VIDEO: Part of California Building Collapses in Early Morning Fire, Firefighter Injured

A firefighter suffered non-life-threatening injuries Wednesday morning at a blaze in a commercial building that houses a Chase Bank branch in the Hyde Park area and burned for 90 minutes before being extinguished. Part of the building collapses during the fire, reported at 12:24 a.m. at 4401 Crenshaw Blvd., near Vernon Avenue. Firefighters found fire burning through the roof of the two-story building, according to Margaret Stewart of the Los Angeles Fire Department. The address corresponds to a Chase Bank branch inside the Bakewell Building. A total of 160 firefighters extinguished the Major Emergency fire in 90 minutes while protecting a nearby three-story building from fire damage. A knockdown was called at 1:54 a.m., Stewart said. The firefighter sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to a hospital, Stewart said.
KNBC-TV NBC 4 Los Angeles

Maine firefighter dedicated to training the shrinking number of firefighters the MAINE-IAC way

PHOTOS: Waterville firefighter Ryan Johnston embraces the fact that those in his profession cannot work remotely amid the coronavirus pandemic. Johnston, 48, founded MAINE-IAC Training a half-dozen years ago after local fire departments learned of his unique extrication class. Now, more than ever, the region’s often short-staffed departments look to get the most out of whom they’ve got, and that’s where Johnston’s business comes in. “One of the things to remember during COVID is that the fires don’t stop, emergencies don’t stop,” Johnston said. “We’ve got to keep our firefighter skills as sharp as we can, so we do it as safely as possible.” In recent months, MAINE-IAC Training reached a countrywide audience. In November, Johnston published an article in popular outlet Firefighter Nation about firefighting while short staffed. In his article, Johnston wrote about the importance of training with ladder trucks in real-world settings with modern tactics.
Sun Journal

Rural New Jersey firefighters donate much-needed equipment to rural Alabama town

Firefighter Hunter Space left his Beemverville Fire Department in Wantage with a pick-up truck full of firefighting gear. After a 14-hour ride, he arrived at the firehouse in rural Vance, Alabama. The trip was to donate the gear his fire department in Sussex County could no longer use to the southern department in need. The gear included breathing apparatus, resistant hoods, turnout gear (pants and coats), flashlights and alarms to alert others when a firefighter "goes down" while battling a fire. "A lot of stuff which was expired up here was golden to them," Space said Tuesday after his return. A fourth-generation volunteer firefighter, Space is a member of the family that owns Space Farms and is the son of Assemblyman Parker Space, a former chief of the Beemerville Fire Department. The rural Alabama town's Fire Department was grateful for the equipment. "We have different standards down here than you have up there," said Vance Fire Chief Harold McAdory in a telephone call on Tuesday.
New Jersey Herald

Firefighters: 3-alarm fire in Las Vegas caused $25-30M in damages

VIDEOS: Clark County firefighters battled a three-alarm fire in the southwest valley near Fort Apache and Tropicana Monday night. According to Clark County Fire, crews responded to the intersection of south Fort Apache Road and west Tropicana Avenue around 11:50 p.m. for a reported fire at an apartment complex that was under construction. Upon arriving, crews elevated the call to a third alarm as the fire grew due to windy conditions. "Compounding the emergency, there were strong winds that was spreading the fire through the complex and sending embers to nearby neighborhoods," Clark County deputy fire chief Warren Whitney said. The fire was officially considered "knocked down" around 1:50 a.m. Tuesday but the scene remained unsafe later Tuesday morning.
KVVU-TV FOX 5 Las Vegas

FDNY EMS Pipes and Drums Band to Perform in Virtual Inaugural Parade

VIDEO: Amid the pandemic, it’s been some time since the FDNY EMS Pipes and Drums band performed publicly. On Wednesday, that will change when members take part in this year’s Inauguration Day festivities . "It was a great honor to be asked by the department to participate in this inauguration parade," said band manager and FDNY Captain Kevin Haugh. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime for Haugh, who spoke with NY1 about the experience on Tuesday at EMS Station 18 in the Bronx. Haugh said it's the first time the band will participate in an inaugural parade. In 2017, their NYPD counterparts went to Washington D.C. to perform when they were asked participate in President Donald Trump's inaugural parade. Now, it’s the FDNY EMS Pipes and Drums band that gets an opportunity to shine. "It's actually going to be nice for us," Haugh said. "COVID has affected a lot of things. We haven't been out to any parades. All the parades have been canceled."
Spectrum News

Helmet-cam video shows Pennsylvania firefighters making second story rescue at scene of fatal fire

VIDEO: Harrisburg city’s fire department has released video from a firefighter’s helmet camera that shows the rescue of a North 15th Street resident from his burning home shortly after first crews arrived. Chief Brian Enterline said the man was seen by firefighters at a second-floor, bedroom window in the 1400 block of North 15th as they were making initial exterior checks of the structure. The man, who has not been named, was successfully pulled out by responding firefighters, and received treatment for smoke inhalation at Holy Spirit Hospital. Enterline said he was in good condition as of Sunday night. Unfortunately, another resident in the residence died in the blaze, which was dispatched at 4:15 p.m. Sunday. Enterline said the city and Dauphin County Coroner’s office expect to release more information on the victim and what investigators have learned about the blaze on Tuesday. As of Monday night, however, he could confirm that the fire was accidental in nature.
PennLive

191 San Diego Fire-Rescue personnel decline COVID-19 vaccine so far

Nearly 200 San Diego Fire-Rescue personnel have so far turned down a COVID-19 vaccine, showing reluctance as health officials scramble to protect frontline workers like firefighters from the highly infectious coronavirus. As of Wednesday, 191 personnel had declined to take the vaccine; 895 had gotten the shot, according to department figures. The vaccine is available to all of the department’s roughly 1,500 employees, including lifeguards and non-sworn staff, a spokeswoman said. The force includes 943 firefighters, who double as paramedics or emergency medical technicians, placing them on the front lines of the pandemic. As of Wednesday, 99 firefighters had tested positive, according to the department. Department spokeswoman Mónica Muñoz said the vaccination figures may not account for vaccines administered by employees’ health care providers, adding that the department is not privy to personal health information.
San Diego Union-Tribune - Metered Site

Rising costs drive South Carolina firefighters out of communities

As rental and home prices increase throughout the state, some firefighters say they can’t afford to live in the communities they work in. According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, South Carolina’s annual mean wage in 2019 was $36,360, one of the lowest in the country. Bill Pesature, the vice president of the Professional Firefighters Association of SC, says salaries for firefighters have not kept up with the cost of living. “They can’t live where they work anymore. It just doesn’t happen,” Pesature said. “You need to raise your rates for what you pay people and take care of your people. Retention is vital.” Pesature also says many firefighters are leaving the state for better pay, and investments aren’t being made into the people who have been in fire departments for a long time. Instead, money is being used to train new people. Justin Lenker, the president of Midway Professional Firefighters Association Local 3617 and a firefighter with Midway Fire Rescue, says their salaries tend to be lower, and the cost of living on Pawley’s Island is about 11% higher than surrounding areas.
WIS-TV NBC/CW 10 Columbia

Memorial to honor heroes in Montana Warehouse Explosion of 1895

One-hundred -twenty-six years ago this past week, the city of Butte was rocked by a massive explosion that killed 58 people. On January 15th 1895, the Kenyon-Connell Warehouse explosion not only ended the lives of its innocent victims; it devastated their families and broke the city's heart. For some time now, community leaders, historians and artists have been working on a project to construct a monument to honor the men who died in that explosion. Butte Historical Memorials, a non-profit, has published a book about the explosion and its aftermath called 'Out of the Ashes: The Forgotten Story of the 1895 Butte Explosion.' To begin a retelling of the story, the group's chairman Jim McCarthy and its vice-chairwoman Lindsay Mulcahy took NBC Montana to an industrial section of the city. Home to warehouses and empty fields scattered with old machinery, Lindsay told us "we are at Ground Zero of the Butte Warehouse explosion site."
NBC Montana