VIDEO: Helmet camera shows firefighters battling shed fire in Pennsylvania

Video from the Hookies Fire Company in Tyrone shows an incredible first-person view of local firefighters battling a blaze in Blair County. Officials say firefighters battled a shed fire early Monday morning along the 100 block of Pot Pie Hill Road in Snyder Township. Authorities say no injuries were reported and responders say the flames didn’t spread to any other buildings. The firefighter's helmet cam shows the intensity of the flames and a look at what the frontlines of battling a fire can look like from a first responder’s perspective.
WJAC-TV NBC/CW+ 6 Johnstown

Ohio department unveils new fire response technology meant to help first responders get better rest

VIDEO: Four Columbus fire stations will be getting technology that is meant to help first responders get better rest during a 24-hour shift. A shift like that can be challenging. Firefighters are usually woken up several times throughout the night. “The thought of sleeping just isn’t a thing. It’s more just rest. And not a true sleep,” Battalion Chief Jeffrey Geitter said. In all but one Columbus fire station, no matter the type of call, everyone at the station hears the alarm to go. “The majority of our runs in the Columbus Division of Fire are medical related. So the paramedic vehicles go out often multiple times a night in certain stations. And so everyone at that station is now woken up for an incident they don’t need to respond on,” Geitter said. That is not the case at Station 16 in North Linden.
WCMH-TV NBC 4 Columbus

Old Baltimore Fire Boat, Circa 1960, Sunk At Delaware’s Artificial Reef

PHOTOS: A Baltimore City fire boat used in the 1960s is now sitting on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, offshore of Lewes and Rehoboth Beach, Delaware—and unlike many shipwrecks, it was put there on purpose. The fire boat Mayor J. Harold Grady is the newest addition to Delaware’s artificial reef system. On Monday, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) Division of Fish and Wildlife added the fire boat and a World War II-era tugboat onto the well-known reef site that also includes more than 700 old New York City subway cars. The reef’s newest addition, Baltimore’s longtime fire boat, was named for Baltimore’s mayor J. Harold Grady, who was serving at the time the vessel was commissioned in 1960.
Chesapeake Bay Magazine

VIDEOS: Driver killed after tractor-trailer explodes, catches fire in New Jersey

PHOTOS: A truck driver died after a tractor-trailer exploded and caught fire on Route 3 in Clifton, NJ, the Passaic County Prosecutor said. The incident closed lanes on the highway in both directions and forced evacuations at nearby homes on Monday morning, but by the evening authorities said that westbound Route 3 had been opened. Authorities say that the truck crashed into a barrier, causing it to catch on fire. The body of the driver, a 55-year-old man from Linden, was discovered inside the wreckage. The Passaic County Prosecutor said the NJ DEP and Passaic County health officials tested for chemicals in the air following the crash and found there were no airborne contaminants. Authorities said they were also testing the water used to extinguish the flames for chemicals as well.
WNYW-TV FOX 5 New York City

New York City mayor announces new e-bike charging initiative to prevent lithium-ion battery fires

VIDEO: Mayor Eric Adams announced a major step for fire safety to protect New Yorkers from e-bikes and scooters that use lithium-ion batteries. The mayor was joined by members of the FDNY on Monday for the launch of a PR campaign that will alert delivery drivers in particular to never store e-bikes in the home. According to the FDNY, e-bikes have caused over 700 fires across the five boroughs since 2019. The city is also launching an incubator to help build more charging racks to make it easy for e-bike users to charge on the go instead of in their homes. "We will make sure there is a place for people to charge them… this accelerator will make sure we are leveraging the private sector who helped cause this boom to make [charging outside] a possibility for our users,” said FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanaugh.
News 12 The Bronx

Shift change at one South Carolina fire station better for work-life balance, leaders say

VIDEO: A fire department in Berkeley County says a change to firefighter shifts is showing positive results. The Berkeley Fire Department and EMS piloted a change for its firefighters from 24-48-hour schedules to 48-96-hour schedules for six months last summer before making the switch permanently in January of this year. Firefighters nationwide often work 24-48 shifts, meaning they are on duty for 24 hours and then get 48 hours off. But fire departments across the country are shifting to a different model that has firefighters working 48 hours at a time and then being off for four days. The shift is designed to ease the high-stress shifts firefighters work that can lead to a lack of sleep and less time with family. The National Library of Medicine says the lack of sleep decreases work performance and increases the risk for cardiovascular disease.
WCSC-TV CBS 5 Charleston

How an antiquing find triggered a Hazmat response in Ohio

An odd find of an antique first-aid kit triggered a Hazmat response in Bexley, and three other antique resellers around the country called emergency services after finding the same material, a local couple says. Kate Sanfilippo, a Bexley resident who sells handmade and vintage items as pickleladyfarm and PickleladyVintage on Etsy, picked up a 1933 Boy Scouts Johnson & Johnson first-aid kit Friday from a local estate sale. One of the items in the kit was a small packet of gauze meant for treating burns that was once wet with picric acid. Sanfilippo searched picric acid online to make sure the kit wouldn't need any hazardous material labeling when she shipped it to a potential customer. Picric acid, it turns out, can spontaneously combust or explode unless diluted by 30% with water.
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