Before Onalaska firefighters fought a house fire Tuesday night, they had to fight to get to the fire hydrant. "We knew where it was because of our mapping system in our fire trucks. But it was buried under ice. It was one of the fire hydrants that didn't get cleared out yet," said Onalaska Fire Department Assistant Chief Troy Gudie.
- PUB DATE: 2/27/2019 9:15:33 PM - SOURCE: WSAW-TV CBS 7 Wausau

The emergency radio dispatches from Sunday's 131-car pileup on I-41 start out with a dispatcher sending units to the scene of what was initially thought to be a series of crashes involving 10 or so vehicles on the interstate. But with 911 lines "ringing off the hook," as one dispatcher reported, emergency crews quickly realized they were dealing with a crash involving dozens of vehicles.
- PUB DATE: 2/27/2019 6:56:40 AM - SOURCE: Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune

Oconto firefighters battled a fire on Gale Street and Mineau around 7 o'clock last night. A two-story home was fully engulfed when crews arrived. Deputy Chief Josh Bostedt tells FOX 11 weather was a factor... "With the cold temperatures, it does impact the safety with the firefighters with ice conditions.
- PUB DATE: 2/27/2019 3:18:05 AM - SOURCE: WNFL SPORT REDIO

Crews are investigating multiple reports of people smelling natural gas on Madison's west side Tuesday, fire officials said. The Madison Fire Department said its crews, along with Madison Gas and Electric crews, are in the area of Old Sauk and High Point roads. The MFD crew was first dispatched to the intersection of North High Point Road and Wolf Street at 11:59 a.
- PUB DATE: 2/26/2019 10:06:37 PM - SOURCE: WMSN-TV Fox 47 Madison

After months of being short-staffed, the Rice Lake Fire Department will continue to go without another full-time firefighter position. In October, the Rice Lake City Council elected not to fill a vacant firefighter position due to a budget deficit. During a meeting Tuesday, the city council was asked to re-consider that decision.
- PUB DATE: 2/26/2019 8:18:36 PM - SOURCE: WEAU-TV 13 News

Two adults and eight children are without a home after a house fire in Neenah. Crews were called around 4:15 p.m. Tuesday for smoke filling up a home. It happened near the intersection of Louise Street and Shannon Street. When crews arrived they found heavy smoke and flames. According to Neenah-Menasha Fire Chief Kevin Kloehn, crews had a hard time putting out the fire because it had burned the first and second floors of the home.
- PUB DATE: 2/26/2019 7:36:07 PM - SOURCE: WLUK TV Fox 11

Franklin and Greenfield are funding a study focusing on where the two fire departments might be able to share services, such as personnel training or vehicle maintenance. It's the second time in seven years the two participated in such a study, and more communities may still participate. During the week of Feb.
- PUB DATE: 2/26/2019 1:13:22 PM - SOURCE: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Ten people were displaced following an apartment building fire Monday, Feb. 26 in Mount Pleasant. The call came in around 12:15 a.m. According to South Shore Fire Department, the fire broke out at a 16-unit apartment building near Kinzie Avenue and Oakes Road. When crews arrived on scene, there was heavy smoke and fire on the first floor.
- PUB DATE: 2/26/2019 7:38:02 AM - SOURCE: WITI Fox Channel 6

The good news: technology is making firefighter protective clothing more lightweight, breathable and effective. The bad news: it's not cheap. Consider a recent donation of 57 protective hoods to the Cottage Grove Fire Department by the city's public safety board. In an unusual move, the board footed the entire $5,800 cost.
- PUB DATE: 2/26/2019 4:00:26 AM - SOURCE: RiverTowns.net

Plans for a new $3.8 million fire station were unveiled at the Wheatland Town Board meeting Monday. The concept — which includes eight bays, a 64-seat training room, a kitchen, a locker room for turnout gear, showers, and a day room and sleeping quarters — is a scaled-down version of a plan presented last year.
- PUB DATE: 2/26/2019 1:43:03 AM - SOURCE: Kenosha News

A new mural on the wall of fire station 1 in Sun Prairie is to honor fallen firefighter Capt. Cory Barr. He was killed while responding to a gas leak that triggered an explosion in downtown Sun Prairie in July 2018. The assistant to the fire chief, Amy Klotz, told NBC15 it took three days to draw and paint.
- PUB DATE: 2/25/2019 3:09:52 PM - SOURCE: WMTV-TV NBC 15 Madison

State utility regulators have opened a formal investigation into last summer’s fatal Sun Prairie natural gas explosion that killed a firefighter and leveled several buildings in the city’s downtown. The Public Service Commission voted unanimously Thursday to investigate a complaint filed by USIC Locating Services, the company that was contracted to mark the locations of underground pipes.
- PUB DATE: 2/25/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Wisconsin State Journal

Lucas Voight scaled the rear ladder of Portage Fire Engine 3 on Friday morning, glancing back just long enough to see an infectious smile spread across his mother’s face. Sarah Voight asked if her son was a monkey. The Fall River 6-year-old said he wanted to be a ninja, then climbed down the ladder and hoisted his body on the rear platform of the truck and swung his legs around, gleefully swinging them below.
- PUB DATE: 2/24/2019 6:41:55 PM - SOURCE: wisc news

The La Crosse Fire Department responded to a fire at an apartment building Friday night. Firefighters got the call around 9:45 p.m. for a fire at 918 Denton Street. According to La Crosse Fire Chief Ken Gilliam, firefighters were able to get everyone out of the two-story building safely and put out the fire fairly quickly.
- PUB DATE: 2/22/2019 10:18:40 PM - SOURCE: WKBT-TV CBS 8 La Crosse

The Merrill Fire Department is asking residents to help them dig out snow-covered fire hydrants next weekend. With more than three feet of snow falling across central Wisconsin in February so far and more snow on the way this weekend, firefighters are concerned they will have a hard time finding fire hydrants and will then have to spend valuable time digging them out at the scene of a fire.
- PUB DATE: 2/22/2019 10:52:55 AM - SOURCE: WSAW-TV CBS 7 Wausau

The Hales Corners Fire Department is investigating why three on-duty personnel were unable to respond with a fire engine to a January car fire. Village Administrator Sandra Kulik said that one the morning of Jan. 16, three part-time firefighters who didn’t have certification for driving a fire engine were on duty when a 59-year-old woman reported her car was on fire.
- PUB DATE: 2/22/2019 8:20:46 AM - SOURCE: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Three men were rescued Friday morning after they became trapped in the sub-basement of a downtown Appleton bar. At about 1:50 a.m., the Appleton Fire Department was called to The Durty Leprechaun, 343 W. College Ave., for a report that a stairwell had collapsed and trapped three men in a sub-basement, the department said.
- PUB DATE: 2/22/2019 6:46:40 AM - SOURCE: Sheboygan Press

A man known as a pillar of the Sun Prairie Fire Department is stepping down after generations of work. Arnie Kleven first joined the department in 1972. Kleven worked across the street form station 1 before he took the job. He worked at GT and would hear the fire sirens go off, prompting him to poke his head out to see where they were going.
- PUB DATE: 2/21/2019 9:20:09 PM - SOURCE: WMTV-TV NBC 15 Madison

The La Crosse Fire Department has responded to 13 fires just in 2019 alone. "It's been abnormally busy for the last two months," said Assistant Chief Jeff Murphy. Despite recent record-setting snowfalls, officials say most of the fires have not been related to the cold weather. "Most of the calls, most of these fires have been related to careless smoking, electrical, various other causes," said Murphy.
- PUB DATE: 2/21/2019 5:22:25 PM - SOURCE: WEAU-TV 13 News

Earlier this week, CBS 58 News told you how cancer caused 70% of firefighter line-of-duty deaths in 2016. Now, that story is being used to promote change at a Waukesha County station. Leaders have decided one single shower in the building isn't enough to keep firefighters safe from the toxins and carcinogens they're exposed to in their work.
- PUB DATE: 2/20/2019 9:16:38 PM - SOURCE: WDJT-TV CBS 58 Milwaukee