A massive fire burned through a large warehouse in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park neighborhood early Wednesday, vaulting fire into the night sky as the emergency response intensified.

The fire broke out just after midnight, at a factory-type building on 53rd Street between First Avenue and Dead End, officials say.

When firefighters arrived, the fire had already spread to two other factory-type buildings, according to Kevin Woods, the FDNY’s chief of fire operations.

Woods said the response quickly escalated to five alarms, which is when all available units are requested on scene.

In an update shortly before dawn Wednesday, Woods said fire boats came in handy, given the fire’s proximity to the water. Firefighters were using 15,000 gallons of water a minute on the blaze, he said.

Two minor injuries were reported to firefighters, mainly related to smoke inhalation.

The smoke didn’t lift even after the flames were doused. People who live in the area were advised to keep their windows closed.

The post VIDEOS: New York inferno draws massive response; people told to close windows appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

VIDEO: The Greensboro Fire Department has released a plan to build 11 new fire stations across the city in response to the city’s growth.

This comes after announcements like Boom Supersonic and JetZero operating in Greensboro.

Deputy Chief of the Greensboro Fire Department Dwayne Church says the fire department prides itself on quick response times, and the city has the highest and most elite insurance services office rating, which means lower fire insurance premiums for homeowners.

“Our standard is we want the first unit to arrive at any house in the city of Greensboro in four minutes,” Church said.

Church says that with areas in the city quickly developing, some spots could face longer response times.

“We overlay our entire city with what we call diamonds, and we have those diamonds that have a response area of about a mile and a half in each direction so that we know that we can meet our standard recovery and have our first unit there within four minutes travel time,” Church said.

The post Fire department in North Carolina makes plans to build 11 new stations by 2040 appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

A massive fire broke out Tuesday morning on a barge carrying huge piles of scrap metal on the Delaware Bay near New Castle.

The U.S. Coast Guard responded after 8 a.m. to reports of the fire and dispatched a helicopter and two boats, Petty Officer First Class Matthew West said.

Local fire departments, including those from Philadelphia and Wilmington also responded.

A tugboat was moving the unmanned barge at the time of the fire, West said, adding there were no injuries.

The Delaware Bay is an estuary of the Delaware River between Delaware and New Jersey.

Ship traffic also was not impacted by the fire that was still burning several hours later, he said.

The barge appeared to be standing still as boats on both sides of it fired water cannons into the piles of burning metal.

The post VIDEOS: Massive fire erupts on scrap metal barge between Delaware and New Jersey appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

VIDEO: The Madison Fire Department Hazardous Incident Team, the Dane County Bomb Squad and the Milwaukee branch of the Federal Bureau of Investigation were all called to a Madison building Monday afternoon, the Madison Fire Department announced in a press release.

The Madison Fire Department responded to a call at 308 East Washington Avenue after the property owner discovered some uncommon chemicals found in an empty office building.

The Madison Fire Department then requested the assistance of the Madison Fire Department HazMat Team.

When they entered the building, some chemicals were found to have the potential to be explosive, according to Madison Fire Department.

The fire department states that fire personnel left the building, and outside partners were contacted for further expertise.

The Dane County Bomb Squad and the Milwaukee FBI sent people to the area to look for explosives, the fire department stated.

The post Dane County authorities, Milwaukee FBI respond to uncommon chemicals found in Madison building appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

The Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety (KDPS) was on the scene of a fire at 1525 King Highway.

Crews were working to extinguish the fire.

KDPS said the fire was contained to an exterior pile of material.

There was heavy black smoke and flames were visible for miles.

King Highway remained open to traffic.

KDPS told a News Channel 3 crew on the scene that no one has been hurt.

Firefighters were trying to separate the debris piles so the fire did not continue to grow.

Crews remained on scene as of 6 a.m. Tuesday. Kalamazoo Public Safety has yet to provide any updates.

There was still smoke, but crews were mostly dealing with hot spots.

The post VIDEOS: Crews fight fire at Michigan metal recycling center for over 10 hours appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

VIDEO: History comes home.

“Reading had probably the largest volunteer fire company in the country. Ten thousand members during its height,” said retired Reading Fire Chief Richard Boyer.

From manpower to horsepower.

“The early apparatus were pulled by the firemen,” Boyer said. “As they got heavier, naturally, you had to add horses.”

There are many significant signs of the passage of time and history for the Reading Fire Department and the Reading Area Firefighters Museum.

“1771, that is five years before the Declaration of Independence,” Boyer said.

But now, across decades, many miles and a Sotheby’s auction…

“We’re still shocked that we were able to do that, but it’s coming,” he said.

The first motorized fire truck in the city’s history, circa 1911.

“You can feel the emotion,” Boyer said.

By way of a flatbed truck from Florida, the engine is once again back home. It may be tired from the long journey but it’s looking like a beauty nonetheless.

The post ‘History Comes Home’: First motorized fire truck returns to Pennsylvania firefighters museum appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

PHOTOS/VIDEOS: A massive house fire destroyed a large home in a Ringgold neighborhood Tuesday morning.

Viewers have shared photos of the major flames that drivers could see from Interstate 75.

Neighbors tell WTVC the home was under construction, and no one was inside when the fire broke out.

The fire happened at a home on a cul de sac on The Pointe Drive in Ringgold in the early morning hours.

Several area fire agencies were on the scene working to put out hot spots as of 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.

The post Massive fire destroys large home in Georgia appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

The Corydon Fire Department spent much of Saturday night and Sunday morning battling a massive fire at a petroleum plant.

Fire Chief Josh Cobb told KCCI they were first called to a fire at Stubbs Petroleum around 9:15 p.m. When they got there, Cobb said, two propane trucks and one fuel delivery truck were also on fire. He says many 55-gallon barrels filled with assorted fuels exploded over the course of several hours.

Cobb noted that one explosion was so massive that it sent a large fireball several hundred feet into the air that could be seen as far as 20 miles away. The fire department evacuated six city blocks while they worked to put out the flames.

Cobb said the response to the fire and explosions was nearly perfectly executed, and they were able to avoid a “catastrophic” event. Firefighters cleared the scene around 4 a.m. Investigators aren’t sure what caused the fire, but Cobb said it was likely electrical.

The post VIDEO: Iowa petroleum plant catches fire, causes explosions and evacuations appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

VIDEO: It’s that time of year when visitors begin flocking to the panhandle for spring break. With the popularity of our beaches also comes risk, from diving accidents to medical emergencies miles offshore. “Spring break is definitely the start of what we call our trauma season. It goes from the spring break time, March, through about Labor Day,” HCA Florida Fort Walton-Destin Trauma Surgeon Dr. Cathy Ho said.

That’s why leaders at HCA Florida Fort Walton-Destin Hospital and the Destin Fire Control District introduced a state-of-the-art rescue and trauma vessel Friday. The 52-foot fire rescue vessel is the largest of its kind in the state.

This vessel is essentially a floating emergency room. First responders say instead of waiting to reach land, they can now begin advanced life-saving treatment right here on the water. “The patients, once they get pulled from the water, will have access to advanced resuscitation and monitoring. And then it’ll be a seamless transition to us in the E.R.,” Ho said.

The post Florida’s largest fire rescue vessel launched in Destin appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

VIDEOS/PHOTOS: A huge blaze engulfed a building at Glasgow Central Station on Sunday causing it to partially collapse.

The fire started in a vape shop on Union Street on Sunday afternoon, with the B-listed Victorian building collapsing several hours later as flames spread.

All train services at Glasgow Central, Scotland’s busiest station, are expected to be cancelled until at least the end of Monday. National Rail said there was “no estimate on when the station will reopen”.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service urged people to avoid the area as crews continued to battle the blaze at 05:00 GMT, more than 13 hours after firefighters were first alerted. No injuries have been reported.

Following a meeting at midnight, Network Rail said: “As things stand we’ve not identified any significant damage to the station. We’ll get this fully assessed at first light.”

The post International News: Huge fire at Scotland’s busiest train station prompts evacuations as building collapses appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

PHOTOS: A massive five-alarm fire broke out at a warehouse in northwest Miami-Dade on Thursday, prompting a huge response involving more than 100 firefighters. The fire was reported around 10:45 a.m. at a warehouse in the 20600 block of Northwest 47th Avenue.

Aerial footage from Chopper 6 showed the warehouse engulfed in flames as a large plumes of black smoke rose into the air from the scene. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue officials said firefighters arrived to find flames and heavy black smoke coming from the warehouse.

Footage showed firefighters spraying water on the building and attacking the flames from multiple angles. The call began as a two-alarm fire but by the afternoon, it had been upgraded to a five-alarm fire, with over 48 fire rescue units and over 100 firefighters at the scene, officials said. Crews were conducting a defensive attack to extinguish the fire due to structural integrity concerns.

“From the arrival of the initial companies, the fire had already taken possession of the entire building, making it too dangerous for us to go inside,” Miami-Dade Deputy Fire Chief Danny Cardeso said.

The post VIDEO: Crews battle massive 5-alarm fire at Florida warehouse appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

VIDEO: We have reported on the dwindling number of volunteer firefighters here in New York and efforts to recruit new members for volunteer fire departments and companies.

And now some fire officials are asking Gov. Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers to provide authorization to go beyond current incentives to draw in volunteer firefighters and add new part-time compensation options.

Volunteer fire departments and companies face the dilemma of fighting more difficult to deal with fires like those from electric vehicles or handling hazardous materials incidents and that requires more state mandated training from the volunteers who are already donating their time for the fire service.

Getzville Fire Company public information officer David Morales explains: “The fires that we’re fighting have changed from the past which means that the way that we train to fight fires has to change as well to adapt to those new types of fires.”

The post Volunteer fire departments in New York urging governor and lawmakers to allow part-time compensation for firefighters to combat staffing shortages appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

VIDEO: Fire officials are issuing a warning after a teenager was seriously injured attempting a dangerous social media trend where people try to “breathe fire” by drinking isopropyl alcohol.

Wilmerding Borough Fire Marshal Al Hussey says the teen is lucky to be alive. “We are not meant to breathe fire as human beings,” Hussey said.

Hussey said the teen attempted to “breathe fire” using isopropyl alcohol inside a Pitcairn apartment unit Friday night. The building has about 40 units. Hussey says the teen is now intubated and being treated at a burn unit with 8% burns to the face and chest.

“First and foremost, you can lose your life. Second, you can have life-altering injuries to your appearance. Third, you could injure others in a building where you’re in, or a room, or the home. At the least, you’re going to have life-altering injuries, end up in the burn unit,” Hussey said.

Hussey is now urging parents to pay close attention to what their children have access to, especially when it comes to flammable household products.

The post Fire marshal issues warning after western Pennsylvania teen injured trying viral ‘fire-breathing’ trend appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

A massive blast at an industrial facility in Logan Township, New Jersey, sent five people to the hospital on Wednesday afternoon. The explosion occurred around 2:36 p.m. at Savita Naturals, a commercial facility on the 600 block of Heron Drive in Swedesboro that processes cocoa butter for the chocolate industry.

Gloucester County officials said four of the injured individuals were taken to the hospital in critical condition. One of them is the owner of the facility, according to a relative who spoke with Action News. Another person from a nearby facility had a medical emergency and was also hospitalized. There was no word on their condition.

A county spokesperson added that all employees at the facility were accounted for. Several propane tanks are on the decades-old site for production, but the exact cause of the blast remains under investigation. The explosion was felt across the immediate area – even across the river in Delaware County, Pennsylvania.

The post VIDEOS: Massive explosion in New Jersey felt across Philadelphia region appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

Every day, firefighters in communities across the US risk their lives responding to emergencies. And in the age of worsening wildfires driven by the climate crisis, their jobs have become more important than ever.

So how does pay correlate to such a key job? As we’ll see below, firefighter wages fluctuate dramatically across the 50 states, with some states recording six-figure earnings for the highest earners, while others in the 10th percentile of earners barely scratch the $25,000 mark.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics provides data on firefighter wages. Using the most recent data from May 2024, Business Insider identified the median annual salaries of firefighters in every US state.

We also identified the overall salary range of firefighters in each state, ranging from the low-end 10th percentile to the high-end 90th percentile of salaries.

Chris Lake, the director of collective bargaining for the International Association of Firefighters, told Business Insider that many factors contribute to pay differences from state to state. For starters, every state has differences in cost of living, housing prices, taxes, and other factors, so salaries will often reflect these characteristics.

The post Here’s how much firefighters make in every state in the United States appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

VIDEOS: Traffic in Manteo faced major delays Wednesday morning following a large Roanoke Island condo fire on North Bay Club Drive. The fire broke out around 6 a.m. in one building of condominiums at Shallowbag Bay Marina.

The Dare County Sheriff’s Office said both lanes of travel in the area of McDonald’s on U.S. 64 were closed as a result of the incident. All lanes of travel have since reopened.

The massive fire destroyed several units in a four-story condo building at Shallowbag Bay Marina. The large fire could be seen from a great distance on Roanoke Island. One man saw the fire from a distance and tried to help those at the scene early Wednesday morning.

“I was here about 6:15 (a.m.), and I could see the flames before I got here,” said Charles McKenny. “When I pulled in, I saw that building two was on fire — pretty much the whole thing engulfed. So I just ran around trying to get everybody accounted for that I knew that lived there.”

The post Massive North Carolina fire at Outer Banks destroys condo units, disrupts traffic appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

VIDEOS: The Saturday morning rescue of two people hanging off a radio tower in a hot air balloon was a combined effort of several agencies working toward a common goal. The Judson Fire Department didn’t have aerial rescue gear but did provide valuable logistical ground support in the operation.

Chris Jackson works for Longview Fire but is also Judson ESD 3 fire chief. On duty in Longview Saturday morning, he was one of those called about a hot air balloon. “They initially told us that there was a hot air balloon stuck. We were thinking probably in a tree or some type of high aerial. When we got on scene it was much more than that,” Jackson said.

They knew power to the tower had to be shut down because of the dangers. “Anything from electrical to also F.M. radiation that could come off the tower. So, anything we could do to mitigate, make that situation better, that’s kind of the process that we started when we first got there,” Jackson said.

The post Texas fire chief: Hot air balloon rescue was combined effort appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

VIDEO: While lots of police departments use K9’s, it’s not often that you see firehouse dogs these days. However, a member of the Robins Air Force Base team traded wagging tails for wired processors.

Spot is the installation’s robotic dog created by Boston Dynamics. He cost the department $275,000 and is a monthly tool for the crew.

Spot is made of metal, but what he lacks in fur, he makes up for in functionality.

Using cameras and sensors, he can navigate through smoke, debris and hazards — giving firefighters critical information before they ever step inside a risky scene.

“We don’t have to get our guys in hazmat suits to collect air samples,” Beal explained. “Spot can go in first and give us everything we need before we send in an action team.”

Each month, firefighters at Robins use Spot in hazardous materials scenarios. Crews can mount gas meters, oxygen sensors and high-resolution cameras on his back.

The post Georgia: Robotic dog helping Robins Air Force Base firefighters answer calls appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

VIDEOS: The pilot and passenger who miraculously survived a small plane crash in the icy Hudson River were in “good spirits” and cracked jokes after they swam to shore Monday night. The pair was found by first responders in Newburgh inside a waterfront warehouse, where they had changed into dry clothes they had found.

“The pilot was making jokes to us about the clothes he was wearing because they had taken clothes from the warehouse that weren’t theirs — obviously to get out of the wet clothes,” Carrie Massari-Carey, Assistant Chief at the Town of Newburgh Emergency Medical Services, told The Post Tuesday.

“They were definitely in good spirits.” Their Cessna 172 went down in the frigid river near New York Stewart International Airport around 8 p.m. — with the pilot and passenger swimming to safety in a feat Gov. Kathy Hochul called “another miracle on the Hudson.”

Video from the scene Tuesday morning shows the plane submerged in the river with its tail sticking out, surrounded by ice. Moments after the crash, first responders were deployed to the shoreline up and down the river to account for the strong current that could quickly whisk away the plane and passengers.

The post Pilot, passenger who crash landed in ‘another miracle on the Hudson’ made jokes after swimming ashore appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

Officials say nine firefighters were hurt overnight when a rowhome collapsed as crews worked to extinguish flames that tore through a row of homes in the Wynnefield section of West Philadelphia.

Security camera footage obtained by NBC10 shows flames erupted at a rowhome along the 5300 block of Hazelhurst Street in West Philly’s Wynnefield community at about 10 p.m. on Monday night. That fire spread to neighboring homes and kept crews working to extinguish the fire busy overnight.

As crews were working to put out the fire, nine firefighters were hurt when a building “collapsed in a lean-to fashion from the second floor to the first shortly after the main body of fire was knocked down,” officials revealed in a statement Tuesday morning.

Several of the firefighters, officials said, alerted mayday situations as they were pinned by debris following the collapse. All of those who were trapped were removed and transported to area hospitals, officials said. All of the firefighters are in stable condition.

The post VIDEOS: At least 9 firefighters hurt as rowhome collapses during fire in Pennsylvania appeared first on Daily Dispatch.