It started when hot autumn winds snapped a power line east of Paradise, California, showering the ground with sparks. Flames shot up in dry grass near the Feather River, fanned into nearby pine trees and raced 8 miles to town. Eighty-five people died and nearly 19,000 buildings were destroyed in the Camp Fire, the state's deadliest wildfire.
- PUB DATE: 7/26/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: USA Today

On Tuesday, an abandoned house on the 1300 block of West Miller Street in Springfield went up in flames. Unfortunately, the house was fully engulfed in flames when crews arrived. The damage caused the floors to begin caving in. One firefighter fell through the depleting floors. He was later taken to the hospital for his injuries.
- PUB DATE: 7/25/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WRSP-TV FOX 55 Springfield

Emerging technologies could allow first responders to call up all sorts of information when responding to an emergency, but there is some uncertainty about what information is useful, how it should be displayed, and how emergency personnel could control which information to access and when. NC State is working with first responders to address these questions.
- PUB DATE: 7/25/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: North Carolina State University

Fire seasons in 2017 and 2018 caused the residents of California to take a long, hard look at themselves, their electricity providers, the way their forests are managed, what their evacuation plans look like, and whether their homes are protected. Communities on the Central Coast face fire yearly, from Lake Nacimiento to the forested hills outside of Santa Barbara.
- PUB DATE: 7/25/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New Times

VIDEO: Heart health is a key focus for firefighters. With heavy lifting and gear, the body can take on a lot of stress. In 2018, 64 firefighters were lost in the national line of duty — almost half of those were related to sudden cardiac arrest. That’s one of the reasons why fire departments throughout the area gathered together for a fitness-based training session, hosted by the Gates Fire District.
- PUB DATE: 7/25/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WROC-TV CBS 8 Rochester

The Senate voted Tuesday to extend funding for first responders suffering health problems as a result of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. In a 97-2 vote, the Senate overwhelmingly passed the bill that would effectively make the victims’ compensation fund for 9/11 first responders and other victims of the attacks permanent.
- PUB DATE: 7/24/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WNBC-TV NBC 4 New York

When Stan Caplan built his retirement home on the ridge of a majestic chaparral-covered hillside in an affluent gated community in Rancho Santa Fe, he wasn’t thinking much about insuring his property against wildfire. Today, the issue has been consuming the 70-year-old Texas transplant. In June, he received a letter in the mail that his homeowner’s insurance was being canceled because of the “increased frequency of catastrophic wildfires in California.
- PUB DATE: 7/24/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: San Diego Union-Tribune - Metered Site

A record that stood for nearly 30 years fell this past week when the roster at the Alaska Smokejumper Base at Fort Wainwright was filled with the names of 206 jumpers at the same time. That’s more than half of the roughly 400 smokejumpers on rosters nationwide this year. The previous record in Alaska was 202 jumpers on the roster at once.
- PUB DATE: 7/24/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Fire Aviation

You may have heard that freeze-dried food was invented to feed astronauts on the Apollo missions, and although “astronaut ice cream” was never actually used during the operations, it was developed for NASA in the 1960s. Two other items people commonly believe originated with Apollo 11 are Tang and Teflon, but this is apocryphal — NASA isn’t responsible for your non-stick pans or your fruit drink mix.
- PUB DATE: 7/24/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Digital Trends

King William County allocates more than a half-million dollars to volunteer fire organizations each year, but county officials say they have little, if any, oversight. The county has budgeted $1.43 million for fire and emergency services for the fiscal year that started July 1, according to the county’s adopted budget.
- PUB DATE: 7/24/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Virginia Gazette

Global climate change could make fire seasons more severe, and loss of critical technology more frequent, according to some fire officials. However, one Bay Area county is the first to secure funding for new equipment to help first responders in the event of catastrophe. In the case of natural disasters, first responders depend on communications infrastructure to warn the public, and plan their response.
- PUB DATE: 7/23/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KTVU-TV FOX 2 Oakland

A bigger, better, faster and stronger fire district. That is what the fire chiefs of two local fire districts say a proposed merger would bring to their communities. On the Aug. 6 primary ballot is a proposal to merge District 8 in Lake Stevens into Snohomish County District 7, which serves more than 116,000 people from Mill Creek to Monroe and beyond.
- PUB DATE: 7/23/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: HeraldNet.com - Metered Site

VIDEO: 12 years ago, a fire changed David Griffin’s life forever. He was driving a fire truck when he responded to the scene. Griffin spoke Monday night at the Steeple, telling local firefighters the story. The giant furniture store had no sprinkler system. It was nighttime, and dozens of firefighters went inside.
- PUB DATE: 7/23/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WPMI-TV NBC 15 Mobile

A year after Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services experienced their first-career line of duty death while battling a massive house fire in Clarksville, a review committee has returned a series of recommendations to improve safety and accountability in the department. Lt. Nathan Flynn was part of the first team of firefighters to respond to the house in the 7000 block of Woodscape Drive at about 2 a.
- PUB DATE: 7/23/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WMAR-TV ABC 2 Baltimore

A Get Gephardt investigation reveals the shocking way ordinary Utahns are starting fires without knowing it, and what you’ll have to pay if you start a fire by accident. 538 wildfires have already flamed in 2019. Even with the late rain, we are on track to match 2018's fire totals. All that firefighting costs millions.
- PUB DATE: 7/23/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KUTV CBS 2 Salt Lake City

Roswell firefighter Jeff Stroble, 46, died Sunday at a hospital in Lubbock, Texas. Stroble was working to prepare fireworks for the City of Roswell's Fourth of July fireworks display when an explosion occurred – leaving him in critical condition. Roswell Fire Chief Devin Graham shared the following statement: "It is with great sadness we announce the passing of one of our own Roswell Fire Department Firefighters.
- PUB DATE: 7/22/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KOB-TV NBC 4 Albuquerque

Eleven firefighters and one resident were taken to an area hospital Friday when a noxious combination of cleaning supplies triggered a Level 3 hazardous materials situation at a building in Boston's South End. The building was evacuated after a combination of bleach and Murphy's Oil Soap created a noxious, potentially dangerous combination on the third floor of a 5-story rooming house, Boston fire officials said.
- PUB DATE: 7/22/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WBTS-TV NBC 10 Boston

It’s literally one of a kind, and Hadley Township Fire Chief Kurt Nass says his department’s shiny new pumper truck is the “future of firefighting” and the department is excited to show off the new vehicle. Nast said since his department tries to get 24-25 years out of each of its vehicles. “We don’t want to order what he need right now,” said the chief, and instead they try to think of what they’ll need 10-15 years from now.
- PUB DATE: 7/22/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The County Press - Metered Site

Last year, the deadliest wildfire season in state history swept across California. More than 8,000 fires burned nearly two million acres and cost hundreds of millions of dollars to suppress.* In a matter of minutes, a town named Paradise was engulfed in flame and almost completely destroyed; 85 people died.
- PUB DATE: 7/22/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Smithsonian.com

The rescue of the driver of a runaway school bus was caught on camera in Minnesota. Police say the driver suffered a medical issue, then drove straight into the path of oncoming traffic. No children were on board. In an attempt to stop the bus, a police officer pulled in front of it and slammed on his brakes, but it was still pushing his cruiser forward.
- PUB DATE: 7/22/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTHR-TV NBC 13