Woman dies after Citrus Heights apartment fire

VIDEO: A woman died after an apartment fire in Citrus Heights Tuesday, according to the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District. The fire happened along Fair Oaks Boulevard around 3:50 a.m. A woman was found in the apartment and taken to a hospital in critical condition where she later died, according to the fire district. The woman's identity has not been released. Eddie Ramos lives across the street at the Montage Apartments and said he couldn't believe what he saw. “I looked out the window and saw that apartment starting to go up in flames. I ran over there and by the time I got there, it was already fully engulfed," Ramos said. Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District Captain Parker Wilbourn said the fire happened when most people were asleep and crews were focused on preventing the fire from spreading.
KXTV ABC 10 Sacramento

New National City firefighter positions to make big impact in emergency response

VIDEO: During an emergency, every second counts. For years, the National City Fire Department made those seconds count while making do with a lower-than-desired number of firefighters. The department says it responds to about 11,000 emergency calls per year. Many of those calls have been challenging, because historically, the department has only been able to assign three firefighters to an engine, instead of four. Firefighter Chris Berry understands what that means very well. “It definitely adds a little bit of stress to the scene,” Berry said. “You're kind of at a higher gear when you get to a scene of an emergency because you know that you're just going to be doing a little bit extra.” The National Fire Prevention Association puts out policy guidelines for fire departments across the country.
KNSD-TV NBC 7 San Diego

Cal Fire helicopter tanker leaving Napa County amid quiet wildfire season

Two helicopter tankers used by Cal Fire – including one based at Napa County Airport – will leave the North Bay for the season this week amid a quiet summer for local wildfires, the state agency reported. The helicopters being withdrawn by Cal Fire’s Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit on Thursday include a Boeing CH-47D Chinook, which is owned by Columbia Helicopters of Oregon and has been stationed at the Napa airport since June 15. Also leaving the area is a Sikorsky S-64E Skycrane, which is owned by Yuba City-based Siller Brothers and has been on call since July 1 at Sonoma Air Attack Base in Santa Rosa. Together, the choppers have been sent to 102 vegetation fires this summer, including 54 fires for the Napa-based aircraft, Cal Fire said in a news release Tuesday.
Napa Valley Register - Metered Site

Lake Merritt Rotary Nature Center in Oakland damaged by fire

The Lake Merritt Rotary Nature Center in Oakland was damaged in a fire that is now under control, officials say. The fire at 600 Bellvue Avenue was first reported Tuesday at 7:25 p.m., according to Oakland Fire Department. By 7:45 p.m. the fire was under control. No injuries were reported. Officials said the fire was contained to the exterior walls and the roof of the building. 15% of those areas were damaged. 20 firefighters responded to the blaze. "Firefighters were able to keep fire from entering the building," fire department spokesperson Michael Hunt said. Firefighters remained at the scene Tuesday evening to conduct an overhaul and to check for hot spots. In addition, they were checking for smoke levels and water damage to the building's interior.
KTVU-TV FOX 2 Oakland

San Dimas firefighter dies after rare diagnosis

VIDEO: A San Dimas firefighter has died, not long after he was diagnosed with a rare and deadly neurological disease. Doctors told Ryan Wilson Palmer he had Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, also known as CJD. It is an incredibly rare affliction that affects about one in a million people. It's a swiftly, progressive neuro-degenerative disorder that kills most patients within a year. It occurs when a protein called a prion folds abnormally. He died peacefully and surrounded by loved ones on Saturday. Palmer had just married his wife Wendy in February. She had become his 24-hour caregiver in his final days. Shortly before he passed, a close group of his friends celebrated his 49th birthday, even though it wasn't for another several months. Wendy wanted to celebrate him while he could still enjoy it.
KABC-TV ABC 7 Los Angeles

1 dead, 1 injured in San Bernardino house fire

One person is dead and one person is injured after a fire engulfed a home in San Bernardino on Monday morning. At 4:38 a.m., fire crews were dispatched to west Magnolia and North E Street after several callers reported a home with a roof on fire. Crews were also notified of possible victims that were trapped inside. Once on scene, firefighters quickly entered the single-story home to locate the victims and work on taking down the fire. Some personnel were also deployed to the roof to improve conditions inside the home. Rescue crews located two victims inside the home. After paramedics performed life-saving measures, one victim was transported to a nearby hospital. The second victim was found dead at the scene. The fire was knocked down within twenty minutes of firefighters’ arrival.
KTLA-TV CW 5 Los Angeles

Los Angeles Fire Department responds to small plane crash on soccer field in San Pedro; flight instructor, student critically injured

VIDEO: A small plane crashed onto a soccer field in San Pedro Monday afternoon, leaving a flight instructor and a student critically injured, officials said. A single-engine Sling 4 TSI was involved in a "high-impact crash" shortly before 1 p.m. at the Field of Dreams soccer complex on Westmont Drive, just northwest of the 110 Freeway, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. Two bystanders who were at the scene when the plane came down were able to pull the passenger out of the aircraft, investigators said. The pilot was still inside the plane when firefighters arrived. Both the instructor and the student - who were identified only as a 45-year-old man and a 30-year-old woman by the National Transportation Safety Board - were rushed to the hospital in critical condition.
KABC-TV ABC 7 Los Angeles

Bay Area’s 1st rain of season may help reduce wildfire risk, but firefighters remain cautious

The first raindrops of the season will be a welcome sight to firefighters in the North Bay. They say it could help to reduce the wildfire threat, but fire season is far from over. We're also getting a better idea of what an El Niño weather pattern could bring to us this winter. Storm clouds started to move into Windsor on Monday and the winds picked up too. It looked like rain was coming back to Sonoma County after a long summer break. "Yeah, I'm really excited about it, I've got everything covered--it'll be nice to get a little reprieve from fire season," said Guerneville resident Vanessa Mitchell. The approaching rain, remnants of an atmospheric river up north, is helping firefighters quell wildfires that have been burning near the California-Oregon border.
KGO-TV ABC 7 San Francisco