EDGERTON – If you live in Milton or in the immediate surrounding area, the Edgerton Fire District began as of Wednesday responding to your emergency service calls.
The Milton Joint Fire Commission heard status updates Wednesday on the ongoing talks between various municipal governments about the future of fire and emergency services coverage in the city and town of Milton.
Lynda Clark, a member of the Milton City Council and a fire commission member, said the city is waiting on a Wisconsin Policy Forum analysis of the cityâs options for fire and EMS coverage, including analysis of a merger with the city of Janesville and of a stand-alone city of Milton fire department.
If the city of Milton were to pursue a contract for services with the city of Janesville, it would include just those two governments, leaving out the town of Milton.
JANESVILLE
âThis is part of the state test. You donât make this, you go home,â barked firefighting instructor Paul Yakowenko to a class of recruits from Blackhawk Technical College last week.
Yakowenko was teaching a basic technique: passing through a 16-inch gap between two studs in a burning house in full gear, including a mask and air tank.
The training at the Janesville Fire Departmentâs training center was part of a course called Firefighter 1.
The state requires 60 hours of instruction before a recruit can go on a call.
Many fire departments require additional training, driven by the fear of lawsuits from damage or injury resulting from wrong decisions by young volunteers, said Rob Balsamo, fire science coordinator at Blackhawk Tech.