‘Intentionally set’ house fire sends 3 North Carolina firefighters to hospital

VIDEO: Three firefighters with the Charlotte Fire Department have been hospitalized following a two-alarm house fire that was intentionally set Thursday morning in north Charlotte. The department responded to a structure fire around 2:45 a.m. on Grimes Street and had to call for more support due to the size of the fire. Firefighters said it took 60 minutes to get the fire under control. A mayday was also transmitted before one firefighter had to be rescued from the home. Three family members and a dog were also able to escape due to working smoke alarms. Overall, three firefighters were ultimately transported to an area hospital due to injuries sustained while battling the fire. Thursday afternoon, the Charlotte Fire Department said investigators “determined the fire was intentionally set.”
WSOC-TV ABC 9 Charlotte

Legislation would allow Seattle Fire Department to order demolition of unsafe vacant buildings

New proposed legislation would make it easier to demolish or remediate dangerous vacant buildings in the City of Seattle. Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell announced the legislation Thursday morning which he developed in partnership with councilmembers Tammy Morales and Bob Kettle, which would give the Seattle Fire Department the power to order complete demolition or remediation of unsafe vacant buildings. Vacant building fires within the city of Seattle have been on the rise over the last few years. There were 77 vacant building fires in 2021, 91 in 2022, and 130 in 2023, and there have been 30 so far in 2024, according to city data. Vacant building fires require a large number of resources from the Seattle Fire Department and put firefighters' lives at risk, according to Fire Chief Harold Scoggins. Three people died in vacant building fires in 2023.
KING-TV NBC 5 Seattle

Anniversary of a disaster: Remembering the Texas explosion that killed hundreds in April 1947

VIDEO: April 16 is a day still remembered in Texas City – the day of an unimaginable disaster. It happened during prosperous times for the growing oil, shipping and chemical industry in Galveston County in 1947. Texas City was a growing town of 16,000 where many of the residents worked at chemical and petroleum plants that had sprouted up along the ship channel during World War II. In mid-April 1947, a French freighter, the Grand Camp, docked at Texas City to take on a heavy load of ammonium nitrate fertilizer. But as longshoremen loaded the ship on April 16, the smell of smoke filled the air. A small fire had broken out deep inside the Grand Camp. The captain ordered that steam be used to smother the fire, which created a brightly colored smoke that drew people to the dock to watch. Then the unimaginable happened: an explosion so powerful that it was heard 210 miles away in Louisiana.
KVUE-TV ABC 24 Austin

Sky’s the limit for Alabama singing firefighter Ducote Talmage after ’The Voice’

Whether or not Auburn’s singing firefighter has a hit to rise up the charts one day, look up in the sky. You might see him soaring another way. “I like to have realistic goals for myself, and one of those is to become a pilot,” said Ducote Talmage, who until recently was a contestant on NBC’s singing competition “The Voice.” The 20-year-old country and Southern rock singer is attending community college in Opelika and plans to attend Auburn University. Between fire training and a journey to Los Angeles for the show, Talmage admits that he’s somewhat behind but plans to study aviation management — the business side of aviation. “I’m actually planning on attending flight school in Montgomery in the next couple of months,” Talmage said. Most people coming off of a music competition show like this would be looking to release a new project or start their own tour, while the fame fire is still hot. That’s not necessarily true for Talmage. In fact, he’s not sure he truly considers himself a singer.
Montgomery Advertiser - Metered Site

VIDEO: Extra-alarm fire destroys Lower West Side Chicago apartment house, spreads to neighboring homes

PHOTOS: A fireball shot into the sky Thursday evening as an apartment house went up in flames in Pilsen. Firefighters were called to the scene at 8:15 p.m., and found flames raging at the two-and-a-half-story, multi-family frame house at 1355 W. 16th St., Chicago Fire Department Assistant 1st District Chief Jim McDonough said. The building was vacant and was being remodeled at the time, he said. Firefighters immediately launched a blitz attack – directing two hose lines on the house while protecting nearby homes. The Fire Department raised a 2-11 alarm for additional equipment and manpower. A 2-11 alarm brings 32 pieces of fire equipment and just short of 100 firefighters, McDonough explained. The fire did spread to two nearby buildings to the east and west – both of them constructed from a wood frame with a brick veneer, and both of them occupied, McDonough said.
WBBM-TV CBS 2 Chicago

Fire department in Tennessee adds dash cameras to firetrucks, improving how crews respond to calls

VIDEO: Firetrucks in Pigeon Forge now have dash cameras, recording how crews respond to calls and helping them improve how they approach emergencies. Fire Chief Tony Watson said crews and fire department leaders can watch videos to learn how to better fight fires. He said the cameras cost around $130,000 and they help expand the station's training opportunities. "A picture's worth 1,000 words," he said. "I don't think there's a better thing that we can do than to be able to share some of the stuff that we're seeing out here on a daily basis." He said the videos can help save the lives of firefighters, making sure they approach emergencies prepared with vital information. "We can look at how we position our apparatus. We can look at the actions our firefighters do. You got to tell them, 'Okay, this is non-punitive, we're not gonna get you in trouble. Let's talk about how we can do this better,'" he said.
WBIR-TV NBC 10 Knoxville

San Francisco commemorates 118th anniversary of 1906 earthquake with ceremony, stressing preparedness

VIDEO: San Francisco is marking the 118th anniversary of the 1906 earthquake and fire that nearly destroyed the city. Every year on April 18, a moment of silence is observed at 5:11 a.m. at Lotta's Fountain on Market Street to remember those who lost their lives in the 7.8-magnitude tremor. More than 3,000 people died in the quake and fire, and hundreds of thousands lost their homes. Lotta's served as a meeting spot for citizens to reunite with their loved ones after the quake. It is the oldest surviving monument from that day. The ceremony also included 30 seconds of fire engine sirens at 5:12 a.m., during the exact moment the earthquake hit. As part of the ceremony, many who attend dress up in Victorian-era outfits. Former Mayor Willie Brown, SFFD, SFPD, San Francisco Sheriff's Office were there as well as the Emergency Management Department.
KGO-TV ABC 7 San Francisco

Major 911 outages in 4 states leave millions without a way to contact local authorities

VIDEO: Law enforcement agencies across four states were left scrambling following reports of major 911 outages that saw millions unable to contact authorities late Wednesday. Many of the outages — reported in Nebraska, Nevada, South Dakota and Texas — were restored by the late evening. So far, there’s no indication that the outages were caused by a cyberattack or other malicious act, law enforcement officials told NBC News on Thursday. The outages appear to be related to Lumen Technologies, a spokesperson for the communications and telecom company said. On Wednesday, some customers in Nevada, South Dakota and Nebraska "experienced an outage" when a third-party company, unrelated to Lumen, "physically cut our fiber" while "installing a light pole," company spokesperson Mark Molzen said.
NBC News