VIDEO: Massive inferno burns Pennsylvania warehouse, residents told to stay indoors

Flames and thick smoke shot from a large warehouse in Northeast Philadelphia Friday morning as firefighters battled the large blaze that could be seen and smelled for miles around and forced local residents to stay indoors. The fire along Adams Avenue, near East Wingohocking Street in the Frankford neighborhood, broke out around 5:30 a.m. on Sept. 13, 2024, and quickly spread to two alarms, Philadelphia Fire Department Assistant Deputy Commissioner Derek Bowmer said. The building is a commercial building with an auto shop in the rear that is near the Frankford Creek, Bowmer said. There is another commercial building in back. Both buildings were unoccupied at the time of the fire. “It quickly escalated to three alarms,” Bowmer said as firefighters attacked the flames from outside. By 6:30 a.m. a fourth alarm was struck.
WCAU-TV NBC 10 Philadelphia

Fire engine returned to New York fire department after being decommissioned for 60 years

PHOTOS: More than 60 years after Hicksville Volunteer Fire Department’s fire engine was decommissioned, the vintage vehicle has finally returned home. The engine’s return began last month when former Hicksville Fire Chief Patrick McGeough alerted company historian and former Chief Karl Schweitzer of a posting on the antique apparatus – long thought to be lost to the salvage yard. “It was sold in ’61 or ’62 and that was the last we saw of it,” said Schweitzer. “Minus the pictures we have of it on our wall. Pat saw [the listing] and asked me if I thought it was one of our old trucks,” Schweitzer continued. “[Pat] said that someone was getting rid of it, so we started reaching out to the owner to verify it was one of ours. And it was.” Within just a few days, the officers of Company 5 received a Facebook message from Andrew Rittner Jr. in Ashford, Conn.
The Nassau Observer

After I-15 fire in California, new rules proposed for lithium-ion battery transport

VIDEO: About eight weeks after a fire shut down Interstate 15 between Las Vegas and Los Angeles, U.S. Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev.) is proposing new rules on the transportation of lithium-ion batteries. The 44-hour closure of I-15 about 25 miles east of Barstow was a major problem for weekend travelers on their way to Las Vegas. A flatbed truck carrying six industrial-grade batteries overturned on the shoulder of northbound I-15, stopping traffic for miles in 110-degree heat. Now Titus has introduced the “Thermal Runaway Reduction Act,” which focuses on ways to reduce the potential for thermal runaway — when the temperature of a battery increases uncontrollably, often leading to a fire. Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn G. Goodman cited the crash and freeway closure as more evidence that California should take steps to widen I-15.
KLAS-TV CBS 8 Las Vegas

Arizona fire agencies come together to learn new techniques for palm tree rescues

VIDEO: Multiple fire departments and districts came together to train for palm tree rescues at Reid Park in Tucson. Firefighters use a lot of gear including shoes with spikes to rescue people stuck in palm trees. But now they’re working on a faster, safer way, where those spikes are no longer necessary. “When someone’s stuck in a tree, you know, time is life,” said Roger Thompson, a firefighter with the Tucson Fire Department. Technical rescue technicians from across southern Arizona have been meeting for years, learning and practicing how to rescue people who’ve gotten stuck in palm trees. Thompson told 13 News they see one to two rescues each year. And he’s come up with a new way to execute their rescues. “Implements a lot of the same techniques, but also somewhat streamlined,” Thompson said.
KOLD-TV CBS 13 Tucson

VIDEO: Gas station explodes in Idaho

A gas station exploded and burst into flames in Cardiff, Idaho, Wednesday evening. According to the Clearwater County Sheriff's Office, several law enforcement agencies were dispatched to reports of an explosion at the Cardiff gas station on Highway 11. The sheriff's office said two people were taken to the hospital via LifeFlight with severe burns. The sheriff's office believes there are more victims inside the gas station. The sheriff's office said it does not know when the fire will be put out. The cause of the explosion and fire is still being investigated.
KREM-TV CBS 2 Spokane

Actor James Earl Jones’s voice once boosted New York fire department recruitment

VIDEO: Hudson residents may recall a familiar voice from local fire department recruitment ads—a voice that brought a cinematic touch to community service calls. James Earl Jones, known for his iconic deep voice, once lent his talents to the Hudson City Fire Department in the late 1990s, voicing ads that encouraged young people to join the department’s apprenticeship program. “The Hudson City Fire Department is looking for a few good young people to join the firefighters’ apprenticeship program. These will be young people who understand that giving something extra to the community is a way of getting something extra out of life,” Jones said in the ad, his unmistakable voice delivering the message with gravitas. Jones’s dedication to community causes, it seems, was not limited to the big screen.
WSYR-TV ABC 9 Syracuse

One town in Maine rolls out new state-of-the-art fire truck

VIDEO: Saving lives, in style! The Town of Orrington recently unveiled its new, state-of-the-art fire truck. Nearly three years after the town placed the order, the truck pulled up to the firehouse that was built specifically to house bigger apparatus like this. Fire Chief Scott Stewart says the whole rig is custom-built, down to the eye-catching black paint job. “Yeah, we... I... really wanted to do something different from our traditional color. We kind of went back and forth with a few different things,” Stewart said. “And actually this change came at the last hour. The truck was ordered red and we changed it shortly after placing the order just because we wanted to do something a little different,” Stewart said. “It was kind of a secret. Most people here didn’t know until it started getting built and the pictures started showing up from the manufacturer.”
WABI-TV CBS/CW+ 5 Bangor

23 years after 9/11, World Trade Center Health Program expands to more Flight 93 first responders

VIDEO: On the day America marked 23 years since the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, more people who helped in the aftermath became eligible to enroll in the World Trade Center Health Program. The program expanded enrollment to include additional first responders who helped at the Flight 93 site and the Pentagon. A retired law enforcement member and author who volunteered to respond to the scene of the crash in Shanksville shared what this expansion means to her and other heroes as she battles her own health issues, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. Bells rang 40 times on Wednesday to honor the victims who died when United Flight 93 plummeted into a Somerset County field on Sept. 11, 2001, after passengers and crew members voted to fight back against a group of hijackers.
KDKA-TV CBS 2 Pittsburgh