VIDEO: A massive fire destroyed a commercial building in Historic South-Central Los Angeles early Thursday morning and spread to a second building, officials said.
Firefighters responded about 12:50 a.m. to the 3700 block of South Grand Avenue, near 38th Street, and found heavy fire coming from a one-story 100-foot-by-200-foot building, according to Margaret Stewart of the Los Angeles Fire Department.
At about 1:15 a.m., Stewart said the fire had gone through the roof and, due to the "possible loss of structural integrity, this is transitioning to a defensive operation.''
The flames spread to a nearby two-story, 50-foot-by-100-foot commercial building and caused significant damage, but a "closely coordinated operation'' allowed crews to extinguish that fire and save a large portion of the building, Stewart said.
The first building was declared a total loss, she said.
KABC-TV ABC 7 Los Angeles
|
VIDEO: If you’re swimming in the Gulf in Panama City Beach this summer, you may notice a small boat-like device bobbing through the water. The City’s Beach Safety Department is officially adding remote-controlled rescue boats to its fleet.
E.M.I.L.Y stands for Emergency Integrated Lifesaving Lanyard and Panama City Beach now owns two of them.
“E.M.I.L.Y’s a rescue device that can be used to help get out to a victim quickly,” said Wil Spivey, Panama City Beach Fire Rescue’s Beach Safety Director.
The rescue boat can travel up to 35 miles per hour and is controlled remotely by people onshore. Swimmers in distress can grab ahold of the lanyard and get brought to safety.
“These are tools that can be used by a non-rescue or somebody that’s not going into the Gulf, like a fireman. We can pull somebody off duty and put them on this device,” Spivey said.
The Beach Safety department has purchased two E.M.I.L.Y’s from Gulf County.
WMBB-TV ABC 13 Panama City
|
VIDEO: An 8-year-old boy in the front seat of a fire truck isn’t something you see everyday.
Conner Randell may be a little too young to reach the gas pedal, but he is old enough to ride along.
“He gets a little taste of what being a firefighter is all about,” said Eastland firefighter Amanda Woodley.
Conner is the Eastland Fire Department’s mascot.
This year he will follow alongside his dad, learning the ins and outs of what it means to be a hometown hero.
“When dad gets up at 2:00 in the morning because the little beeper beeps, they have a general idea of what’s taking place out in the community,” said Eastland Fire Chief Joe Williamson.
The program has been in place for years, but this go around, they’re adding more fuel to the fire.
“Our objective is for Conner to attach to his peers,” said Chief Williamson.
Instead of just participating in public events, Conner will be doing public service announcements.
Big Country Home Page
|
PHOTO: Growing up, Johna Denault spent hours on her homework due to her dyslexia. To find an escape from the stress, she turned to photography.
"When I was 12, I started taking photos with my parents' Sears35MM camera," she said. "I took photos of nature and really enjoyed taking action shots. From then on, I knew I wanted to explore photography as a career." As an adult, she enrolled in photography classes at College of DuPage.
"I knew my limitations and strengths, and I took every photography class COD offered to hone my skills," Denault said.
Receiving high accolades from her COD photography professors, Denault was determined to turn her passion into a career. She began taking portraits of firefighters in her local community, which eventually led her to a somewhat unconventional career as a fire photographer.
"The fire chief posted my portraits to social media, and I wasn't happy with how they turned out because it wasn't showing the firemen doing their craft," she said.
Daily Herald - Metered Site
|
Despite the 95 percent effectiveness at preventing coronavirus infection after two doses of its vaccine, Pfizer is now seeing what a third dose might do.
The company announced Thursday that a booster dose is being studied among people who received their first doses of the vaccine more than six months ago. In an interview with NBC News' Lester Holt, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said the hope is that a third dose will boost the immune response even higher, offering better protection against variants.
"We believe that the third dose," Bourla said, "will raise the antibody response 10- to 20- fold."
The new study will monitor the safety and efficacy of a third dose in two age groups: those 18 to 55 and those 65 to 85. The participants come from a group of people who were among the first to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine: people who volunteered for Pfizer's initial Phase 1/2 clinical trial, which began in May.
NBC News
|