Firehouse.com

<?xml:namespace prefix = dme />

ELKIN, N.C. --

A captain on the Elkin Rescue Squad resigned after being charged with rape and soliciting a child by computer to commit a sex act, Elkin Rescue Squad Chief James Anderson said.

Bill F.

Fire Chief John Lee knows that his department's trucks are as well-maintained as his firefighters can make them, but someday soon, two tankers won't be able to answer any more alarms.

GINTER, Pa.

--

An early-morning fire in Clearfield County has been ruled suspicious and officials have established a task force to investigate a string of arsons over the last month.

The fire started around 2:30 a.m. at an abandoned house on Union Street in Ginter. Neighbors said no one has lived at the house for about a month.

The home was destroyed, but crews were able to save the house next door even though heat from the blaze started to melt its siding.

Elgin firefighters rescued a two-year-old boy from a house fire Thursday afternoon.

Elgin Fire Department Battalion Chief Terry Bruce told the Elgin Courier-News that upon arrival, emergency personnel found flames coming from a bedroom on the first floor of the house, and were informed that a baby boy remained inside, on the second floor of the tri-level home.

Bruce reported that Elgin firefighter Kevin Hartma

INDEPENDENCE, Ky. --

A woman was killed and two firefighters were injured by a fire and explosion inside a home in Independence, Ky.

The fire was reported at the home on Sharpsburg Drive at about 4:40 a.m.

Nov. 18--TIVOLI -- A fire that displaced a Tivoli family last week has rekindled a second plea for a pumper truck from the unincorporated community's volunteer fire department.

Last Tuesday, the idea got support from Refugio County commissioners when they voted unanimously to seek bids on a the truck after the Tovar family lost its home, said Rene Mascorro, county judge.

Nov. 19--Fire heavily damaged a Lynchburg College storage facility used to house sporting equipment Wednesday night, Lynchburg Fire Department officials said.

Battalion Chief J.P. Kilgore said fire crews received the call to the building on Faculty Drive off Lakeside Drive about 9:30 p.m.

JACKSON, Miss.

--
Emergency crews freed a boy from a chimney Thursday morning after he became stuck inside it.

Clifton Washington said his wife heard someone screaming for help at about 8 a.m.

<?xml:namespace prefix = dme />

LOS ANGELES --

The U.S.

Nov. 17--Superior's City Council on Tuesday decided to create a special task force to gather information and determine if running an ambulance service through the Superior Fire Department is a viable option.

A driver who swerved to avoid a deer Wednesday in Connecticut struck a fire hydrant, creating a sinkhole that partially swallowed her car, authorities said.

Nov. 17--BROOKSVILLE -- The engine was older than the fire department itself.

It was the first fire engine bought for East Hernando Fire Rescue nearly 20 years ago, the chief said. It was purchased when the county's fire services were still divided into multiple sections.

Earlier this month, county commissioners decided to replace it with a newer model and put it up for auction.

<?xml:namespace prefix = dme />

Nov. 18--PITTSTON TWP.

MIAMI

--

Firefighters used a crane to rescue a man who fell into a cargo ship's hold as it approached Miami on Wednesday morning.

According to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, the cargo ship was about 20 minutes off shore when those aboard called for help.

Officials said a 67-year-old man had fallen about 15 feet into a cargo hold.

When the ship arrived, firefighters used the vessel's crane to lift the man from the cargo hold and onto a stretcher. The man was transported to a hospital.

<?xml:namespace prefix = dme />

The department received some welcome news leading up to this time of remembrance for their six fallen colleagues.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today the House passed a measure reauthorizing the FIRE Act grant programs.

The bill sets aside $1B for AFG and $1.2M for SAFER annually through 2014.

The legislation, which passed by a 395-31 vote, includes the establishment of a survey to determine if departments are adhering to safety practices; OKs funds for river rescue operations; and authorizes grant money to be spent for equipment that conserves water.

An allegedly drunken Tennessee truck driver, heading to Bucksport to deliver chemicals used in papermaking, missed his turn on Interstate 95 by nearly 75 miles Sunday night and then crashed his big rig spilling most of the chemicals he was carrying, officials said.

<?xml:namespace prefix = dme />

BARDSTOWN, Ky. --

Firefighters rescued a bedridden man from a burning mobile home in Bardstown, only to discover he stopped breathing and they couldn't save his life.

The rescue happened on Cleo Avenue near North Third Street in Bardstown Monday afternoon.

The Bardstown fire chief said his firefighters had never experienced anything like this before.

Pinellas fire chiefs and county officials created a cutting-edge computer system to deliver crucial information to firefighters on their way to battle blazes.

But five years later, the system is full of holes because some fire departments have failed to provide critical data, leaving firefighters to dash blindly into dangerous situations, according to a St. Petersburg Times review.

Nov. 17--COLUMBUS -- The Columbus Fire Department will have a simulator to educate Columbus and surrounding communities about fire safety following the City Council's approval Monday of an $82,701 combination sprinkler/fire safety house.

Nov. 17--Cory Shifflett, the son of former Bedford County volunteer fire chief Jeffrey Shifflett, pleaded guilty today to seven counts of embezzlement, throwing himself on the mercy of the court.

"His position is he wants to take responsibility and make things right," Bedford County Commonwealth's Attorney Randy Krantz said after this morning's hearing in the county Circuit Court.

HIGHLAND -- Dan Baxter peers out his front window at the new neighbor that blocks his views of American Fork Canyon, has forced him to abandon the front half of his home and is currently shining a bright red light on his face. "It's almost as if the building is positioned to shine the lights right in our home," he said.

<?xml:namespace prefix = dme />

--

HONEA PATH, S.C.----

Tony Clark's job requires him to be good with his hands. He has more than 12 years of EMS and rescue experience, has worked as a paramedic for nine and

started working with the Honea Path Rescue Squad back in January. However, on Monday in his hands was a letter, a request to remove his managers from the

job he loves so much.

<?xml:namespace prefix = dme />

Nov. 17--HOLLYWOOD -- A driver trying to speed away from a crash on Interstate 95 instead caused a fiery wreck that killed one person, injured several others and halted traffic on the busy highway for five hours, authorities said.

The person who died was burned up when a car was engulfed in flames, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif.
--

Firefighters are making good progress against a brush fire that spread through more than 250 acres of rugged wilderness northeast of San Juan Capistrano.

Fire officials say the blaze was 75 percent contained Monday evening.

Some 300 firefighters hope to have the flames completely surrounded by Tuesday afternoon.

Capt. Greg McKeown of the Orange County Fire Authority says the fire is about 2 1/2 miles from any structures.

An embittered ex-boyfriend doused a pregnant woman with gasoline and set her on fire in the doorway of her Queens apartment yesterday as her horrified children looked on, officials and neighbors said.

COLUMBIA TOWNSHIP, Ohio

--

Firefighters had to bring in water to battle a blaze at a Columbia Township golf course overnight.

Firefighters were called to the closed Riverside Gold Club on Route 252, just south of Sprague Road at about 12:30 a.m. Monday.

It took firefighters about an hour to bring the blaze under control. Multiple tankers had to be brought in.

Firefighters from Columbia Township, Olmsted Falls, Eaton Township and Grafton Township helped get the fire under control.

<?xml:namespace prefix = dme />

NEW CASTLE, Pa.

NEW HAVEN, Conn.

--

A man was arrested Sunday after New Haven police said he set his wife on fire.

According to police, Howard Stewart, 50, intentionally set fire to his second-floor apartment, located at 14 Market Street, at about 8 a.m. after doused his wife and 12-year-old stepdaughter with a flammable liquid.

Police said Stewart's wife suffered second- and third-degree burns and was transported to Bridgeport Hospital’s Burn Unit.

SHELBY, N.C.

--

Emergency crews searched for hours Sunday afternoon for two teenagers who drowned after their boat capsized in a Cleveland County pond.

Deputies said the search was difficult because the water in the private two and a half acre pond was very muddy and murky after the recent rainfall.

Justin Bourgeois was with the teens in the moments before they went under. "I kept yelling grab the boat," Bourgeois said.

Nov. 15--The owners of a Harborcreek Township business damaged early Saturday by fire believe the blaze might have started in an electrical panel.

The fire was reported about5 a.m. at Harborcreek Resales, a used-car dealership and repair shop at 6850 Buffalo Road.

Five volunteer fire departments responded to fight the blaze, but much of the building and the equipment inside was destroyed.

<?xml:namespace prefix = dme />

A fire started in a second-story apartment in Eureka Saturday morning was quickly extinguished.

The Eureka Fire Department and Humboldt County Fire District No. 1 responded to the 1200 block of Long Street at about 1:05 a.m. to a report of smoke from a second floor window.

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga.

--

A classroom trailer behind a Lawrenceville elementary school has been destroyed by an early-morning fire.

Gwinnett County Fire and Emergency Services spokesman Capt. Tommy Rutledge said in a statement that firefighters responded at 3:24 a.m. Saturday to a report of smoke behind Cedar Hill Elementary School.

Firefighters had to force entry through a locked gate to get to the fire and then had to force entry into the trailer.

Nov. 14--MOULTRIE -- A heater being used to dry pecans caught a trailer full of them on fire, damaging the trailer, early Friday morning. A firefighter was injured fighting the flames.

DICKSON, Tenn.

--

Traffic along Interstate 40 eastbound was blocked Friday at mile marker 180 near Dickson after a tour bus caught fire, according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

Officers were at the scene at 4 p.m. diverting traffic around the crash. There were no reports of injuries.

The bus was being towed by a wrecker when it caught fire. Officials with the Dickson County Rescue Squad said it appears the fire originated in the bus engine compartment.

It appears the City of Rochester will fight recent court decision ordering the city to pay more than $3.2 million to reimburse firefighters.

Rochester Mayor Robert J. Duffy instructed the city's corporation counsel to appeal, according to a statement issued this week.

Portland planned to train its firefighters with smoke Thursday.

But they also got fire when the smoke grenades dropped into the abandoned house set trash inside on fire.

Fire Chief Jim Leahey said the nine firefighters had the fire under control throughout the drill at the house on the corner of Fourth and Houston streets.

The drill was part of several planned by the department to sharpen firefighters' skills.

Nov. 13--ANDERSON, Ind. -- The Anderson Fire Department will give up part of its ambulance user fee collections, set aside to maintain equipment and fire stations, to help pay for its salaries in the midst of a city budget crisis.

The City Council on Thursday approved an ordinance that allows the fire department to contribute $890,000 of its user fee money to the general fund, which can pay for firefighters' salaries.

ALBANY, Calif. --

Firefighters remained on the scene late Thursday evening of a massive lumber fire in Albany that broke out at a lumber yard near Point Isabel and the Richmond city line.

The flames could be seen for miles.

The fire broke out around 7:20 p.m.

A day after accusing the Philadelphia firefighters union of racial hostility in a federal lawsuit, a group of black firefighters pressed their grievances yesterday, saying the union cannot be trusted to protect their hard-won civil rights.

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. --

A mother and her three children were killed in an early-morning fire in Bridgeport Friday.

Firefighters were called to the P.T. Barnum complex at about 1 a.m.

The mother and her children were pulled from the burning building.

MADISON, Wis.

--

The Madison Fire Department said a morning fire Thursday damaged some businesses on the city's East Side.

Firefighters responded to a report of a fire at Lazybones Laundry & Storage Service in the 4300 block of Neptune Court just before 2 a.m. Thursday.

Upon arrival, firefighters saw smoke coming from the building. Crews conducted a search of the building and quickly extinguished the fire, according to Bernadette Galvez, public information officer at the Madison Fire Department.

Nov. 12--A dispatcher error that sent two fire trucks to the wrong address during a fatal blaze in Woodside last week has exposed deep anger by some firefighters over the city's new 911 system.

McKEESPORT, Pa.

--

Authorities are investigating after a blaze erupted at the magistrate's office in McKeesport early Thursday morning.

According to authorities, someone threw a Molotov Cocktail into the O'Neil Boulevard building, causing the blaze.

Police said the fire bomb was thrown before Magistrate Eugene F. Riazzi and his workers showed up for work.

Riazzi said he sees hundreds of cases a month and can't help but feel like a target.

HARTFORD, Conn. --

Firefighter Mike Di'Giacomo said his SUV is banned from in the firehouse because the bumper stickers he has on it, displays his political views.

Di'Giacomo said he has never run into a problem like this in the 10 years he has been with the department.

The bumper stickers read:

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. --

A Volusia County firefighter was killed in a training accident. Now his widow says his memory is being disgraced by a website linking his picture to a horrible story.

The story is about an Australian firefighter accused of molesting children. But instead of using the suspect's picture, a website used a picture of John Curry, who died in Volusia County in 2007.

INDEPENDENCE, Mo.

--

A large fire is burning at the Independence Ridge Apartments, 19012 E 37th Terr.

Flames have been seen throughout the building and emergency crews are on the way. Several residents have also been seen standing outside the building.

The fire was reported around 4:43 a.m.

A resident sent in a pair of

cell phone videos.

WINSTON-SALEM

--

Two puppies were pulled to safety Tuesday evening and crews were working Wednesday morning to rescue a third puppy that was trapped in an asphalt tunnel off Stadium Drive.

Workers with the Winston-Salem Rescue Squad prepare to snake a camera into the tunnel.

BOSTON --

A Boston firefighter candidate is speaking out about about the high fees charged to take the state's civil service exam when so few towns are hiring.

Jason Murray wants to be a Boston firefighter.

He said he paid a hefty fee to take the firefighter test last year and got a near-perfect score, but didn't get a job.

So, he has to take the test again, to the tune of another $200.

The state responded by saying that taking the civil service exam is not a guarantee of employment, and if an applicant took the

SEATTLE

--

The reward offered for information that helps catch whoever is responsible for setting a series of fires in Seattle's Greenwood neighborhood was raised to $25,000 Tuesday.

After six deliberately set fires in the last 18 days, many in the Greenwood neighborhood are anxious.

The worst was a fire on Oct. 23 that destroyed four restaurants and caused $2 million in damage.

PORTLAND, Ore.

--

A three-alarm fire tore through a southeast Portland school and caused significant damage Tuesday.

The fire started just before noon and the school was quickly evacuated. All 460 students and 17 teachers have been accounted for, said Kim Kosmas in a Portland Fire and Rescue news release.

Two adults suffered minor smoke inhalation, fire crews said. No children were injured.

RODEO, Calif. --

An explosion and two-alarm fire ripped apart a vacant apartment in Rodeo early Tuesday, trapping a family of three inside their neighboring unit until they were rescued with the help of a Good Samaritan, authorities said.

The explosion and fire was reported just before 1:30 a.m. in a multi-unit apartment building at 1304 Mariposa St, Rodeo-Hercules Fire Department Battalion Chief Alan Biagi said.

<?xml:namespace prefix = dme />

RONDA --

An early morning fire on Sunday in Ronda sent firefighters from three departments to battle a blaze at the Nance family residence off of Chatham Road.

The Nance family dog, Daisy, escaped serious injury when the heat lamp inside her dogho

HOOKSETT, N.H. --

Three firefighters were injured in a three-alarm fire in Hooksett on Monday evening.

Firefighters from dozens of towns were called just before 6 p.m. to a building at 242 W. River Road, which was shut down for almost four hours between Scott Avenue and Cross Road.

PAPILLION, Neb.

--

Papillion officials have named two firefighters who they said provided recruits with test questions and answers, a move that caused the department to invalidate the tests and start over from scratch.

Jeffrey Strawn, a deputy chief, and Matthew Sullivan, a captain, were both demoted to the rank of firefighter 1, said city administrator Dan Hoins in a statement released Monday.

Firefighter candidates who used the test questions and answers have been prohibited from applying for city jobs in the future.

SYLVA, N.C.

--

One person was killed and another person was injured during a fire at a retirement home in Jackson County on Sunday morning.

The blaze happened at the Jackson Village at about 2 a.m.

Firefighters said that a breezeway connecting the apartments caught fire, destroying four units.

Forest Aikens, 76, lived in one of those four units and was killed.

Nov. 8--LAWRENCE, Mass. -- City officials will meet tomorrow with the owners of the Merrimac Paper Co. building that was ravaged by fire Friday night to determine how soon the mill can be demolished.

"Our goal is to get the building down as soon as possible because it's unsafe," said Myles Burke, the city's inspectional services director.

--

Nov. 9--A man and a woman were hospitalized after being overcome by methane gas at a Bay Shore home Sunday, while a police officer who responded to the scene was treated at a hospital and released, officials said.

The source of the gas was unclear Monday. Officials are investigating whether it was a problem with plumbing, sewage or due to an overwhelming number of animals in the home, Suffolk County SPCA chief Roy Gross said.

Nov.

--

Nov. 8--The fire chief in the Athens County city of Nelsonville died Friday night in an apparent suicide at the fire station, Sheriff Patrick Kelly said today.

Tim Carr, 53, was found shortly after 6 p.m. and flown by helicopter to Grant Medical Center in Columbus, where he died, Kelly said.

A .380-caliber handgun was found at the scene, but no one witnessed the shooting, Kelly said. He would not give details of what happened, citing the ongoing investigation.

Nov. 7--Hundreds of people attending a teen hockey tournament were evacuated from a west suburban ice rink late this afternoon because of a carbon monoxide leak, authorities said.

Thirteen people at Center Ice of DuPage, 1N450 Highland Ave. in unincorporated Milton Township near Glen Ellyn, were taken to area hospitals after they were overwhelmed by carbon monoxide fumes, according to officials from the Glen Ellyn Volunteer Fire Company.

Another 29 were treated at the scene and released.

A formal settlement has been reached in an eight-year racial-discrimination lawsuit brought by two Camden deputy fire chiefs against the city and its fire chief.

Under the agreement, Terrence Crowder, who retired from the department in May, and Kevin Hailey, who is expected to retire next year, will receive $1.15 million.

In addition, Fire Chief Joseph Marini will step down, and all supervisory fire officers with the rank of captain or higher will undergo diversity training.

Marini will retire effective Dec. 31.

Three people were killed and four were injured in a fire at an illegally subdivided house in Queens early Saturday morning, according to the New York Times.

Nov. 7--A Gibsonville fi refi ghter arrested last month on his way to an apartment fire no longer faces felony charges, but the district attorney's office won't say whether the traffi c offenses he racked up that day will stick.

Gibsonville Fire Assistant Chief Joseph Loy was charged by Elon University campus police on Oct.

INDIANAPOLIS --

Indianapolis fire investigators blame the cold weather for a rash of blazes set at abandoned homes.

Firefighters have responded to 20 such fires in the last month, the latest Friday night on the city's east side. Capt. Rita Reith said all of the blazes were likely set by homeless trying to stay warm.

"They'll use whatever available materials they have, whether it's newspaper clothing, a mattress that's left by somebody else, wood from outside.

JERSEY CITY, N.J. --

Fire officials say operations at Ellis Island have been widely disrupted by a transformer fire.

Armando Roman, director of Jersey City's Fire and Emergency Services Department, says firefighters were dispatched at about 12:50 p.m.

--

Nov. 6--WILSON -- Dozens of firefighters remained on the scene this morning, dousing the smoldering remains of the historic Wilson Opera House and two other buildings.

The fire was reported at about 2:35 a.m. today, when Wilson Police Chief Mike Schoenfer received a call that a passing motorist had noticed embers in the area.

When he arrived, a structure known as the Johnson building was engulfed in flames.

--

Nov. 6--Boulder police responded to an accident at the intersection of Broadway and Baseline Road after noon Friday involving a Boulder fire truck and an SUV.

The fire truck had its lights and sirens on and was heading to a medical call as it neared the intersection, said Boulder police spokeswoman Sarah Huntley. An SUV failed to stop at the intersection and collided with the truck, Huntley said.

--

Nov. 4--Owners of rental properties could be required to install carbon monoxide detectors under a new law proposed Wednesday by County Executive Jim Smith.

Baltimore County firefighters responded to more than 1,300 incidents carbon monoxide poisoning last year. The department projects it will be called to about 1,400 incidents this year.

Smith said the law is needed because carbon monoxide poisoning "poses a serious threat to the health and safety of people in Baltimore County."

The District's fire chief is spending money on overtime at such a rate that he will blow through his overtime budget halfway through the fiscal year, a D.C.

 A fast-moving two-alarm fire in Vancouver's Harney Heights neighborhood destroyed two townhouses Tuesday morning, sent a woman to the hospital and killed an unknown number of cats.

WASHINGTON, Pa.

COBB COUNTY, Ga. --  

The covered bridge in Cobb County reopened Friday morning after a driver smashed a truck into the entrance of the bridge and then got his too tall U-Haul truck wedged tight inside the historic bridge.

The driver and two passengers were trapped inside the truck for almost two hours.

BUSHLAND, Texas
--

A natural gas pipeline exploded in the Texas Panhandle on Thursday, shaking homes, melting window blinds and shooting flames hundreds of feet into the air, authorities said.

Three people were injured in the blast, which occurred at 1 a.m. near Amarillo, and they were taken to an area hospital with burns, said Potter County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Roger Short.

"My home is about 20 miles something away and I could see the flames from my home," Short said. "You could hear the roar of the flames 20 miles away."

WATSONVILLE, Calif.

--

A two-alarm fire that ripped through an apartment complex Wednesday evening has left eight families displaced.

The fire started in a bottom floor unit of the complex located at 605 Tuttle Avenue at about 6 p.m.

The fire quickly spread and two units were destroyed by the blaze, while other units had smoke damage, fire officials said.

Officials said the fire started when a kitchen stove was left on and grease left in a frying pan was the source for the flames.

--

Nov. 5--The scene outside of the Pauls Valley senior citizen center was anything but normal Wednesday morning when the facility had to be evacuated because of a suspected carbon monoxide or natural gas leak.

First responders found a handful of people outside in the parking lot in need of medical attention as other people at the site in Wacker Park were wondering what had happened.

--

Nov. 5--BELLINGHAM -- A huge fire heavily damaged Whatcom Middle School overnight, canceling classes and leaving the school's future in doubt.

A neighbor of the school at F and Girard streets called 911 shortly after 1 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, after seeing fire on the roof. By the time firefighters arrived about 1:15 a.m., the flames were racing across the roof. Within 15 minutes the fire had worked its way across two-thirds of the roof, Bellingham Fire Chief Bill Boyd said.

Nov.

SAN ANTONIO

--

An apartment fire in New Braunfels early Wednesday left two people injured, including a firefighter.

The fire, which started at around 2 a.m. at the Linde Apartments in the 1000 block of Linde, displaced eight families, destroyed two units and damaged six others.

Fire Marshal Patrick O'Connell said that the fire started in the kitchen in one of the ground-floor units. O'Connell said a resident returned home and started to cook something when he fell asleep. When the man woke up, the unit was on fire.

--

Nov. 5--SARATOGA -- Volunteer firefighter Donald Ormsby was making lunch at home in Schuylerville around noon on Columbus Day when he heard an emergency call for assistance a mile away on Hayes Road.

The longtime member of the Quaker Springs department was first on the scene, and what he saw shook him: his 30-year-old daughter, Dawn, lying beside her smashed vehicle.

JACKSON, Miss.

--

Hundreds of fire hydrants in Jackson are deemed faulty, according to city records.

In September, David Hobson's home burned to the ground as neighbors watched. Although firefighters were at the scene, the two fire hydrants they plugged into couldn't produce enough water to fight the blaze.

<?xml:namespace prefix = dme />

WOODS CROSS, Utah --

An explosion shook nearby homes as a fire broke out Wednesday at a refinery north of Salt Lake City.

SEBASTIAN, Fla.

--

Firefighters worked to extinguish a blaze at a Sebastian crematorium Wednesday.

Indian River County Fire Marshal Brian Nolan said the fire started at the Seawinds Funeral Home at 735 Fleming St. shortly before 2 p.m.

The fire burned four bodies which were about to be cremated. Nobody was reported injured in the fire.

Nolan said the fire only destroyed the crematorium and not the funeral home.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

<?xml:namespace prefix = dme />

There's been a disaster in the fictional town of Abbottville and responders from around the nation have been summoned to help fight the fires, tend to the injured and rescue those who have been trapped by debris.

Abbottville is a scale model diorama of a community decimated by a tornado that has flattened the town's residential section, severely damaged the high school and trapping 71 students inside the gym, der

Clandestine laboratories present huge hazards for all responders who encounter them. Police risk injury and illness responding to the crime scene or investigating suspicious activities. Firefighters expose themselves to hazardous materials as they put out fires or try to deal with contaminated sites.

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga.

--

Rescuers have found the bodies of two people killed after a small airplane crashed Friday afternoon in Gwinnett County.

The twin-engine Cessna 310 took off from Gwinnett County airport en route to Sparta, Tenn., when it crashed into a house near the intersection of Oracle and Walker drives in Lawrenceville about 1:30 p.m.

--

Oct. 30--LAWRENCE -- Eight city firefighters have been getting paid to stay at home for 11 weeks while waiting for a decision on whether their layoffs were justified.

"Definitely, a couple of balls were dropped on this one," Mayor Michael Sullivan said yesterday of the personnel moves that prolonged the Fire Department's budget problem instead of eliminating it.

It's pretty well known that people in the emergency services like stuff -- especially new stuff. And, it looks like there's some cool new stuff in the pipeline for gadget folks.

What would you think about a handheld device that can help make triage decisions from 40 feet with the scan of a laser that can measure respirations and pulse? Or, how about a firefighter-locator that can help pinpoint responders in three-dimensions?

A Toledo firefighter was injured after falling through a hole in the floor while battling a blaze early this morning (Oct. 30), according to WTOL-TV.

The house fire occurred at approximately 1:30 a.m. in the 2100 block of Plum Leaf and started in a crawl space and burned through the floor, officials told the news station/

The injured firefighter was transported to St. Vincent Hospital and Medical Center to be treated for burns on his body.

HOMESTEAD, Pa. -- It's been said that cats have nine lives, but one woman is crediting her 7-month-old kitty for saving one.

Chrissy Mitzak had just gotten out of bed inside her Homestead apartment building when she noticed her cat, Sassy, was acting strangely.

"She made a real quick jerk and was crawling at the walls and crawling and crawling. I was like 'What is it? A bug?

MODESTO, Calif. -- An early-morning fire gutted an office building that houses the Stanislaus Arts Council, causing $1 million in damage.

The two-alarm blaze erupted just before 4 a.m. Thursday and it was an hour before firefighters could extinguish the flames.

Nobody was hurt in the blaze.

Two other businesses also occupied the building on Kansas Avenue, including a catering business and one that treats addicts.

Modesto fire inspectors have not yet identified a cause of the fire.

URBANA TWP., Ohio -- A transformer at the top of a utility pole exploded and burned after a driver struck it on Oct. 28, resulting in the scene shown in the photo on the right, taken by Springfield News Sun photographer Bill Lackey.

The crash occurred on U.S. 68 shortly after noon when the motorist drove his vehicle up a set of guy wires, striking the top of the pole before overturning.

A witness told the newspaper the driver went up there "like a roller coaster."

--

Oct. 27--FORT WORTH -- From his bunk in the Salvation Army homeless shelter, Greg LaRue can hear the wailing sirens of fire trucks as they roar down East Lancaster Drive.

For most homeless people, it is background noise. Another fire. Another person sick. Another person injured.

But to LaRue, the sound is a stabbing reminder of the life he had, the career he cherished and the challenges he must overcome.

A brigade of more than 1,500 firefighters made big gains Monday in a battle against wind-whipped flames in the Santa Cruz Mountains, allowing dozens of evacuated residents to return home. But amid an atmosphere of relief, questions swirled about how the blaze began.

Among the possible scenarios, state fire officials acknowledged, is that the Loma Fire was started by firefighters themselves.

--

Oct. 26--KNOB NOSTER -- A 1-month-old baby is dead after an apartment fire at 402 W. McPherson St.

The baby, Justin Bailey, is the son of Robin and Jacob Bailey.

The State Fire Marshal's Office is investigating the fire, which firefighters responded to at 8:38 a.m. Friday.

Police Chief Brian Kniskern said the infant had been left in a car seat carrier on top of the electric stove.

Dressed in prison orange, Gilberto Smith was unloading shovels and other equipment when he twisted his ankle deep in Eureka Canyon. Officials from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection knew that if the Loma fire turned his way, he'd never make it out alive. So the officials called in a helicopter.

--

Oct. 25--EL PASO -- A fire this afternoon destroyed an abandoned warehouse and threatened nearby homes in Central El Paso.

Just before 1:30 p.m. about 40 firefighters were called to a blaze at a warehouse near the corner of Luna and Rosa streets.

Nearby residents said the warehouse was an old feed mill.

Nobody was hurt from the fire that was brought under control in about 30 minutes.

Fire investigators are looking into how the blaze began.

SANTA CRUZ, Calif.

--

Homes have been evacuated after a wildfire broke out early Sunday in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Cal Fire officials said.

The so-called Loma Fire, which started at Maymens Flat and Highland roads at about 3 a.m., is currently threatening 250 structures and had scorched 600 acres as of 4 p.m. Sunday.

Images: Loma Fire Ignites In Santa Cruz Mountains

NEW YORK -- FDNY firefighters rescued two people who were injured in an explosion in Queens on Monday night, according to WNYW.

The explosion at the two-story home occurred at approximately 7:30 p.m. A 64-year-old homeowner opened a propane tank at the doorway of the basement when it blew up.

The male homeowner and a woman who was on another floor were briefly trapped and needed to be rescued by firefighters.

ATLANTA, Ga. -- It would be a safe bet that there's no fire department or EMS provider in the nation that would say it has plenty of funding and doesn't need another penny.

It would also be safe to say many of same emergency services providers have no clue how to improve their financial status.

Two gentlemen from the Chesterfield County (Va.) Fire and EMS Department were on hand Wednesday at Firehouse Central and EMS Expo in Atlanta to give attendees some information on alternative funding opportunities for emergency service organizations.

BALTIMORE, Md. -- Some came in vans and buses, by air and by rail. They came from large and small departments. And they came to be heard -- and they were successful.

Firefighters and burn survivors descended on the International Code Council's annual conference at Hilton Baltimore Convention Center today (Oct. 28) to vote to keep residential sprinklers on the books.

The widow of a firefighter killed during a 2007 training exercise is suing Volusia County Fire Services, according to The Orlando Sentinel.

A 40-foot tree fell on Firefighter John Curry on Nov. 27, 2007 as another firefighter cut it down with a chain saw.

Curry was attending his first wildfire training session as a new member of the firewalkers and had no formal training in cutting down trees or using chain saws, according to the lawsuit.

<?xml:namespace prefix = dme />

Oct. 24--A dozen New York City firefighters were hurt -- including a seriously injured driver who got trapped in an overturned vehicle -- when two trucks rushing to a gas leak collided in a Brooklyn intersection Saturday morning, officials said.

Witnesses described a collision between Engine Company No. 236 and Ladder Company No. 107 at the corner of Ashford Street and Hegeman Avenue in the East New York neighborhood.

The 9:43 a.m.

--

Oct. 24--When Las Vegas firetrucks arrived at a burning home on Comstock Drive in September, it seemed like a routine call.

But then a window in the firetruck exploded -- right next to firefighter Richard Gonzalez-Reff's head -- and it quickly became apparent that this call would be something else.

"At first I thought it was radiant heat from the fire," Gonzalez-Reff testified today. "But then I saw him (the shooter) rack the gun, and I just yelled, 'Go, go, go!' "

--

Oct. 24--NEW LONDON -- Five fire departments were hauling water, and garbage was being dug up, in an effort to extinguish a fire smoldering in trash buried five years ago at the Kandiyohi County Sanitary Landfill in rural New London.

Landfill clerk Mary Peterson said employees reporting for work Thursday morning saw smoke but no flames rising from the ground. The site was excavated and the New London Fire Department was called to put out the smoldering garbage.

--

Oct. 23--Fire helped stop a home from burning to the ground Wednesday night.

It sounds unlikely, but a fire official with the East Limestone Volunteer Fire Department says a fire sparked by an electrical short melted a water pipe and, in turn, helped douse a fire that might otherwise have destroyed a home at 25205 Copeland Road.

A man arrived at his two-story brick home after visiting friends in Madison County, discovered smoke and called 911, said East Limestone Fire Capt. Tony Kirk.

PULASKI, Tenn.

--

Police in Giles County have arrested an 18-year-old man for allegedly setting a fire that killed a mother and her two children on Friday morning.

William Charles Angel Jr. has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder.

Giles County fire chief Barry Witt said the blaze occurred on Milky Way Drive near Pulaski, Tenn., at about 1 a.m.

--

Oct. 23--A brother and sister were seriously injured Thursday morning when their house filled with propane and exploded in Cache County, leaving the house a pile of rubble.

Tony Sorensen, 27, was flown to University Hospital with more than 65 percent of his body burned, said Cache County sheriff's Chief Deputy David Bennett. His sister, 23-year-old Mary Sorensen, was taken by ambulance to Logan Regional Medical Center, according to Bennett.

CATANO, Puerto Rico --

An explosion at a Gulf gasoline facility Friday rocked a neighborhood outside Puerto Rico's capital, causing minor injuries and forcing evacuations as firefighters raced to prevent additional blasts.

Several columns of black smoke and flames were rising from the Caribbean Petroleum Corp., a gasoline warehouse and distribution center on San Juan's bay that owns the Gulf brand in this U.S. Caribbean territory.

MINNEAPOLIS

--

MINNEAPOLIS - So much for cell phones and 911. There are still spots in rural Minnesota where people call the nearest cafe for help when a farmer's life is on the line.

Steve Pung on Tuesday had climbed into the 30-foot-high steel corn bin on his family's farm 100 miles west of the Twin Cities near Spring Hill. That's when the finicky auger Pung planned to fix started whirring below him and the corn started shifting and piling up around him. Fast.

An Upper Arlington family was feeling lucky yesterday after a firefighter rescued them from their burning house.

Amy Armstrong and her son, Benjamin, 15, had fled onto their second-story back porch in their pajamas after smoke from a kitchen fire blocked their escape downstairs at 12:30 a.m.

INDIANAPOLIS

--

Interstate 465 on Indianapolis' northeast side could be closed for weeks, officials said, after a large propane tanker truck exploded and burst into flames on an on-ramp from Interstate 69 Thursday morning, possibly compromising an I-465 bridge and injuring four people.

BOSTON --

A Boston firefighter who was caught bodybuilding while out on disability is one of two Boston firefighters charged with fraud by federal prosecutors.

Albert Arroyo, 46, was charged in federal court with fraud involving his applications for accidental disability pensions, the U.S.

A captain with the Clinton Fire Department died yesterday (Oct. 21), hours after working out while on duty, according to The Clarion-Ledger.

Capt. John Thurman was found unconscious at approximately 5 p.m. by someone walking through a park that sits next to Fire Station 3. He was transported to Jackson Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The 21-year fire veteran's cause of death is still unknown, the newspaper report said.