VIDEOS: Massive fire ravages school building in Pennsylvania

A massive multi-alarm fire destroyed a Catholic school building in Springfield Township, Delaware County. The call came in around 5 p.m. Monday for flames showing from the St. Francis of Assisi School, which is located on Saxer Avenue. Chopper 6 was overhead as plumes of heavy smoke billowed from the roof of the building. Firefighters knocked down the bulk of the fire but remained on the scene Monday night to extinguish any hotspots. The school was founded in 1929 and serves students from Pre-K to 8th grade. "At this time, the fire appears controlled to one building. All classes at the school will be cancelled for at least tomorrow. Efforts are already underway to locate an alternate learning location for those who will be affected by the loss of classroom space," said a spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in a statement.
WPVI-TV ABC 6 Philadelphia

FAA reports medical helicopter hit wire before crashing in Kentucky, killing 3 crew members on board

VIDEO: Three people died after a medical helicopter crashed in northern Kentucky, and a report from the Federal Aviation Administration has released information about what may have happened. The crash happened around 5:37 p.m., in Owen County, near State Route 22, about two miles north of Owen County High School. The helicopter that crashed was with Air Evac Lifeteam 133, out of Williamstown, Kentucky. Kentucky State Police identified the victims of the crash as Gale Alleman, Bethany Aicken, and James Welsh. A report from the FAA says the helicopter struck a guy wire, a tension cable that gives stability to freestanding structures. It then crashed and caught on fire.
WLKY-TV CBS 32 Louisville

17 months after deadly SouthPark blaze in North Carolina, fire department reveals plan to prevent another

Charlotte Fire Department officials said they have a plan to improve rescues and avoid fires like the SouthPark blaze that killed two workers trapped on an upper floor. CFD Chief Reginald Johnson on Monday presented an after-action report of the five-alarm SouthPark fire to the Charlotte City Council’s Housing, Safety and Community Committee. It detailed what went wrong in May 2023 and what the department needs to do to prevent a similar incident. The SouthPark fire, which reached 2,000 degrees, occurred at a seven-story, mid-rise building with five stories of wooden construction, no fire suppression systems and no drywall, Johnson said. The building was under construction at the time. As construction across Charlotte shows no signs of slowing down, Johnson said the department is making necessary changes to prevent deadly construction fires.
The Charlotte Observer - Metered Site

Tropicana implosion countdown: Watch eight historic Las Vegas hotel implosions

VIDEOS: The Tropicana Las Vegas is just days away from joining the list of Las Vegas hotels that have been blown up over the years. At 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 9, the implosion button will be pressed to bring down the historic resort's two hotel towers. They're expected to collapse within a matter of seconds, according to recent information from Bally's Corporation, which owns the hotel. Much has been said about the Tropicana's storied history in the months leading up to its impending demise. But the resort will be in good company as it joins the growing list of Las Vegas landmarks that now exist only in our memories. We combed through Channel 13's archives to find videos of the moments some of those properties were turned to rubble.
KTNV-TV ABC 13 Las Vegas

Flight catches fire while making hard landing at Las Vegas airport

VIDEO: Flames and smoke were seen coming from a plane that made a hard landing at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas on Saturday afternoon. Frontier Flight 1326 landed in Las Vegas around 3:40 p.m. after “The pilots detected smoke and declared an emergency,” a spokesperson for Frontier Airlines confirmed to CBS News. The aircraft landed safely and all passengers and crew were evacuated. No injuries were reported and the passengers were bussed to the terminal. The flight left San Diego at 1:51 p.m. and landed in Las Vegas at 3:37 p.m., according to Flight Aware. Video posted to social media showed flames and smoke billowing from underneath the plane as it landed at Reid Internation Airport. Fire crews were seen on the runway fighting the fire as smoke continued to fill the surrounding area.
KLAS-TV CBS 8 Las Vegas

Tennessee volunteer fire department helps community amidst loss of fire station and truck

VIDEOS: The Elk River overflowed due to heavy rain from Hurricane Helene, leading to significant flooding that swept away the Elk Mills Poga Volunteer Fire Department (VFD) station and one of its fire trucks. Fire Chief Michael Walsh said members of the VFD were already responding to emergency calls when the station started flooding. “They were actually out on a few tree calls and different things, and then it just kept getting worse and worse,” Walsh said. “And then they got back and they tried to get all the trucks out and take them over to the store where it’s a little higher ground. And they actually got them all out but one. And that’s when it took the fire department away, when it took the last truck.“ Walsh said gear was also lost in the flood, but the other four fire trucks only received a little water damage.
WJHL-TV CBS/ABC 11 Johnson City

New Orleans Fire Department connections stolen in ’epidemic’ of thefts

VIDEO: The New Orleans Fire Department is being troubled with what officials are calling an "epidemic" of thefts involving Fire Department Connections, or FDCs, located on commercial buildings in and around the Central Business District and French Quarter. According to the NOFD, the FDCs allow response crews to connect to the standpipe and sprinkler systems in high-rise buildings and other commercial structures. The NOFD says the missing connections, which are made of brass and presumably sold for scrap, could "possibly delay" or "completely prohibit" crews from supplementing water pressure to a building in the event of a fire-related emergency. Officials are asking all commercial building managers and maintenance engineers to inspect their buildings' FDCs for missing caps and fittings.
WWL-TV CBS 4 New Orleans

Firefighter grows Colorado’s first 1-ton pumpkin, breaks own record

PHOTOS: A firefighter from Aurora who had previously set the state record for the heaviest pumpkin has beat that record with another pumpkin weighing over one ton. Brad Bledsoe, a fire medic with Aurora Fire Rescue, broke the state record with a pumpkin that weighed 1,955 pounds late last month. The next weekend, another grower presented a pumpkin that was 21 pounds heavier. But on Saturday, one of his home-grown pumpkins, named Winifred Sanderson (a nod to the popular Halloween film “Hocus Pocus”), became the first in Colorado history to weigh over one ton. The Great Pumpkin Commonwealth weighed the pumpkin at 2,083 pounds at a Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off at Nick’s Garden Center and Farm Market in Aurora. “I really wanted to be the first person in Colorado to grow a one-ton pumpkin,” said Bledsoe.
KDVR-TV FOX 31 Denver

Milton ’explosively intensifies’ into Category 5 hurricane, triggers storm surge warnings for Florida’s Gulf Coast

VIDEO: Life-threatening storm surges are expected to hit Florida's Gulf Coast this week with the arrival of Hurricane Milton, which was upgraded Monday afternoon into a Category 5 hurricane over the southern Gulf of Mexico. The storm first strengthened into a Category 3 hurricane by 7 a.m. and by 9 a.m. ET rapidly intensified into a Category 4, the National Hurricane Center said. In a matter of a few hours Milton "explosively intensified" into a Category 5 hurricane by noon ET. Milton now churns with fierce 175 mph winds, the NHC said in a 2 p.m. ET update. It's located about 105 miles west-northwest of Progreso, Mexico, and about 700 miles southwest of Tampa. The storm is forecast to make landfall Wednesday evening in Florida, which along with the wider southeastern United States continues to recover from the impact of Hurricane Helene. Widespread evacuation orders are underway in Florida.
NBC News