AUG. 1: LOWER WINDSOR TOWNSHIP, PA – Multiple explosions accompanied a massive fire that destroyed the city’s public works building. Numerous departments responded. A day care center in the building was closed for the summer and all road workers were out doing road work when the fire started.
AUG. 3: ANGIER, NC – An elderly couple was killed in an early-morning fire that completely engulfed the home and melted the siding on a neighbor’s home.
AUG. 8: PORTLAND, OR – Firefighters battled a five-alarm blaze that destroyed a five-story building and forced neighborhood evacuations. It began in an apartment complex under construction, which ended up collapsing during the blaze, and damaged two other homes and numerous cars. No injuries were reported.
AUG. 12: SANTA ANA, CA – The latest in a series of dumpster blazes puzzled authorities as they battled the 11th fire in less than 10 days.
AUG. 12: SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CA – Neighbors spotted a garage on fire and alerted two residents, a grandmother and her 20-year-old grandson. The blaze spread to the home and it filled with smoke before smoke detectors, which were covered with plastic, became functional.
AUG. 17: ASHTABULA, OH – A vacant building that had been used as an elementary school was destroyed by fire. Crews found people inside the building who were not cooperative in leaving, but conditions were not safe for an interior search.
AUG. 21: LOS ANGELES, CA – Crews battled a blaze at a one-story metal plating business with a heavy presence of hazardous chemicals. At least 140 firefighters were on scene at the major-emergency structure fire.
AUG. 25: LAS VEGAS, NV – Rising flood waters trapped an adult and child in a car. Using personal flotation devices and ropes, firefighters brought the two people from the car into the ladder truck to safety. Conditions worsened as crews performed the rescue and they considered the situation to be life threatening.
SEPT. 11: FAIRFAX, VA – Improperly discarded smoking materials on a ground-floor deck were the suspected cause of a townhouse fire that extended up the three-story home into the attic. A family of two adults and two children was displaced. Damage was estimated at $150,000.
SEPT. 12: BALTIMORE, MD – A lightning bolt struck the airport control tower and injured a flight controller, who declined to be treated. The airport was temporarily closed.
SEPT. 12: SEASIDE PARK, NJ – Winds estimated at 30 mph fueled a blaze that began at Kohr’s Frozen Custard and spread down the Seaside Park boardwalk. The fire grew to 10 alarms and consumed 80% of the boardwalk, gutting all 32 businesses. A number of firefighters sustained minor injuries. The area was just being restored after losing so much during Hurricane Sandy in October 2012.
