Rising Call Volumes Highlight Training Needs Across Wisconsin The Township Fire Department (Chippewa Valley) released its 2025 call summary: 432 fire calls  and 1,225 EMS calls , marking another year of increasing demand on responders and training programs statewide. https://www.weau.com/2026/01/02/township-fire-department-released-2025-call-summary/ These numbers echo a growing statewide trend — more calls, more complexity, and a shrinking pool of responders to handle the load. This directly...

Oshkosh Firefighter Dies in Line-of-Duty Travel Crash (From Firerescue1.com ) Oshkosh Firefighter/Paramedic Tom Diener, who also served as a lieutenant with the Town of Sheboygan Fire Department, died following a vehicle crash on an Indiana highway on December 11. Diener was traveling for work related to public safety and emergency warning systems at the time of the incident, along with two other firefighters, Carter Haen and Robbie Betts. The Oshkosh Fire Department confirmed the incident in...

Civil verdict underscores command accountability A Whiteside County, Illinois jury awarded $31.5 million to the widow and two daughters of Lieutenant Garrett Ramos, a firefighter killed in a December 2021 structure fire. The case centered on a tragic collapse and fatal basement fall inside a burning structure. The jury found that two command officers — named in the suit — were each 50 % responsible because of failures in command decisions, accountability, and risk management (including...