PHOTOS: Five homes were destroyed, and multiple people were displaced after a massive fire broke out in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighborhood Sunday afternoon.

Allegheny County dispatchers first confirmed to Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 that officials were on the scene within the 4500 block of Penn Avenue following reports of a fire just before 4 p.m. The fire appeared to have broken out inside a home near Children’s Hospital.

Photos and videos from the scene showed large amounts of smoke and heavy flames. The assistant fire chief on scene said the fire was a 3-alarm and damaged at least five row houses connected to one another. It appeared construction was being done on at least one of the homes.

“You’ll notice the primary fire building, and you’ll notice the other buildings directly adjacent,” Assistant Fire Chief for the Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire, Brian Kokkila, said. “They’re touching, they’re physically touching. The wind and the rapid-fire development led to the expansion to five total buildings.”

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VIDEO: With the fires in western Nebraska over the past few weeks, much attention has been placed on the role of firefighters — both paid and volunteer. But a bill to change how they obtain compensation for job-related cancers stalled in the state’s Unicameral on Monday.

“Those fires are a vivid, painful reminder of what we are actually talking about when we debate this legislation,” said Fremont Sen. Dave Wordekemper, who introduced the legislation. “The men and women who answer the call, no matter the scope of the emergency.”

Nebraska’s 49 state senators spent three hours Monday morning debating LB 400, which would have changed the burden of proof for workers’ compensation when a firefighter gets cancer — presuming any cancer they’re diagnosed with is work-related until proven otherwise.

It wouldn’t have changed any eligibility for those firefighters, but would have moved the burden of proof to the employer. “Right now, a firefighter notifies their employer that they have cancer and has to prove it on their own, while sick, while fighting for their life, that the cancer came from the job,” Wordekemper said. “Right now, the deck is stacked against them.”

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PHOTOS: A boathouse fire in Lorton, Virginia, prompted a large response from Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department crews early Monday morning.

Firefighters were called to the 10700 block of Old Colchester Road, where they arrived to find a boathouse fully engulfed in flames, according to officials.

The fire had already spread beyond the structure, extending into nearby brush. Video released just before 3 a.m. by the department shows heavy flames and smoke pouring from the boathouse as firefighters worked the scene. No injuries have been reported. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

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Firefighting foam containing toxic PFAS chemicals have contaminated drinking water across the country for decades. The so-called “forever chemicals” have been linked to serious health problems, including some cancers.

The state of New Jersey has partnered with the remediation company Revive Environmental to help fire departments and academies remove and destroy 150,000 gallons of the toxic foam. New Jersey is investing $16.6 million in state appropriations to fund the disposal of aqueous film forming foam, which it will ban in 2027.

“We [used to] use it in car accidents on the side of the road, and then it goes into a ditch on the road, which goes into the waterway and we have the potential to contaminate a lot of things — now we don’t have that potential,” said Rob Gancarz, fire chief of the Jacobstown Volunteer Fire Company.

PFAS, widely used in consumer products such as nonstick cookware and waterproof clothing, have been linked to serious health problems, including some cancers, thyroid disease, developmental delays in children and other health conditions.

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VIDEO: Two firefighters were injured while battling a fast-moving apartment fire that escalated to a second alarm, according to the Houston Fire Department. Crews arrived to find heavy fire and smoke coming from the building. The fire happened at 10501 Holly Springs Drive in Houston.

Footage of the heavy flames was posted to Facebook by Grizzy’s Hood News. As firefighters worked to contain the flames, conditions rapidly worsened, prompting officials to call for additional resources. During the response, a second-floor balcony collapsed, sending a captain and another firefighter to the ground. Both were injured in the fall.

The captain was transported to Memorial Hermann Memorial City Medical Center, while the firefighter was taken to Memorial Hermann – Texas Medical Center. Their conditions have not been publicly released. One civilian was treated at the scene for minor injuries, officials said.

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Four houses were destroyed in a fire in Atascosa County, according to authorities. Multiple agencies responded to the fire around 1:40 p.m. Thursday in the 100 block of Way Cross Road, near Old Pleasanton Road and just south of the Bexar-Atascosa county line.

As of Thursday afternoon, the Atascosa County Sheriff’s Office said the was contained. The four homes are considered a “total loss,” the sheriff’s office said. No injuries have been reported. Linda Andrews is one of the people who lost her home in the fire alongside her neighbor Robin Silva. “We have nothing but what we have on our bodies,” Andrews said. “We have alive people and alive dogs. That’s it.”

Atascosa County Fire Marshal Ronald Sanchez said seven vehicles were also destroyed. Sanchez believes the fire started as a grass fire, and he is investigating how it spread. Mark Montgomery, assistant fire chief of Bexar County Emergency Services District No. 2, said an estimated five to 10 acres were involved in the fire.

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Damages caused during the response to a 2023 Sussex County fire has state lawmakers considering additional penalties for intentionally harming first response vehicles. Several Sussex County fire companies had their windows shattered by thrown rocks as they responded to a blaze at the New Process Fibre Company in Greenwood.

Shortly after the incident, Bridgeville fire truck driver Brent Workman told WBOC they were in disbelief as they were approached the fire scene and realized their windshield had been cracked. “We go to help people, and something like that happens? Something is wrong with society today if you’re throwing rocks at a fire truck with its lights on.”

Ultimately, a 17-year-old was charged with 9 counts, including four of Criminal Mischief for damaging the Greenwood, Ellendale, Farmington, and Seaford fire trucks. The Criminal Mischief charges are at the focus of Senate Bill 232, introduced by State Sen. David Wilson (R-Milford), which looks to increase the potential penalties for creating more than $5,000 in damage to a fire, police, or other first response vehicle.

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VIDEO/PHOTOS: First responders were on the scene of a crash involving a Nashville Fire Department engine in Old Hickory Thursday afternoon. The crash happened around 4:15 p.m. Thursday in the area of Old Hickory Boulevard and Fields Drive.

A NFD spokesperson said the preliminary information indicates the firefighter driving the engine “experienced a medical episode” and lost control, hitting several telephone poles, parked cars and eventually a building. “He wasn’t swerving to miss any cars or anything,” nearby resident Jasmine Dotson, whose power went out because of the crash, told News 2.

“It just randomly happened.” The firefighter was brought to a local hospital for evaluation. Two people were also injured while they tried to move out of the way, but the NFD spokesperson said they declined transportation at the scene.

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PHOTOS: A five-alarm fire burned through an apartment building in the Bronx, killing one person and injuring four firefighters. The flames broke out just after 5:30 a.m. Thursday inside the building on East 184th Street in the Belmont section.

Fire quickly engulfed the top floor of the building. Flames could be seen shooting through the roof. A section of the parapet fell to the ground while still on fire. Residents were evacuated from the entire building.

One person who lived in the apartment where the fire started was killed. Four firefighters suffered minor injuries. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

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VIDEO: It was 60 years ago, March 29, 1966, when a tragedy involving the Mattoon Fire Department left the community in mourning. Two fire trucks from different stations, going to the same fire, collided at the intersection of Broadway and 15th Street. Eight firefighters were injured.

The driver of one truck, Robert “Bobby” DeMars, was killed when his truck rolled over, pinning him underneath. The second truck crashed into parked cars along busy Broadway, coming to a rest near the Time Theatre. Both trucks were total losses.

A marker is at the intersection and lists the names of the firefighters involved. A brick with the name of DeMars is located outside the Mattoon Public Library.

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San Francisco fire crews swiftly rescued a woman who was found clinging to the side of a cliff near the Cliff House on Wednesday.

SKY7 was over the entire rescue operation, and when they first arrived on scene, they spotted a woman in a bikini and no shoes about 70 feet down the cliff.

Firefighters were able to first drop down a rescue cable for the woman to secure herself. One firefighter then had to rappel down the cliff and strap a harness and a helmet onto the woman. It took a few tense minutes to get moving, but rescue crews were able to walk the woman safely up the cliff.

The woman was placed into an ambulance as firefighters evaluated her to determine if she needed to be taken to the hospital.

It was not immediately known how the unidentified woman ended up clinging to the rocks by the Cliff House. SFFD said in a statement that the woman had gone over the cliff and became stuck on the rocks.

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The polished red floors of the Cutchogue Fire Department’s new apparatus bay, marked with bright yellow lines, reflect rows of fire trucks now housed together in one space — a far cry from the previously cramped, uneven quarters that were falling apart.

The faint smell of fresh paint still lingers inside the new $16 million headquarters, which received its certificate of occupancy in January.

Last week, The Suffolk Times got an exclusive first look during an hour-long walkthrough — from the bright, open lobby to the rooftop generator designed to keep operations running during major storms.

A large American flag hangs in the atrium of the building, which was designed with both present needs and future demands in mind.

Inside the apparatus bay, trucks now sit side by side in clearly marked lanes, with turnout gear neatly organized on rolling racks just steps away — a layout designed to get firefighters moving faster when seconds matter.

“We’re utilizing the space better now where we can move trucks closer to where the crews can get their gear quicker,” first assistant fire chief Chris DiNizio said. “Even if it’s 30 seconds faster, 30 seconds is a big deal in an emergency.”

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VIDEO: A 12-year-old girl from Brownsburg is on the mend from serious burns after trying a TikTok trend. Kelsey Dybala put a popular sensory toy in the microwave and it exploded. Now, she and her family are warning other kids about the danger.

Stacey Dybala said it took just seconds for a simple toy to explode and seriously injure her daughter. Stacey was in another part of the house a couple of weeks ago, when she heard screaming. “All of a sudden, I heard, ‘It burns! It burns! It burns!’ and I was like, ‘What did you do?'” Stacey said.

Kelsey suffered severe burns on her neck and face after trying a trend she saw on TikTok. Videos showed kids heating a NeeDoh Nice Cube, a popular sensory squeeze toy, in the microwave. That advice is on social media, too.

“I’d seen a bunch of things saying if you put it in the microwave it gets softer,” Kelsey said. “I had started to actually see that people were doing it and people were encouraging it.” So she tried it. She said she heated the cube five seconds at a time, checking it each time.

After a minute total, she took it out, squeezed it and the gel-filled cube exploded, sending hot liquid into her face. “I was in, like, shock that what happened because it was over 200 degrees. So I was just yelling, ‘It burns! It burns! It burns,” she said.

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A deadly house fire in Minnesota that claimed the lives of an NHL reporter and her three children over the weekend does not appear to have been intentional, officials said Monday, citing preliminary investigative findings.

The White Bear Lake Fire Department released a statement Monday following the Saturday morning fire that claimed the life of 37-year-old Minnesota Wild correspondent Jessi Pierce and her three children. “We are in the very early stages of the investigation, and our preliminary findings have not led to any evidence that the fire was set intentionally,” the press release read.

“The cause of the fire is still under investigation. The official cause and further information will be released once the investigation is complete.” Officials said that in addition to the Minnesota State Fire Marshal’s Office, they are “dedicating all possible resources to this investigation.”

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PHOTOS: The historic courthouse in Rome is a total loss after a massive fire, a Floyd County fire division chief said in a news conference on Monday. The fire caused the bell tower of the structure to collapse.

Rome-Floyd County Fire Department said they were able safely evacuate everyone from the fast-moving fire before they had to switch to a defensive posture. The fire was discovered in the building at around 2:20 p.m. Monday. The courthouse was undergoing renovations at the time of the fire.

No firefighters or members of the public were hurt in the fire, fire officials confirmed. The historic courthouse was built in 1892. The site was previously home to the Davis Foundry, and will still being used as the office of the Floyd County Tax Commissioner.

The tax commissioner’s office said in a statement Monday night, “Thank God for the Facilities staff who warned us to get out and the firefighters and 1st responders who ran into the fire while we ran out.”

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VIDEO: The Aroostook Emergency Management Agency (EMA) has a new tool designed to give crews real-time views of dangerous situations from above: a drone. Officials say the drones can be used to monitor river ice jams and spring flooding, as well as spot and track wildfires across the county.

“We can sit up in one spot on the river and go up and down the river getting a better perspective of the area,” said Derrick Ouellette, deputy director of Aroostook EMA. In a county as large and rural as Aroostook, that perspective makes a big difference, giving emergency crews real-time information for up to 40 minutes at a time, without putting boots on the ground.

“It’s going to be a really good tool. And especially since it was made in the U.S. It is going to be a lot more secure to use than other things that come off the shelf,” Ouellette said. The drone kit, which includes infrared attachments, multiple batteries, and a waterproof, impact-resistant case, cost about $20,000 funded through a grant Ouellette applied for more than two years ago.

“The biggest part for me was probably getting the SOPs and policies in place and getting the grant for the drone,” Ouellette said. With a licensed drone team in place, officials say the technology will help them quickly assess situations from above so they can better respond on the ground.

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PHOTOS: An explosion and large plume of smoke at the Valero refinery in Port Arthur prompted officials to order west-side residents to shelter in place Monday, but the major fire was out by early Tuesday and the shelter-in-place order was lifted, Jefferson County Judge Jeff Branick announced.

“As of 3:28 a.m. the major fire at Valero was out,” Branick said, adding that air monitoring performed by Valero, the EPA, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and others “did not indicate exceedances of safe thresholds at this point.”

Branick, who spent the night at the incident command center, praised the response to the blaze — noting it happened to fall on his birthday.

“Well, that was certainly the most interesting way I’ve ever spent a birthday,” Branick said. “I was impressed by the well trained and highly skilled emergency response personnel of Valero. They understood the processes, products and procedures and they worked together under the incident command and control framework in a collaborative and effective way.”

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PHOTOS: An Air Canada passenger plane smashed into a rescue truck at New York’s LaGuardia Airport late Sunday — killing two pilots and hospitalizing 41 others in the horrific crash that obliterated the front of the jet and forced the major travel hub to close for most of Monday.

The Bombardier CRJ-900 jet landing from Montreal with 72 passengers and four crew members was landing shortly before midnight when it smashed into the truck responding to an unrelated emergency.

Audio caught an air traffic controller frantically trying to avoid the deadly smash, repeatedly crying out, “Stop, stop, stop, stop!” He was later heard admitting, “I messed up.”

Horrific images showed the front of the commuter plane obliterated and tilted up in the air, with debris and cables hanging from the mangled cockpit after the 24 mph smash. The pilot and co-pilot in the mangled front were both killed, sources told The Post, with many of the 72 passengers and four crew members on the landing jet also injured.

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PHOTOS: Following reports of a loud “boom” and houses shaking the Houston area on Saturday, a woman says a potential piece of the answer may have been what crashed through her roof. Social media was buzzing with questions about a noise sounding like thunder or an explosion shortly before 5 p.m. Saturday.

The Brenham Fire Department said they responded to reports of a possible explosion, but they did not find proof that one happened. Some speculated whether the noise came from a meteor or a sonic boom.

As the questions continued, a woman contacted FOX 26 claiming a meteorite crashed through her roof. Sherrie James says she contacted the Ponderosa Fire Department for help.

Fire Captain Tyler Ellingham confirmed that he responded to James’ call. The captain’s team found what they say is an unusual rock. Since there was no construction or trees nearby, the fire department believes the rock is a part of the alleged meteor that was heard around Houston.

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PHOTOS: A huge fire at the Fuyao Glass America plant in Moraine burned for hours Sunday night as crews battled weather conditions and high winds. The flames tearing through the roof of the automotive glass company’s production complex could be seen for miles.

The fire started around 8:30 p.m. at the plant on West Stroop Road and flames were still burning after midnight, Moraine Fire Marshal Doug Hatcher said. The fire started on the roof of the building, Hatcher said, but he could not say if there was damage within the building.

He said the fire struck a newer part of the Fuyao complex, where the company had been setting up new manufacturing lines. Fire crews had to suspend aerial ladders above the roof due to lightning strikes in the area. Hatcher said crews would continue working after the storm died down.

Multiple area fire departments assisted the Moraine Fire Department, although a Moraine dispatcher could not immediately say how many. Thousands of gallons of water were used to fight the fire.

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