VIDEO: The Abilene Fire Department said an early morning fire at an apartment complex was intentionally set. Kevin Earl Spurlock, 31, is charged with arson and terror threat of family or household. His bond has not yet been set. The fire at the Briarwood Apartments started around 6:15 a.m. Sunday.
- PUB DATE: 2/8/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTXS-TV ABC 12 Abiline

About 10 p.m. on the night of Feb. 8, 1933, guests staying on the fourth floor of the Millard Hotel in downtown Omaha began to notice flames licking out of windows on floors below. Minutes later, the hotel’s lights went dark. By 10:04 p.m., the first alarms were called into Omaha fire stations, according to World-Herald archives.
- PUB DATE: 2/8/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Omaha World-Herald

The newest Franklin firefighter is the second female firefighter in the city’s history, and the first in a while. Diversity is a priority of the Franklin Fire Department, and one that is starting to come to fruition. Casey Whitaker is not new to Franklin or public safety. She worked for Seals Ambulance Service since 2016, and was an EMT for nine years.
- PUB DATE: 2/8/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Daily Journal

The mutant coronavirus strain first identified in the United Kingdom remains at low levels in the United States but is doubling its reach approximately every 10 days, according to a study published by researchers on Sunday. The study bolstered modeling done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which predicted last month that the more contagious variant could be the dominant strain in the U.
- PUB DATE: 2/8/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: CNBC

VIDEO: Videos and photos are circulating of the historic Mason County Courthouse engulfed in flames. County Judge Jerry Bearden said the building is destroyed. In the overnight hours of Feb. 5, multiple volunteer fire departments including the Brady Fire Department were called to Mason County to respond to "multiple structure fires" including the Mason County Courthouse, the Brady Fire Department said on Facebook.
- PUB DATE: 2/5/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KHOU-TV CBS 11 Houston

I have no doubt we've all done it. We're watching a movie or TV show and they're doing something that we personally know really well. Maybe you're a dancer and this person is supposed to be a prima ballerina and you're thinking, "Nope. No way." Maybe you pitched in college and watch an actor try to throw a fastball and you can't help but laugh.
- PUB DATE: 2/5/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KSL-TV NBC 5 Salt Lake City

The Spokane Fire Department is finding new ways to connect with families during COVID. They've recently launched a new webpage to teach young kids about fire safety. It's like a virtual classroom, with icons and avatars for kids to click on. Jamie McIntyre, with the Spokane Fire Department, says firefighters really value that one-on-one connection they can have with the community.
- PUB DATE: 2/5/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KHQ-TV NBC 6 Spokane

A Black Firefighters Association fundraiser in Indianapolis starts with t-shirt sales, but it ends with big dreams of owning the property right next door to their headquarters. Capt. Corey Floyd serves as the recruitment officer for the Indianapolis Fire Department. He is also president of the Black Firefighters Association, which was created back in 1992 to help people of color at IFD fight against injustices and equality.
- PUB DATE: 2/5/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTHR-TV NBC 13 Indianapolis

Frightening coronavirus variants have found footing in the U.S. Experts caution that the worst may still be yet to come. Super Bowl watch parties could be the next superspreader event. This is, without question, not the time to let one’s guard down. And yet, the COVID-19 picture in America at this moment in time is vastly improved from what it was just a few weeks ago.
- PUB DATE: 2/5/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Intelligencer - Metered Site

A Greensboro firefighter is being recognized for his life-saving invention. Capt. CJ Woody earned the city’s Innovator of the Year award for designing and creating a decontamination shower head that attaches to fire trucks. The idea came to Woody after battling cancer. Firefighters are at a high risk of exposure to cancer-causing toxins.
- PUB DATE: 2/4/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WGHP-TV Fox 8 High Point

24-year-old Dejah Woods will make history when she begins her first shift as a firefighter in DeLand Thursday. At that moment, Woods will officially become the city’s first ever black female firefighter. Of the 49 firefighters in the department, Woods is one of just three women, and four minorities.
- PUB DATE: 2/4/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WFTV ABC 9 News Orlando

Google asked the US Federal Aviation Administration for permission to test a drone for monitoring and fighting fires. However, its drone plans, which were published Thursday in the federal register, have since been extinguished. The request came from Alphabet's Google Research Climate and Energy Group -- not the company's Wing subsidiary, whose drone delivery service was certified by the FAA in 2019.
- PUB DATE: 2/4/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: CNET

PHOTOS: In nearly 50 years of reminiscing about his hometown of Park Ridge with fellow members of the Park Ridge Historical Society, a favorite topic for Ralph R. Bishop was his adventures with the Lil’ Pirsch fire truck, first bought by the city in 1921. His father, Ralph E. Bishop, was fire chief when the city bought the pumper truck, built by Nash.
- PUB DATE: 2/4/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Journal & Topics

Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, recently commented in a blog post that a next pandemic could be 10 times worse than the one we are currently experiencing. In this context, the billionaire proposes to create "a squad of pandemic firefighters" to take action against such a threat. “The unfortunate reality is that COVID-19 may not be the last pandemic.
- PUB DATE: 2/4/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Hour

VIDEO: A Fort Meade voluntary firefighter is “responsive and talking” after being struck by a train while battling a brush fire Tuesday. Polk County firefighters were on the scene of a 3-4 acre wildfire near 1491 14th St. NW in Fort Meade after it began threatening buildings in the area. The fire was contained and buildings were saved but while working on the blaze, officials said a Fort Meade voluntary firefighter was struck by a train.
- PUB DATE: 2/3/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WFLA-TV NBC 8 Tampa

The swearing in last month of Dominick Trozzi as a new Parma Fire Department cadet marked a two-decades-old dream come true for the Parma native. However, setting goals and reaching for dreams is nothing new to Trozzi, who has been competing as a world-class weightlifter around the globe for the last decade.
- PUB DATE: 2/3/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Cleveland.com

VIDEO: Firefighters early Wednesday doused a two-alarm blaze at an abandoned building in West San Jose, near O'Connor Hospital, according to the fire department. At about 2:20 a.m., multiple units responded to the scene of a structure fire in the 200 block of Bascom Avenue, near Forest Avenue, the San Jose Fire Department said.
- PUB DATE: 2/3/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KNTV NBC 11 San Jose

A small Morgan County community is safer after getting a surprise that will save lives. In Rugby, a new donated fire truck is the talk of the town. Rugby is mostly quiet, with few cars passing by the historic sign and the town's R.M. Brooks Store. But, on Tuesday night, the air was filled with sirens and the sky with flashing lights.
- PUB DATE: 2/3/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WBIR-TV NBC 10 Knoxville

VIDEO: Firefighters protected nearby buildings from flames that tore through an auto parts storage center early Tuesday in Cypress Park. Over 100 firefighters were battling the fire in the community north of downtown Los Angeles. Crews responded to the 1000 block of N. San Fernando Road at about 4 a.
- PUB DATE: 2/2/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KNBC-TV NBC 4 Los Angeles

VIDEO: Dramatic video shows first responders rescue two people from a vehicle submerged into Long Island Sound during the nor'easter on Monday afternoon. Two people were in the pickup truck when it went 35 feet out into the water. Only the bed of the truck was sticking out. A woman in the truck got out through the rear window and was able to get onto the bed of the truck and out of the water, but a man in the truck was stuck.
- PUB DATE: 2/2/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WABC-TV ABC 7 New York