2020 4:36:19 AM - SOURCE: WMTV-TV NBC 15 Madison

No more pizza or coffee, please. That’s the message the West Allis Fire Department is sharing with the community after many well-meaning folks have offered free coffee, pizza or other food to fire station personnel. “To be honest we don't need free pizza or free cups of coffee,” the West Allis Fire Department posted on Facebook April 14.
- PUB DATE: 4/16/2020 12:36:27 PM - SOURCE: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Harper Kamin, celebrated her fifth birthday on Tuesday, April 14 and got quite a surprise. City of Peshtigo Police Officers and several City of Peshtigo Firefighters stopped by her home to wish her a happy birthday with police cars and a fire truck with emergency lights on. Harper's mother Jessie Dembroski said it really made her day special.
- PUB DATE: 4/16/2020 1:43:48 AM - SOURCE: Peshtigo Times

Gov. Tony Evers signed a sweeping coronavirus relief package Wednesday after lawmakers approved it with just two days to spare before the state would have lost out on hundreds of millions of dollars in federal help. The Democratic governor signed the bill, which also suspends a one-week waiting period to receive unemployment benefits, two hours after state senators unanimously approved it.
- PUB DATE: 4/16/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Oshkosh Northwestern

Wisconsin lawmakers in the state Senate on Wednesday will take up a coronavirus relief package under a cloud of criticism over the bill's treatment of first responders. Republican lawmakers in the state Assembly in last-minute amendment scaled back workers compensation protections for first responders during the virus outbreak.
- PUB DATE: 4/15/2020 7:57:22 AM - SOURCE: Oshkosh Northwestern

The reality of the COVID-19 pandemic struck Rob Puls on March 19, when Bayfield County confirmed its first positive case of the virus. Puls coordinates paramedics for Great Divide Ambulance, which staffs four ambulances around the clock in the 15,000-person county that hugs Lake Superior. The four vehicles cover around 730 square miles, an area three times the size of Chicago.
- PUB DATE: 4/15/2020 1:46:52 AM - SOURCE: Osceola Sun

A Beloit firefighter, who also is a reservist with the U.S. Navy, is being called to active duty in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Beloit Fire Department. Relief Motor Pump Operator and Firefighter/Paramedic Phil Ferrera will be deployed to the East Coast region to help in the federal response to the health crisis there.
- PUB DATE: 4/14/2020 8:16:05 PM - SOURCE: Beloit Daily News