The New Orleans Fire Department is marking a historic milestone with the promotion of Bianca Jones, who will become the first African American woman to serve as fire captain in the department’s history.

Jones’ promotion took effect Sunday, May 17, 2026, according to the department. In a statement posted on social media, the New Orleans Fire Department said Jones’ promotion reflects years of “dedication, professionalism, leadership, and unwavering service” to the city. The agency said Jones has consistently shown courage, honesty, and strong dedication throughout her career as a firefighter.

“The New Orleans Fire Department is honored to recognize Captain Jones for this groundbreaking achievement and her continued commitment to serving our city with excellence.”

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PHOTOS: Firefighters responded to a report of an illegal burn in southern Illinois that turned out to be unusual. According to the Zeigler Fire Department on its Facebook page, crews found what appeared to be “a ceremonial burning of King Tut.”

The fire department was able to make light of the situation. They reminded residents that ancient Egyptian royalty cannot be burned in the city of Zeigler, backyard pyramids must meet city code and mummies are considered “extra dry, combustible materials.”

Firefighters said “no citizens, camels or treasure chambers were harmed.” They were able to safely extinguish the flames “before the Curse of Tut spread across Zeigler.”

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VIDEO: The West End Fire House on Route 715 near Brodheadsville was originally built and dedicated in 1953.

The bays that once stored fire trucks are now used to brew beer at Brix Brewhouse.

“It served the community not only as a firehouse, but a community center,” said Joe Elias, co-owner and general manager of Brix Brewhouse.

After the West End Fire Company outgrew the space years ago, a new firehouse was built just across the street, leaving the building empty. Co-owner and General Manager Joe Elias said it was the perfect place to put the brewery.

Renovations took nearly 10 months. Along the way, some hidden gems were found, including a shuffleboard table from the 1980s.

Through the renovation process, owners wanted to pay tribute to the history of the fire company. Photos on the wall go back decades, and the hooks under the bar were once used to hang turnout gear.

“We have fire hoses that were originally here. Actually, our bar has fire patches from all around the country of different stations, so you see it throughout the building,” Elias said.

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PHOTOS: A firefighter is dead and several people are in serious and critical condition after a burning silo exploded at the Robbins Lumber mill in Searsmont, according to the Maine State Fire Marshal’s Office. Maine State Police have identified the victim as Morrill Firefighter Andrew Cross.

Cross’ remains were transported from the Medical Examiner’s Office in Augusta to a funeral home in Belfast Saturday morning. “Our deepest sympathies are with the family and friends of Andrew Cross, the Morrill Firefighter who lost his life during the tragic events at Searsmont.” Maine State Police said in a Facebook post.

The scene was turned over to the Maine Fire Marshal’s Office on Saturday. On Sunday morning, investigators from the Office of State Fire Marshal (FMO) were joined by Special Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives National Response Team (ATF NRT).

Fire investigators from both agencies will conduct a joint scene examination to determine the origin and cause of the fire and subsequent explosion. “We owe the people of Maine a thorough, professional, and methodical investigation. ATF is the only federal agency tasked with fire investigation.”

“Therefore, at our request, the ATF NRT has responded with specialized personnel and resources, including forensic scientists, electrical engineers, computer modeling experts, and additional fire investigation personnel to support complex investigations of this nature,” the Maine Fire Marshal’s Office said in a statement on Sunday.

Investigators were expected to remain on scene for most of the week. “The impact of this emergency will be felt for years to come,” the Fire Marshal’s Office said.

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VIDEO: More than 100 years ago, a night of celebration at the Cleveland School in Kershaw County turned into an unimaginable disaster. Seventy-seven people lost their lives. For the families of those who survived, the memories remain vivid.

It was a warm May afternoon in 1923. The Cleveland School in Camden was filled with the sounds of kids performing in their end-of-year play. In a matter of minutes, that joy changed to fear.

“It was probably utter chaos at that point, because everyone was panicking. Some people, it was reported, kind of froze in fright,” said Chief Chris Jones, president of the Cleveland School Memorial Foundation. “Others probably reacted in panic, and that led to everyone rushing down the stairway. And it was the only way out.”

With only one way up and one way down, the narrow wooden stairwell became jammed with people trying to escape. As the smoke thickened, the playground below the two-story building turned into a landing zone.

Parents who had been waiting outside used their own vehicles to cushion the fall of children jumping from the second floor. Ann Seegars’ mother-in-law was one of those kids.

“There was a combination of horse and buggies that came, and some cars. So the cars, they lined them up, I think, under the windows, and some of the men began to throw out the children, you know, to get them to safety,” said Seegars, a member of the Cleveland School Memorial Foundation. “My mother-in-law was thrown out. She hit a car, and it broke her arm. But it saved her life.”

Chief Eddie Gardner’s grandmother was also one of the survivors. He grew up hearing about “the big fire,” eventually realizing the great horror his family had gone through.

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PHOTOS: A two-alarm fire tore through a more than 100-year-old church in Wilmington, Delaware, leaving most of the historic structure in ruins.

Battalion Chief of the Wilmington Fire Department, Robert Pryor, told NBC10 that the fire broke out around 3 a.m. on Sunday, May 17, 2026, at the Mother African Union Church along North Franklin Street.

Pryor said the fire spread throughout the entire church, shooting flames 20 to 30 feet into the air.

“Due to the extensive fire conditions, a defensive attack was ordered and all arriving units were ordered to attack the fire from the exterior. A second alarm was quickly transmitted, bringing all remaining on duty Wilmington firefighters to the scene, along with assistance from several New Castle County departments,” said Pryor.

It took crews over an hour to get the fire under control.

While firefighters battled the flames, they also evacuated the surrounding homes due to falling embers, according to Pryor.

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PHOTOS: Two people are dead after a plane crashed into an Akron home on Thursday afternoon. The crash occurred around 3:45 p.m. in the 2000 block of Canterbury Circle, a residential neighborhood in the southern part of the city.

Akron Fire said both of the deceased were located inside the aircraft. No one in the house was injured, but Akron District Fire Chief Sierjie Lash said all four residents were inside at the time of the crash. “There were a couple and two children that live there,” Lash said.

“They were all four home, and they were able to get out with no injuries, so we’re very fortunate that they are safe.” The home caught fire, and heavy black smoke was reported in the area. Lash said crews extinguished the fire and prevented it from spreading to other homes.

“Definitely smoke, fire, flames and explosion,” Lash said. “Our fire crews came out, and they put the fire out as a house fire, and they’re currently investigating.” Two homes were evacuated following the crash.

“We put out a fire. We have to make sure the aftermath of that fire, anything that may still be smoldering, we’ll keep taking a look at that,” Lash said.

The Red Cross was on the scene of the crash Thursday and is assisting the four family members impacted by the crash, it said in a Facebook post.

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VIDEO: More than two decades after retiring, former Springdale Fire Chief Mickey Jackson still remembers some of the department’s biggest calls like they happened yesterday.

Jackson spent a combined 37 years leading the Springdale and Fayetteville fire departments – an illustrious career in Northwest Arkansas that started in 1964. “Springdale was growing real fast,” Jackson said.

“When I became chief, we had a population of 12,000 people. Gutensohn Road was the west city limits line, and Mountain Road was the east city limits line.”

As the city boomed, Springdale transitioned from an all-volunteer fire department to a full-time force. Out of 16 applicants, Jackson — just 23 years old at the time — was selected as the city’s first full-time paid fire chief.

“Nationally, there weren’t any 23-year-old fire chiefs in the country then,” Jackson said. “So I knew they were taking a chance on me.”

Jackson said the department was in need of modernization when he took over leadership – and the community stood behind them. “There wasn’t any doubt when I took over the department that it was behind the times,” Jackson said.

“A major turning point for me was in 1966 when we presented to the citizens the bond issue just for fire department improvement, and they overwhelmingly approved it.” That investment helped modernize the department.

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Several residents at a Plymouth Township apartment complex are displaced following a massive fire on Thursday morning.

According to Plymouth Township Fire Chief Pat Conely, several residents called in the fire around 11:30 a.m. at Hines Park Place Apartments near Wilcox and Haggerty roads.

Conely said the fire started in the back corner of one unit, and then transitioned to the far section of the building. In all, about eight units in the first building were impacted by the fire, and another 16 units in another building were affected by smoke.

Conely said a third building was also impacted by smoke, but they hoped to get some residents in those buildings back into their apartments by Thursday night.

Everyone did make it out of the buildings OK, and crews also rescued pets. Conely said one firefighter was injured when he fell through the roof, but he was checked out and was back working.

According to Conely, the high winds made fighting the fire a challenge, and also the fact that the building has two roofs, and the fire got below the first roof and above the second roof.

Fire crews from several other cities also responded to the fire, and workers with the Red Cross and Salvation Army were on scene assisting residents impacted.

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Crews battled a house fire in Cape Coral on Wednesday afternoon. Firefighters responded to a home on Southwest 26th Place shortly after noon. They confirmed that vehicles and a large amount of ammunition stored inside were destroyed. Viewer-submitted footage from the scene shows smoke and flames pouring out of the home.

According to the Cape Coral Fire Department, no one was home at the time, and a neighbor called 911 after seeing that the garage was on fire. Fire officials said multiple vehicles were in the garage, and crews kept the fire from spreading to nearby homes.

Cape Coral Fire also said the home is not a total loss, the garage was the only place affected, and the inside of the home wasn’t touched. The Lee County Electric Cooperative shut down power to the home.

The fire left neighbors shaken but relieved that the fire did not spread to nearby homes or the house itself. “I heard like a pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, and I’m like, what?” said Laurie Edwalds, a neighbor who ran outside to investigate.

Edwalds was one of several neighbors who rushed outside to see what was happening at the home. “I was literally in tears thinking somebody is losing their home, my neighbor is losing their home. And it just, it was overwhelming. I did cry,” Edwalds said.

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VIDEO: When someone gets lost or hurt in the rugged terrain of western Washington, every minute counts.

Now, Seattle Mountain Rescue is testing technology that could shave critical time off a response: wearable exoskeletons that power a rescuer’s legs through the mountains.

The team is one of only two in the country using the devices — made by the company HyperShell — on actual missions.

In just the past month, the exoskeletons have already been deployed three times in the field.

“If we can get to a subject a half an hour or an hour earlier, that could mean the difference between a positive and a negative outcome,” said Wes Cooper, advanced technology director for Seattle Mountain Rescue.

The device straps around a rescuer’s waist and legs.

Once on, it senses the wearer’s movement, anticipates their next step and adds mechanical power in sync with every stride — reducing fatigue and helping small teams cover more ground, even in terrain where other tools like e-bikes cannot go.

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VIDEO/PHOTOS: A new set of murals is giving the El Paso Fire Department’s downtown station a fresh look — and a public tribute to the firefighters who serve the city.

El Paso muralist Babak Tavakoli painted five murals on 30-foot walls at the fire station on South Florence Street. Tavakoli said the department asked that its special teams be represented throughout the artwork.

“They wanted all of their special teams represented in this mural and various parts. So that’s really what it is, is like each team and what they do and kind of in an artistic way, put it on the wall,” Tavakoli said. “I want to make sure that whenever you’re looking at these scenes, you know, oh, you’re in El Paso.”

Tavakoli said he worked local elements into the murals, including “local wildlife, local scenery, landmarks,” aiming for details that “are not too cliche but definitely clue you in. This is El Paso.”

He also said the project was meant to honor firefighters and their work.

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A case of arson at a Monroe County cannabis shop is now the subject of a police investigation after two suspects crashed a vehicle through the front door of a business and poured gasoline inside.

Video from Pure Cannabis Outlet, located at 15311 S. Dixie Highway, showed the suspects backed a Jeep into the business, then stole items from inside the business.

The shop is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the individuals.

At 1:04 a.m. on May 10, the Monroe County Central Dispatch received a report of a vehicle that crashed into the building.

The caller told the dispatch center that the crash appeared intentional. Witnesses also told police that at least two unknown subjects fled the store, running southbound before getting into a dark-colored vehicle that was waiting for them.

Fire alarms soon alerted the dispatch of the blaze building out of the building.

At the business, a maroon-colored Jeep Cherokee was found partially inside the store and suppression sprinklers were extinguishing the fire.

Police say the Jeep was stolen out of Detroit. Evidence was gathered from the escape route.

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VIDEOS: Helena is home to one of only three airport firefighting training facilities in the western United States, drawing crews from across the country and Canada to learn life-saving skills.

The Rocky Mountain Emergency Services Training Center in Helena has been training airport firefighters since 1996. Firefighters from Pullman, Washington and Victoria, Canada recently came together at the facility to take advantage of its classroom instruction, fire trucks, and hands-on drills.

The center features a specialized aircraft fire trainer that lets firefighters experience what the inside of a burning plane may be like. For exterior fire training, crews use a large spill trainer that burns about 100 gallons of propane every 30 seconds, simulating how a real aircraft fire may behave.

Training Center Coordinator Mike Anderson said the facility stands out among its peers. “This is one of the best engineered and built training facilities in the U.S.,” Anderson said. Crews spent the day training to extinguish engine, wheel brake, and large spill fires, as well as interior fires, which place firefighters in a tight space with near-zero visibility.

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A large overnight fire tore through part of a building in Cypress Hills, leaving behind burned bikes, scooters and heavy damage across the property.

FDNY says the fire broke out just after 1:20 a.m. Wednesday at 503 Ridgewood Ave., near Lincoln and Autumn avenues. Firefighters say flames were reported on the first floor of the three-story building.

Video from the Citizen app shows huge flames shooting from the back of the property as sirens echoed through the neighborhood.

FDNY says 21 units and 79 fire and EMS personnel responded to the scene. Hazmat crews were also called in because of the presence of lithium-ion batteries. The fire was brought under control around 2:13 a.m.

Officials say no injuries were reported. A full vacate order has now been posted on the property. Neighbor Jose Mena said the situation could have turned deadly.

“I came out and by the time I came out, the fire was spreading already,” Mena said. “One of the guys who lives there, he was trying to wake everybody up. This could’ve been worse — a lot worse. People were sleeping.”

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PHOTOS: A fast-moving fire forced dozens of residents from their homes at a North Attleboro condominium complex Monday afternoon.

North Attleboro Fire Chief Chris Coleman told 12 News a 911 call came in around 2 p.m. reporting a fire in an air conditioning unit at the Hawthorne Village Condominiums on Juniper Road.

Heavy flames and thick smoke were seen pouring from the top of the 34-unit building, which sustained significant damage and a collapsed roof.

At 3:30 p.m., officials upgraded the fire to seven alarms, prompting departments from surrounding communities, including some from as far as Norwood, to respond. The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency also assisted.

According to Coleman, mutual aid was needed not only for additional manpower, but also because crews faced challenges with the water supply.

He said their primary concerns were ensuring all residents evacuated safely and preventing the fire from spreading to an adjacent 20-unit building.

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VIDEO: New research could soon change emergency medicine and make it easier for first responders to stop bleeding anywhere in the world. Researchers in Pittsburgh and Cleveland have developed the first-ever freeze dried artificial platelets.

“One of the most frustrating things are the patients that we don’t ever get a chance to take care of. The patients who don’t have access to the lifesaving resources that we have in the hospital,” said Matthew Neal, M.D., a trauma surgeon and professor at University of Pittsburgh.

Blood platelets help stop the bleeding when people get injured but in traumatic situations, the body doesn’t always have enough or they cannot work fast enough. Currently donated blood platelets can only be given to a patient inside a hospital setting or within close proximity.

But one little vial could soon change that and field medicine as first responders know it. Neal and Anirban Sen Gupta, Ph.D., a professor of biomedical engineering at Case Western Reserve University, spent nearly 10 years researching blood platelets and how to make artificial platelets.

The result is a small vial of powder — freeze-dried artificial platelets. One vial is the equivalent of one donated unit of platelets that would be given to a bleeding patient. They said the powder only has to be combined with 10 mL of sterile water which first responders already carry.

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VIDEO: The screams. The bodies lying across the freeway. The people trying to run away from a toxic cloud before collapsing to the ground. Fifty years later, retired Houston firefighters say they still remember every detail from one of the deadliest disasters in Houston history. “It looked like a war zone,” retired Houston firefighter Brad Rilay said.

On May 11, 1976, a tanker carrying more than 7,000 gallons of anhydrous ammonia plunged off the 610 West Loop ramp and crashed onto the Southwest Freeway below. The impact ripped open the tanker, sending a massive cloud of toxic ammonia into the air during the middle of the morning rush.

Seven people died. Dozens more were injured. And the disaster changed the Houston Fire Department forever. Rilay was only 20 years old when he responded to the scene. That morning had started like any other shift.

Rilay said he and a district chief had just finished another call farther down the Southwest Freeway when dispatchers warned crews about a tanker crash involving ammonia near the West Loop interchange. As they drove toward the area, traffic completely locked up.

Rilay said he ended up driving against traffic on the freeway shoulder just to reach the scene. When they arrived, he said the destruction was overwhelming.

“Man, it looked like a war zone, you know, the parts of the truck scattered everywhere, and the truck driver’s body was lying in the middle of the road,” Rilay said.

The crash scene stretched across the freeway. Pieces of the tanker and destroyed vehicles were scattered throughout the interchange. Victims were already dying from exposure to the fumes.

Rilay remembers immediately finding several people on the ground struggling to breathe. “We immediately came across three people, one man who had already died, and there were two who were struggling to breathe,” he said.

At the time, Houston firefighters had little training on hazardous material incidents and almost no specialized equipment to handle a chemical release that large. Firefighters grabbed an air pack from the chief’s car and tried helping victims breathe through the mask.

“But I don’t know how much good that did,” Rilay said quietly. What stayed with him most was the helplessness. “You know, have a brown mucus coming out of their mouth and their nose, and the feeling of not being able to help them,” Rilay said.

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A firefighter was hurt Sunday morning while responding to a quick-moving fire at an office supply store in downtown Los Angeles.

The blaze was reported at about 4:40 a.m. near the intersection of Hope Street and Pico Boulevard, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Upon arrival, firefighters were met with heavy smoke and flames coming from the roof of the building. Due to the fire, a shelter-in-place was issued for surrounding residents and businesses.

No one was inside the building at the time of the fire, LAFD said. One firefighter reported minor injuries and was treated for those wounds. He is expected to be OK. Arson investigators are investigating what could have caused the fire.

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PHOTOS: Alan “Gus” Gustafson was on a mission.

The energetic 80-year-old strode through Kalispell’s Public Safety Building on a damp April morning, looking for the 2,200-pound bell that once hung from the Fire Department’s hose tower, ready to summon firefighters in an emergency.

The retired firefighter’s first stop was the first floor offices of the Kalispell Police Department. When that proved fruitless, he headed across the lobby, where he said the bell was once put on display, to question the staff at Kalispell Municipal Court. They couldn’t remember a bell either.

A few minutes and one flight of stairs later, Gustafson was in Fire Chief Jay Hagen’s office, asking if he knew of the bell’s whereabouts. Hagan shook his head. He did not.

“OK, I’m going to find it,” Gustafson replied. Hagen agreed that he would. “When he sets his mind to it, it’s going to happen,” Hagen said from behind his desk.

Gustafson, who still serves as the department’s historian, more than 20 years into his retirement, had a personal connection to the bell (he later located it around the corner at the Northwest Montana History Museum). Firefighters were still ringing it when he joined the department in 1971, just not for its original purpose.

“After I started, the bell was used to call curfew,” he said. “Every night at a certain time we would ring the bell.” The bell isn’t the only piece of the department’s history that Gustafson enjoys a personal connection with. The crown jewel of its historical collection, a 1925 American LaFrance fire engine, was still in service when he first donned turnout gear.

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