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Berlin chiefs report February incidents, training and body‑camera grant application
Summary
Fire and police chiefs reported 13 fire calls in February — including a critical crash and mutual‑aid structure fire — outlined upcoming training, and the police department noted it applied for a small rural/tribal body‑camera grant to add cameras and redaction capability.
The Berlin fire and police chiefs used the commission meeting on March 4 to summarize February activity, upcoming training and a pending grant application for body cameras.
Fire Chief reported 13 calls in February, including one mutual‑aid structure fire, several false alarms and a severe crash in which one person was critically injured. The chief also reported a dishwasher fire, a smoke incident in an apartment hallway, a smell of gas in a rural home caused by an empty LP tank, and a driveway fire. He said the department conducted fit testing for SCBA masks, completed search-and-rescue and Mayday drills, and plans a live car‑burn exercise with vehicle extrication training in the coming weeks.
On police activity, the department said traffic contacts were up and that it was seeing an increase in domestic‑abuse related investigations, with no clear catalyst identified. Training noted for staff included arrest‑tactics refreshers and leadership classes; an assistant chief was reported to be finishing command college and expected to graduate in June in Madison.
The police presenter said the department submitted an application for a small rural/tribal body‑camera grant that, if awarded, would add four cameras, a laptop for video redaction, and one year of support. The transcript contains unclear numeric values for the requested and cost‑share amounts, so the exact dollar figures are not specified in the meeting record; the presenter said the department would cover its share from a capital account if the grant is awarded.
No formal action or vote was recorded on grant applications; the items were presented as informational updates. The commission had no further questions and moved through the rest of the agenda.
