Details of a tragic Texas fire, Mother Nature's wrath, bees and an emotional dedication were among the fire service news stories this past week.
Bryan, Texas Fire Chief Randy McGregor met with the media to outline changes his department has made since the deaths of two firefighters last year.
Additional firefighters have been hired, and new equipment has been purchased.
McGregor’s update came the day after an investigative report said there were command and communications issues at the Knights of Columbus Hall fire where Lt. Eric Wallace and Lt. Greg Pichard died.
Wallace ran low on air, and became disoriented when a room flashed over. He pleaded for help, and couldn’t find the red hose to follow it to safety.
The incident commander asked dispatchers to send an evacuation tone, but an emergency tone was sounded instead. It took six minutes for the mistake to be corrected, investigators wrote.
In New York City, the doors of the National Sept. 11 Museum opened to the public.
Kathy Magrane with Firehouse captured the emotional and moving dedication and official flag placement ceremonies.
The FDNY and NYPD pipes and drums played during the flag ceremony. Read her coverage here, and view photos.
Also this week, an Ohio reporter following up on a house fire spotted flames flaring up again.
After calling 911, he continued to report as the fire grew. He eventually dropped his microphone to go bang on doors to alert neighbors.
Meanwhile, in Delaware It was the bees – 20 million of them -- that had firefighters exercising extreme caution.
The massive buzz occurred on I-95 near Newark when a rig carrying the hives overturned. Water was used to disperse the honeybees.
And, wildfires are off to an early start in many states. Arizona firefighters are facing a number of issues as they battle wildfires.
As the fire moved up the canyon's steep walls, it sent up large amounts of smoke and ash and created hazy conditions in Flagstaff, about 15 miles from the blaze.
The blaze presented several challenges for firefighters, including steep terrain, thick pine forest, gusting winds and the drought conditions, said Bill Morse, a Flagstaff Fire Department captain and a spokesman for firefighting managers.
