Department of Safety and Professional Services awards $75K in grant funds for youth firefighting programs

The Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services have announced the winners of a grant funding youth firefighting training. The Youth Volunteer Firefighter Training Program aims to boost recruitment in fire departments by introducing fire service careers to students across the state. The program rewards a combined $75,000 in grant funding. In a statement released Wednesday, the DSPS says that retention and recruitment have become difficult across Wisconsin, but more so among the rural, all-volunteer stations in rural communities. The Youth Firefighter Grant Program is designed to help address these concerns by exposing high school students to career and volunteer opportunities in the fire service at a time when they are making decisions about their future careers and endeavors.
WKOW-TV ABC 27 Madison

Oconomowoc fire: Dog alerted residents, everyone out safely

VIDEO: An Oconomowoc family's dog alerted them to a fire on Tuesday afternoon, fire officials said, and everyone was able to get out safely. It happened around 1:30 p.m. on Hancock Court, near Summit Avenue and Old Tower Road. According to the Western Lakes Fire District, the dog broke down a gate to the second floor and went upstairs where the resident and their baby were lying down. The resident then saw smoke and flames while investigating the broken gate, and got out safely with the baby and dog. The fire eventually spread to the attic as wind drove the flames, officials said. The fire was deemed under control 11 minutes after firefighters first got there. No one was hurt.
WITI-TV FOX 6 Milwaukee

Follow Up: Milwaukee Fire Chief says injured firefighter will survive severe burns from ‘tense, scary moment’

In what Milwaukee Fire Chief (MFD) Aaron Lipski told Wisconsin’s Afternoon News was simultaneously one of the closest calls and proudest moments of his time in this role, MFD rapid response teams helped save a Milwaukee firefighter who suffered severe burns while saving someone from an attic fire. Chief Lipski told John Mercure and Julia Fello he visited the injured firefighter on April 22 as the victim continues a stretch of many consecutive surgeries to address burns across his body. “The severity of the burns — it’s very serious, and he’s undergoing a series of surgeries,” Chief Lipski told WTMJ. ” This is going to be a long haul for him to recover. He is an extremely [serious, passionate firefighter]. He needs to come back.”
WTMJ-AM 620 Milwaukee

Door County League completes AED outfitting of fields

You can root, root, root for your favorite Door County League team with the comfort of knowing that a lifesaving device is nearby. On Friday, the Door County League announced that it has raised enough money to outfit all its baseball diamonds with Automated External Defibrillators for the 2024 season. League officials began the push last year after a Maplewood Mets pitcher took a line drive ball square to his chest. On-site athletic trainers and nurses ensured a happy ending to the story, but it alerted team officials and fans about the need to have AEDs on–site. DCL teams raised $9,000 through different methods to purchase an AED for each of the eight fields. It was an essential effort for Sister Bay/Liberty Grove Fire Chief Chris Hecht, who not only led his own campaign in the county to install AEDs at businesses and public places but also has a son who plays on the Sister Bay Bays.
Door County Daily News

’An extremely amazing scene’: First responders across Wisconsin participate in walk of life send-off

VIDEO: Early Monday morning, first responders across Wisconsin supported the family of Rodi Erickson as they sent her off in a helicopter to donate her organs. "It was an extremely amazing scene," said Officer Anthony Klein, School Resource Officer, Marshfield Police Department. "You always hear of a police brotherhood last night really showed it's a police family." Rodi's husband, Brody Erickson, is a School Resource Officer in Marshfield. First responders from Marshfield, all the way to New London, came to support the Erickson family following her sudden death last Thursday. "It went from one department to the other," said Rodi's Father, Randy Mess. "The only thing I told them was I was hoping that they could send my daughter off with a blast and light up the sky...it was utterly the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in the world for my daughter."
WAOW-TV ABC 9 Wausau

Racine porch fire leaves family homeless

A Racine family is unable to live in their home near Buchanan and Barker after a fire that started on the home's porch late on Monday, April 22. Racine fire officials say crews were dispatched to the porch fire around 11 p.m. Monday. Three residents who were home at the time of the fire, managed to get out of the building safely and call 911. Firefighters arriving on the scene got control of the fire within ten minutes – preventing it from spreading further into the home. Officials said in all, 23 firefighters responded to the scene and worked to fight the fire. The cause of the fire is under investigation and the home is uninhabitable. Damage to the structure and contents in the home is estimated at $90,000.
WITI-TV FOX 6 Milwaukee