VIDEO: Massive fire engulfs former church building in Alabama neighborhood

Fire crews in Birmingham are currently investigating the cause of a major fire of a church in Ensley. The incident took place at the intersection of Five Points West Avenue and Avenue S. No injuries have been reported. Local resident and Ensley Highlands neighborhood president, Antwon Womack, shed light on the history of the church, describing it as a community pillar in the past. However, he expressed concerns about the building’s condition, fearing an incident like this would occur. The church, known as the Warriors of the Words Church, according to Womack, has remained vacant for at least a decade. Birmingham Fire and Rescue crews swiftly responded to the fire Monday afternoon, with flames and smoke billowing from the structure.
WBRC-TV FOX 6 Birmingham

Northeast Ohio fire department using jet skis for faster water rescues

VIDEO: With kayaking back in season, one Northeast Ohio fire department is investing in their water rescues with two new jet skis. For Josh Scott, kayaking is a job and his passion. "We rent kayaks out of the Emerald Necklace here in the Cleveland metro parks," said Scott, manager and lead guide for 41 North Coastal Adventures. Scott spends his days teaching people how to paddle and not flip in their kayaks so they don't have to be saved by fire departments like Sheffield Lake. In Sheffield Lake, they've seen so many water rescues that they decided to invest their equipment dollars in buying two new jet skis. "We can get really close to victims without hurting them, like with a bigger boat, you need more manpower," said Lieutenant Brian Davis, Sheffield Lake Fire Department.
WEWS-TV ABC 5 Cleveland

Los Angeles Fire Department station struck by vehicle

VIDEO: A single vehicle crashed into a Los Angeles Fire Department station in Sun Valley early Monday morning. A car crashed into the front of LAFD Fire Station 77, located at 9224 Sunland Boulevard, at the intersection of Tuxford Place, at about 5:26 a.m., according to the Los Angeles Fire Dept. Two people in the car suffered minor injuries but did not require hospitalization, according to the LAFD. The car was overturned at the front of the building. The active fire station was occupied by LAFD personnel at the time of the crash, the department said. The building was superficially damaged. No other injuries were reported. The cause of the crash was under investigation.
KCAL-TV CBS 9 Los Angeles

Agencies break ground on first-responder housing project in Idaho

The development partners of an eight-unit housing project for Wood River Valley first responders have commenced construction and anticipate the project will be completed by the end of the year. Sun Valley City Administrator Jim Keating announced the news in a project update to the Sun Valley City Council and Mayor Peter Hendricks on Thursday. Keating gave the update before council members voted 4-0 to disburse $984,000 to pay for the second of two orders for four prefabricated homes to be installed at a site immediately south of the Greenhorn Fire Station in the mid-valley, adjacent to state Highway 75. Four units had already been ordered from Utah-based manufacturer Zip Kit Homes, through Idaho Falls-based Mountain Valley Prefab.
Idaho Mountain Express - Metered Site

Firefighters more likely to die by suicide than on duty; Yoga helps recruits in Nevada handle stress

The City of Las Vegas’s Fire & Rescue is working toward addressing firefighter suicide rates and mental health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance report firefighters are more likely to die by suicide than in the line of duty. Las Vegas Fire and Rescue’s behavioral health administrator, Jeff Dill, said the national suicide rate for firefighters has increased. Statewide, the number has fluctuated. The department has instituted new coping mechanisms to address the alarming trend. Before taking their final exams, recruits do yoga to help relieve stress before their final exams. “It allows us to decompress,” said recruit Wade Jacobs. “To get stress off our shoulders and go into our finals with a level mind and body.”
KLAS-TV CBS 8 Las Vegas

VIDEO: Large fire burns house boats at marina in Arizona

Fire crews have put out a large fire that engulfed several boats at the Lake Powell marina on Friday afternoon. The blaze started at the B Dock at Wawheap Marina. Video shows heavy black smoke and flames covering some boats docked and several floating in the water. Officials say between 10 to 12 boats have burned so far. It’s unclear what sparked the flames or if anyone was hurt. Robert Wilkes, the owner of Skylite Houseboat Management, said the fire began in the early afternoon and grew for about an hour and a half. Wilkes, a trained firefighter, used a garden hose and worked with park rangers, who he said arrived soon after the boats ignited, to help put out the fire. “I started pulling boats off the dock trying to create a gap so it didn’t act like a tree line,” he said.
KTVK-TV CBS 3 & KPHO-TV CBS 5 Phoenix (AZ Family)

Texas fire department trains as sumo wrestlers with Shogeki Sumo

PHOTOS: Firefighters have to keep up with their training and the Atascocita Fire Department decided to try out a new training method to improve their performance: sumo. On Sunday, firefighters took to the ring with Shogeki Sumo Wrestlers to hopefully learn new techniques to apply when fighting a fire. Sports teams do the same thing to help with their performance. For example, athletes try cross-training, football linebackers try ballet for their agility, and basketball players use yoga for flexibility. "It’s definitely a little outside of the box. When you think of firefighters or sumo wrestlers, you wouldn’t normally consider their skill sets linked, but in fact, the forces acting upon the athlete or firefighter are very similar," said LT Keith Sagray, who organized the training event.
KRIV-TV FOX 26 Houston

Volunteer firefighters, emergency service workers in New York county get a tax break

Niagara is the latest county to provide property tax breaks as a way of attracting volunteer firefighters and emergency service workers. The county legislature approved a new law allowing a 10% property tax exemption on property owned by a member of a volunteer fire company, fire department or voluntary ambulance service, or spouse of a member, at its May session. “Members of volunteer fire departments and ambulance corps provide valuable services to the people of Niagara County,” the law states. “In order to be certified and recertified, such volunteers must undertake numerous hours of training on their own time and often their own expense.” State real property tax laws were amended in 2022 adding a provision allowing for the exemption to combat low volunteer first responder rates.
Niagara Gazette - Metered Site

Remembering the plane fire in Ohio that claimed 23 lives 40 years ago

VIDEO: On June 2, 1983, 23 passengers died in a fire onboard Air Canada Flight 797. The flight was coming from Dallas, Texas, and heading to Toronto, Canada, when the cabin crew discovered smoke in a rear lavatory. According to the aircraft accident report, the crew attempted to extinguish the hidden fire before contacting air traffic control and declaring an emergency. As smoke filled the plane, pilots made an emergency landing in Cincinnati, Ohio, at the Greater Cincinnati International Airport. The fire disabled virtually all cockpit instruments, forcing the pilots to land the plane while flying blind. The airport's fire department immediately began firefighting operations after the plane landed. Passengers and flight attendants quickly exited the forward doors while the captain and first officer exited through their cockpit sliding windows.
WXII-TV NBC 12 Winston-Salem