Stevens Point's Fire Department was given authorization to apply for a large equipment grant. The Finance Committee and then the city council approved going forward with an application for a grant from the Assistance to Firefighters Grants program, which is through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Mayor Mike Wiza says a grant of that size would be welcomed, and would help retire a vehicle that is expensive to maintain. "It's a 90-10 grant for a new fire truck. Those things run over $600,000 dollars. If we can get some of our tax money that's already gone on to the state and the federal government, and bring that back to Stevens Point, and we get 90% and we've got to pay 10%."

If the grant is awarded, the grant dollars would pay for most of a $600,000 fire engine and most of a $375,000 dollar fire simulation training trailer. Winning the grant would put Stevens Point taxpayers on the hook for $97,500 dollars. Wiza says that won't be a problem, since they've been budgeting to replace the old fire truck already.  "We have more than that down in our capital improvements budget for the next couple of years, I think it's 2017, maybe 2018. We've got about $350,000 dollars budgeted for a new fire truck, so we'd actually free up some more money if we're able to get that 90% grant."

For more information, view wsau.com

It's the season of lights, which for some, means a battle to have the best Christmas display on the block.

"Basically the weekend after Halloween we start decorating and planning out what we want to do," explained Garry Aranda.

He doesn't put lights on his house though. He is the "Clark Griswold" of firetrucks.

"There is about 60 hours of work between my wife and I," Aranda said.

Garry Aranda is a retired firefighter with South Adams County Fire and Rescue. He is now the station's fleet manager. He owns four of his own firetrucks and has been lighting them up each December for almost 30 years.

"Every year we change or add something to the truck. This year we changed the color scheme on it. We put more blue on it this year," he said.

There are about 6,500 lights on the 2015 display. They flash to the beat of holiday music that plays on the engine's speakers. Aranda drives it around the metro area spreading holiday cheer.

"If we take Santa Clause, there are times when you can't even see the road because the flashes are going off on cameras. Cars are pulling up next to us. We've even had celebrities pull up next to us," Aranda said.

"We go out through trailer parks or places we know people need stuff and start passing things out," he said.

He hands out toys, candy and other donations to low income families and children. None of them know he is coming. It is a total surprise. Aranda says the smiles on their faces make all the hours spent decorating his truck worth it.

For more information, view kdvr.com

CCTV shared this video of a firefighter jumping from a window at a commercial structure fire with his PPE on fire. Watch as the firefighter calmly but urgently tries to rig something to help him descend from the window safely before his turnout gear caught fire, making it necessary to jump.

The Fire Department Safety Officers Association (FDSOA) announced the addition of “The Safety Officer’s Role in Active Shooter/Hostile Events” to the annual Safety Forum to be held January 20-22, 2016, in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The program will be presented by Brent Siegel, EMS coordinator, Northville Township (MI) Fire Department. A certified Incident Safety Officer and a Health & Safety Officer, Siegel is also a tactical paramedic on the Western Wayne County Special Operations Team. His 90-minute program is scheduled for Thursday, January 21.

“I study this topic constantly and have a good understanding of what is appropriate for the fire service,” said Siegel. “It’s such a large spectrum, people have a hard time identifying what their role is, from going in with guns to not going in at all. I think I can help safety officers identify what their roles and responsibilities are.”

Siegel’s program will focus on the role of safety officers in a hostile incident. “When you look at the key roles and responsibilities we are teaching in Incident Safety Officers’, they are monitoring incident conditions, evaluating the hazards, developing measures that promote safe incidents, intervening when an immediate threat exists, monitoring communications and all those roles are present in one of these events. I’m going to tie everything I talk about to those responsibilities,” he said.

Among the goals for his presentation, Siegel said, “I want to introduce the Rescue Task Force (RTF) concept. It’s currently the ‘best practice’ on violent incidents. I say introduce because a lot of people still aren’t aware of it and some agencies are already doing it. I want to introduce the concept to Safety Forum attendees.”

In addition, Siegel will stress the importance that agencies integrate fire, law enforcement and EMS into their training. “Because this whole concept does not work if everybody is not on the same page. It’s all about communication,” he said.

Understanding the role of the fire department safety officer is critical in an all-agency hostile event. According to Siegel, an active shooter or hostile event is a more chaotic event to manage because the safety officer will not be able to walk around or have free access. 

“The whole Rescue Task Force evolves around operating in a warm zone,” Siegel stated. “The most important role of the safety officer is maintaining the clarity of what the warm zone is and keeping everybody responding to the incident informed.”

Siegel will offer action steps for attendees to take back to their departments to be better prepared in the event of an active shooter or hostile incident. 

“I don’t think there are many people who disagree there is a need for this and I don’t think it’s as much of a challenge as it was five years ago, but we must recognize the need to sit down with brother and sister agencies, develop the policies, and train together.”

For more information, visit www.fdsoa.org.