Ex-Firefighter Pulls 2 Children From Smoke-Filled Van
MADISON, Wis. -- A former firefighter pulled two children from a van filled with smoke in Madison on Tuesday afternoon.

Madison fire officials said that they believe the fire started at about 5:30 p.m. from an electrical malfunction in the interior lighting of the vehicle. They said that the blaze ignited curtains, pillow, bench seat and the captain's chair while the children were still inside. The van was located near the McDonald's on Park Street. MFD Press Release

Occupants Escape Fire Unharmed
MADISON -- The residents of 13 Cavendish Court are safe after fire caused $50,000 damage to their eastside home this morning. Two people and the family dog were home when they noticed a fire in the clothes dryer. They called 9-1-1 and then exited the house, closing several doors behind them. This helped limit the spread of fire and smoke into other rooms and areas of the house.

Fire destroys Edgerton home
EDGERTON — A fire that destroyed a house and killed two cats Thursday was an accident that started with an attempt to keep cats warm on a cold night.

Investigators suspect the fire started with a heat lamp that was put into a wooden box on the house’s deck for the “outside cats,” the Edgerton Fire Department reported

MADISON -- Eastside Fire Cause: Unattended Cooking

City of Madison Fire Investigators say last night’s duplex fire that displaced five occupants was caused by unattended cooking.

Occupants reported seeing flames rising from a pan on the stove where grease was being heated. One occupant, asleep at the time, awoke after choking on smoke from the fire. She alerted several family members while another occupant ran to the second floor of the two-story unit to alert his sister. Smoke alarms sounded as the family evacuated. No one was injured, though paramedics treated two people for smoke inhalation at the scene.

Intoxicated Driver Injures 3
BLACK EARTH -- An intoxicated driver injured three people in a three-car crash Saturday evening.

Adam Schultz, 28, was charged with Causing Injury by Intoxicated Use of A Motor Vehicle. Schultz was driving on Highway 14 in Black Earth, when his pick-up truck crossed the centerline and crashed into two other vehicles.

State assembly passes carbon monoxide detector bill
Madison (WQOW) - The Wisconsin State Assembly passed Senate Bill 415 with a bipartisan vote of 67 to 29 today. Rep. Gordon Hintz (D-Oshkosh) was the lead sponsor for the Carbon Monoxide Detector Bill which requires carbon monoxide detectors to be placed in buildings containing one or two dwelling units. Earlier today this legislation passed the Senate. The next step will be for this bill to go to Governor Doyle to be signed into law.

Madison Fire Department Memorial Flag
MADISON -- Press Release from the Madison Fire Department:

The City of Madison Fire Department is establishing a new tradition with the adoption of a Memorial Flag. The idea came from retired Madison firefighter Richard “Butch” Butler. Butler shared his idea with Fire Chief Debra Amesqua, and with her support carried the project through to completion.

Lawmakers want CO alarms in homes
A Wisconsin lawmaker wants to require loud alarms in every home to alert residents of a silent killer.

Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas produced in the burning of carbon-based fuels such as wood, natural gas and propane. Furnaces and other heat sources that aren't properly vented can leak this deadly gas.

City considers joining radio pact
VERONA -- It only seems natural that all police, fire and medical services in Dane County should be able to communicate with one another during an emergency.

But that's not the case, and a recent county proposal to make it possible has been running into problems reminiscent of those here in the Verona Joint Fire District: disagreements over budgets and control.

Fall Creek Area Fire District reaches new heights
Eau Claire (WQOW) - A local fire department will be able to reach new heights thanks to a purchase from Florida.

The Fall Creek Area Fire District bought a truck from a fire department in Florida. The truck is used. It cost the department about a fourth of what it would have to buy new. The truck is equipped with an aerial ladder, which the department has never had on its trucks before.

Milw. Fire Dept. Exceeds Overtime Budget
MILWAUKEE - Just one month into the year, the Milwaukee Fire Department is already fighting to keep overtime under control.

On Wednesday, MFD Acting Chief Michael Jones told the Common Council’s Finance Committee that he has exceeded his year-to-date OT budget by $236,289. The problem is linked to too many firefighters working on their off days.

Fire chief: Cuts would force closure of downtown station

A Sheboygan firefighter inspects a window on a Fire Department building Wednesday night during a demonstration for Committee of the Whole members in which the department shows how it handles a fire call. Photo by Gary C. Klein/The Sheboygan Press

SHEBOYGAN -- Sheboygan Fire Chief Jeff Hermann told aldermen Wednesday night budget cuts and lack of manpower could leave the heart of the city without a fire station.

"If I had to close one, it would be downtown," referring to the station on New York Avenue, he said to the 10 council members who attended a Committee of the Whole meeting at the Fire Department headquarters.

City panel rejects reopening of fire company
MILWAUKEE -- As firefighters battled a two-alarm blaze at a south side restaurant, a Milwaukee Common Council committee Wednesday rebuffed an effort to reopen a Riverwest fire company that was shut down by budget cuts.

South Shore firefighter injured while battling house fire
Franksville, WI—A Monday morning, February 1, 2010 house fire injured a South Shore firefighter while he was trying to extinguish the blaze. The brave firefighter was battling the house fire at 3636 Linndale Driver around 12:10 a.m. in Caledonia when he was injured, as reported by the JournalTimes.com.

One Salinan dies in carbon monoxide poisoning
SALINA -- Two Salina Fire Department paramedics were hospitalized and eight other people were treated at Salina Regional Health Center on Wednesday after being overcome by carbon monoxide poisoning in a townhome at 750 Fairdale, Fire Marshal Roger Williams said.

NVFC Wants Change in Distribution of Funds
The National Volunteer Fire Council is calling for changes in the way federal funds for training are disbursed by DHS.

In a white paper on volunteer training released yesterday, the organization called the current disbursements unfair, stating that changes would help keep volunteer firefighters abreast of ever-changing methods and technology.

Firefighters quarantined after scientists cook up chemical fire
EWING — Scientists conducting an experiment in a lab at Universal Display Corp. here yesterday caused an accidental chemical reaction that set fire to an exhaust hood and shut down operations for three hours due to hazmat fear.

Three Children Rescued From DC Apartment Fire
DC -- Three children, all in respiratory or cardiac arrest, were pulled from a burning Southeast Washington apartment this morning. The District of Columbia Fire & EMS Department reports all three are alive and being treated at Children’s Hospital.

L.A. River dog rescue a life-changer
LOS ANGELES -- The men who work Los Angeles Fire Department Air Operations have plucked construction workers off cranes, horses out of ravines and dogs out of washes -- all with news helicopters hovering.

But rarely does their work cast such a public spell as did their recent river rescue of a dog.