Dozens of Fox Valley residents spent Memorial Day completing a grueling test of physical and mental strength in honor of the fallen. It's called the Murph Challenge. The challenge is named for Navy Seal Lt. Michael Murphy, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2005.
Kaukauna's Murph Challenge also honored fallen Appleton firefighter Mitch Lundgaard. - PUB DATE: 5/27/2019 9:59:32 PM - SOURCE: WSAW-TV CBS 7 Wausau
The Eau Claire Fire Department was dispatched for a water rescue this afternoon. Units responded to an area of the Chippewa
River near the UWEC foot bridge for a report of several people separated from their kayaks and in distress.
Firefighters arrived to find that two individuals in a group of three had made it to shore; the third was in fast moving water, clinging
to an overhanging branch. - PUB DATE: 5/26/2019 6:13:44 PM - SOURCE: WEAU-TV 13 News
Madison’s Brat Fest is filled with music, food and fun—but on Saturday, the event also featured a more serious fire safety demonstration, displaying the necessity of home sprinklers.
This is the first year the demonstration, organized by the National Protection Fire Association (NFPA) and the Madison Fire Department, has come to Brat Fest. - PUB DATE: 5/25/2019 3:16:04 PM - SOURCE: WMTV-TV NBC 15 Madison
Janesville police arrested three suspects, including one juvenile, in connection with a fire in the bathroom at Bond Park.
According to a release from the Janesville Police Department, officers responded to the fire at 6:01 p.m. Thursday at the park on the city's west side.
The release said witnesses were able to describe the three males and a vehicle involved. - PUB DATE: 5/24/2019 5:12:37 AM - SOURCE: WISC-TV Channel 3000.com Madison
Some Wisconsin legislators are pushing to curtail the use of firefighting foams that contain potentially toxic chemicals and establish standards that limit how much of the substances can safely exist in the state's groundwater, air and soil.
Firefighting foam can contain polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, which are man-made chemicals that research suggests can decrease female fertility, increase the risk of high blood pressure in pregnant women and lower birth weights. - PUB DATE: 5/24/2019 5:06:07 AM - SOURCE: Madison.com
Olive Preuss, 7, ignited Portage firefighters’ hearts Wednesday when she offered a priceless gift to a couple classmates after a local family was displaced by a house fire two weeks ago.
Passing up the chance to ride inside a firetruck to St. Mary’s Catholic School on Wednesday morning, Olive asked the Portage Fire Department to instead take her friends Easton Van Zile, 7, and Avery Van Zile, 5. - PUB DATE: 5/24/2019 3:33:31 AM - SOURCE: Portage Daily Register
The district where a fallen Appleton firefighter's children attend school is providing counseling and other services in the wake of his death.
Mitchell Lundgaard, a 14-year veteran of the Appleton Fire Department, was shot and killed May 15 after responding to a medical call that authorities said escalated into a shootout between the patient and police. - PUB DATE: 5/24/2019 1:42:21 AM - SOURCE: Appleton Post-Gazette & Post Crescent.com
PHOTOS: Madison police and fire teams are investigating after two people forced entry into a northside apartment and allegedly started a fire.
According to a release from Madison police, the incident was reported at 9:41 p.m. Thursday. The fire was at a four-unit apartment building in the 1300 block of Ruskin Street. - PUB DATE: 5/23/2019 11:01:40 PM - SOURCE: WISC-TV Channel 3000.com Madison
A Ford Explorer and a Honda Civic collided just after 11 p.m. on a rainy Wednesday night at the corner of State Street and Douglas Avenue, just west of Downtown, resulting in an apparent serious injury to a passenger in the Explorer.
Initial reports to dispatchers indicates that an individual was unresponsive and trapped in the Explorer and the Honda Civic may have caught fire. - PUB DATE: 5/22/2019 10:43:16 PM - SOURCE: Racine Journal Times
Jerry Biggart is fully aware of the dangers paramedics face when they're on the job.
“A lot of people go to work and it’s a relatively routine job,” said Biggart, a firefighter with the Oak Creek Fire Department near Milwaukee. “Every time that tone goes off, we have no idea what it’s going to be."
Sometimes, the danger is obvious — an active-shooter situation, for example, or a building collapse, or even a car crash in heavy traffic. - PUB DATE: 5/22/2019 7:26:29 PM - SOURCE: Green Bay Press-Gazette
Members of the community continue to step up in this tough time of mourning one week after firefighter Mitch Lundgaard died in the line of duty.
Fallen firefighter remembered as selfless public servant
The community has stood together throughout the last week and it continues to stand together.
"We needed to do something for the fire department and knowing that food is always welcomed,” says Leah Suprise. - PUB DATE: 5/22/2019 3:14:17 PM - SOURCE: NBC26
Dane County Executive Joe Parisi is recognizing the efforts of the highly trained men and women who work to serve their communities 24 hours a day, 365 days a year with prompt and effective emergency services. This recognition comes as communities across the country celebrate EMS Week and honor those in the chain of survival. - PUB DATE: 5/22/2019 9:03:15 AM - SOURCE: Dane County
At the Capitol, legislation would provide tax credits for volunteer firefighters and EMTs.
The majority of the state's hundreds of fire departments rely on volunteers, but state Senator Pat Testion of Stevens Point notes it's getting tougher to attract and retain them -- with notable consequences: "In 2006 the average age of a volunteer firefighter was 50 years old. - PUB DATE: 5/22/2019 4:27:53 AM - SOURCE: Wisconsin Radio Network
First responders rescued an injured construction worker from a site in Fitchburg Tuesday morning, officials said.
The Fitchburg Fire Department said firefighters and FitchRona EMS responded to a report at about 9:30 a.m. of an injured man.
A Dane County dispatcher said the incident was reported in the 5400 block of East Cheryl Parkway. - PUB DATE: 5/21/2019 4:46:23 PM - SOURCE: WMSN-TV Fox 47 Madison
Chippewa Falls is looking for a new fire chief.
Mike Hepfler on Tuesday announced to the city that he will be retiring as chief of the Chippewa Falls Fire and Emergency Services Department on July 22. Hepfler, a McDonell Central High School graduate, started with the department in July 1985 as a reserve firefighter, was hired as a full-time firefighter/emergency medical technician in 1989, just as the fire department took over the ambulance service from a private contractor. - PUB DATE: 5/21/2019 2:53:10 PM - SOURCE: Chippewa Herald
Placing equal values on education and experience, Town of Beloit Deputy Fire Chief Emeterio - "Emett," as he's known - Harold said one of the biggest lessons he's learned is to diversify his resume.
It's one of the reasons that after 33 years, he's ready to retire from the township's fire department. - PUB DATE: 5/21/2019 9:26:15 AM - SOURCE: Beloit Daily News
One person was found dead after a house fire in Racine.
Fire crews responded about 4:20 a.m. Tuesday to a house near Coolidge Avenue and Webster Street in Racine. A neighbor captured images of flames shooting from the windows before firefighters arrived.
After firefighters extinguished the fire, they found one person and a dog dead inside the home. - PUB DATE: 5/21/2019 6:44:30 AM - SOURCE: WISN-TV ABC 12 Milwaukee
Residents of a Wisconsin city have paid their final respects to a firefighter killed in the line of duty.
Hundreds lined a procession route for Mitch Lundgaard, 36, that wound through Appleton on Monday, starting at a funeral home and ending at Appleton Alliance Church, where a visitation was held. Lundgaard will be taken back to the funeral home following an evening service, which is not open to the public. - PUB DATE: 5/20/2019 9:44:26 PM - SOURCE: US News
Cancer is responsible for more than 60 percent of job related deaths among firefighters in the United States according to NBC news.
Now, a station in the Chippewa Valley is hoping to eliminate that risk or at least reduce the high rate of cancer diagnosis. While being a firefighter is no doubt a dangerous job, the threat of cancer from being exposed to toxins can be deadly. - PUB DATE: 5/20/2019 5:28:52 PM - SOURCE: WEAU-TV 13 News
The streets of downtown will be lined today with those who've turned out to pay their respects to a fallen firefighter, and large crowds are guaranteed at Appleton Alliance Church, where a public visitation is planned.
Mitchell Lundgaard, who was fatally shot Wednesday after responding to a medical emergency in downtown Appleton, will be laid to rest later today after a series of events — some public, some private. - PUB DATE: 5/20/2019 12:48:42 PM - SOURCE: Sheboygan Press
