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Nov. 3--Jackson County authorities say a small fire in a room at Microtel on Highway 71 near Interstate 10 Saturday began as the result of someone's attempt to make methamphetamine.

Two county residents have been arrested in the case and charged with the attempted manufacture of a controlled substance.

Sneads resident Alicia F. Baxter, 29, was arrested Sunday, but has since bonded out of jail.

JACKSON, Miss.

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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.

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WOODS CROSS, Utah --

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

SEBASTIAN, Fla.

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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.

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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

LAWRENCE, Mass. -- With eight of their colleagues facing layoffs, firefighters used the sidewalk outside City Hall last night for an informational picket.

As ballots were being counted inside, about 50 firefighters chanted, "Bring our firefighters back. Keep our city safe."

"We're hoping to get some attention from the new mayor ... to see how committed we are to the city and public safety," said Patrick Driscoll, president of the Lawrence firefighters union.

I believe there is no better way to understand the relationship between tension and compression than to analyze how a suspension bridge works. Perhaps there is no better suspension bridge to analyze than the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, CA.

Several dynamics are changing the course of fire apparatus design during a time when we are "trying to do more with less." First is the impact of our country's economy and the resulting deployment strategies within fire departments.

On Sunday, July 5, 2009, a multiple-alarm fire destroyed four buildings totaling approximately 240,000 square feet at the Patrick Cudahy meat-packing plant in Cudahy, WI. The four three- and four-story buildings were constructed in 1893 of heavy timber with 18-inch brick walls. The buildings were used for storage, microwave bacon production, ham production and maintenance.

St. Johns County, FL, Fire Rescue (SJCFR) was presented with challenges it never faced before. An overloaded 22-foot Crownline Bowrider with 14 people on board rammed a moored, unoccupied tugboat on the Intracoastal Waterway about one mile north of the Palm Valley Bridge, approximately 25 miles southeast of Jacksonville.

SUBJECT: Electrical System Shutdown

TOPIC: Extrication Tactics for "Energized" Vehicles

OBJECTIVE: Given a scenario involving a person trapped in a vehicle that has its battery located inside the passenger compartment, the rescue team will develop a plan for completing extrication work while also managing the vehicle's electrical system safety challenges.

Editor's note: A close call that occurred at the scene of a motor vehicle accident taught firefighters in Maryland not to take any call for granted and even prompted them to develop standard operating guidelines (SOGs) for automobile accidents. As the author, who was the commanding officer at the scene, noted, "We had many SOGs in place, but had never adopted an auto accident SOG in writing. We took these accidents for granted because there had never been a significant firefighter injury as a result of an auto accident response.

Writing a column on "Fire Service Politics" each month gives the author a full run at the total workings of our industry because almost everything that happens has political aspects to it. As we know, the fire service is tied to elected officials at all levels of government who make decisions and vote on policy issues, including budgets and other funding programs. Many of the regulations and standards that guide the fire service are even developed in (what at times) can be a politically rich environment.

A mother who was rescued from her burning home early Monday morning intentionally started the fire in an attempt to kill herself and her two young children, police said yesterday.

Terra M. Lynn, 36, was having problems with a pending divorce, Allegheny County Police Lt. Jeffrey Korczyk said.

"She made no attempt to leave the house after the fire was started," Korczyk said.

To better understand the need for strategic planning in the fire service, let's look at some very basic topics. First, it is critical to develop an understanding of strategic planning. Once we understand what it is, we will know why planning should be accomplished and what the penalties are for not planning.

Unfortunately, when many people consider whether to start college, they never make it past the answer to their first question: "How much is tuition?" No one becomes a firefighter for the money, so it is not likely that you have the extra cash lying around to go back to school. Add to that the current economic situation, which is causing many fire-rescue-EMS departments to reduce or eliminate tuition reimbursement, and it may not seem like now is the time to enroll in college.

Adding to the transportation chaos this morning, a fire broke out about 7 a.m. on a SEPTA R5 Paoli train with about 300 passengers aboard in West Philadelphia.

The fire was contained and the train evacuated with no reports of injuries, SEPTA officials said.

"I can tell you there is absolutely no indication it is strike related," said SEPTA spokeswoman Jerri Williams. "Preliminary indications from the Fire Department are that it was a natural cause fire."

Junior firefighters can now take advantage of the many great benefits of being a member of the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC). The NVFC is offering a new membership option especially designed for junior firefighters. A year-long Junior Membership to the NVFC can now be purchased for just $10 at www.nvfc.org/membership. The membership will become active on January 1, 2010.

BOSTON --

Three police officers and four civilians were injured Tuesday at a house fire in Lynn.

A two-alarm fire broke out Tuesday night in a two-story home at 18 Clinton St. in Lynn, fire officials said.

Of the three police officers who were injured, two were taken away on stretchers and one was able to walk from the scene. One of the people's injuries is believed to be serious, fire officials said.

A small amount of agricultural lime has spilled from three California Northern Railroad cars that derailed in Davis Tuesday afternoon, although officials say there is no danger to the environment.

The derailment occurred shortly after 4 p.m. when the train attempted to switch onto the main track in the area of Eighth and G streets, said Davis fire Capt. Richard Moore.

Two of the cars are "leaning considerably," Moore said. The third remains upright.

CLARK COUNTY, Ohio

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A crash overnight left a man trapped in his vehicle for 90 minutes before rescuers could free him.

The crash happened on Haddix Road in Clark County, just west of Spangler Road.

State troopers said 39-year-old Richard Risner of Enon lost control of his car, went off the left side of the road and crashed into a power pole.

The pole snapped in two and left live wires hanging too low for crews to free the driver.

Kokomo Fire Chief Pat O'Neill said Monday he was awaiting additional information before commenting on the Saturday accident that injured four and heavily damaged a city fire truck.

But a Kokomo police accident report issued Monday exonerated the three firefighters involved in the crash.

One of those three men, James Newburn, 55, Kokomo, was in stable condition at Howard Regional Health System Monday.

Lisa C. Kessinger, 40, Kokomo, was listed as the driver of a 2008 Chrysler minivan in the KPD report.

A man and a 2-month-old child died and two others were critically injured when a fire swept through a house near downtown Chillicothe last night.

Chillicothe firefighters found the body of James S. Beverly, 37, in the house at 164 W. 4th St., said Officer Bud Lytle of the Chillicothe Police Department.

Beverly apparently had escaped the burning house, but went back inside to try to help others, authorities said.

PORTLAND, Ore.

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A fire at a southeast Portland home Tuesday morning killed three pets and resulted in an injury to a firefighter.

Portland Fire & Rescue Lt. Allen Oswalt said the home on Southeast 76th Avenue was fully engulfed in flames before firefighters arrived at the scene at about 5 a.m.

All of the people inside the home escaped before crews arrived, but two cats and a small dog perished in the fire. Two other dogs were able to escape, Oswalt said.