Lightning strike sparks massive apartment complex fire in Charlotte; one firefighter hurt

PHOTOS: An overnight fire caused by a lightning strike displaced residents at an east Charlotte apartment complex, the Charlotte Fire Department said on Sunday. Crews responded to calls regarding the blaze at some point before 3:30 a.m. Sunday at an apartment complex on Tremaine Court. Flames were visible upon arrival, Charlotte fire officials said. The fire was brought under control within 90 minutes and the two-alarm fire involved 60 firefighters. Medic said one patient was transported to an area medical center to be treated for non-emergency reasons. City officials later said a firefighter suffered minor injuries and was treated and released. The Red Cross was seen assisting residents who were displaced. The cause of the fire was deemed to be a lightning strike and about $250,000 in damages has been estimated.
WNCN-TV CBS 17 Goldsboro

Joshua Farmer named Reidsville Fire Chief, David Bracken retires

Longtime Reidsville Fire Chief David Bracken recently announced he will retire July 1 and city officials have tapped Joshua Farmer, the city’s assistance fire chief and fire marshal, to take his post. Farmer was selected after a competitive review of 21 applications for the job, city officials announced in a news release. City Manager Summer Woodard ultimately selected Farmer from two finalist candidates. “It is very impressive what future Chief Farmer has been able to accomplish at this point in his career,” Woodard said. “His drive to succeed and his personable nature gave me, and our Management Team, great confidence in his ability to move into the top role at the Fire Department. He has earned this opportunity.” A native of Reidsville, Farmer has been a full-time member of the Reidsville Fire Department since 2014.
Rockingham Now - Metered Site

School bus catches on fire in south Charlotte with students on board

A school bus caught on fire in the Ballantyne area of south Charlotte Thursday, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools reported. At approximately 5:30 p.m., Bus 32 was traveling from Charles Parker Academic Center when it experienced a fire at the corner of Old Ardrey Kell Road and Providence Road West, the Charlotte Fire Department confirmed. CMS said the bus driver was very proactive when he noticed smoke on the bus and proceeded to pull over and safely evacuate all the students off the vehicle. When Charlotte firefighters arrived on scene, Carolina Volunteer Fire Department had arrived and both agencies jointly extinguished the fire, CFD said. The students and bus driver had already safely exited the bus, and CMS said students were picked up by parents and taken home.
WJZY-TV FOX 46 Charlotte

Follow-up: Firefighter survives 8th heart attack, saved by fellow firefighters while responding to call in Burke County

VIDEO: Firefighters save lives. But Friday night, the team at Chesterfield Fire Rescue in Burke County had no idea they’d be saving one of their own. A call came in sending firefighter David Hart to a camper trailer fire on Bristol Creek Avenue this past Friday. Hart was first to arrive and was preparing the water pumps when he noticed he didn’t feel right. When he collapsed, his fellow firefighters rushed to help him, immediately starting CPR and using a defibrillator to bring him back to life. “It was under five minutes, but it felt like eternity,” Amanda Buff, who first performed CPR on Hart, said. “This is like an everyday thing for us. We respond to cardiac arrests all the time, but it feels more personal when it’s one of your own people.” Hart said Friday’s scare was his eighth heart attack, and said he was dead for almost five minutes before his team resuscitated him.
WBTV CBS 3 Charlotte