72-year-old man dies, firefighter injured after basement fire in Queens

One person has died and multiple people, including one firefighter, were injured in a basement fire in Queens on Thursday, officials said. Firefighters responded to 94-14 132nd Street between 95 Avenue and Atlantic Avenue in Richmond Hill just after 5 p.m. Twelve units and 60 firefighters and EMS personnel responded to the scene of the fire that started in the basement. Neighbors watched as medics carried a 72-year-old man from the burning building and frantically worked to save his life. "The person was totally burned, head and all over the body, almost like 80% burned," one neighbor said. The victim was taken to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center in critical condition and was later pronounced dead at the hospital. Neighbors say the victim was quiet, but they saw him out on the street quite often.
WABC-TV ABC 7 New York City

Follow Up: More FDNY responders have died from 9/11-related illnesses than the attack itself

The New York City Fire Department has lost dozens of members this past year to diseases related to rescue-and-recovery work after Sept. 11, 2001, pushing the department over a grim threshold: More FDNY responders have now died from 9/11-related diseases than were killed on the day of the attack. “Our list of heroes grows each year,” said FDNY Acting Chief John Esposito at a solemn ceremony Wednesday during which 32 of the most recent deaths were added to the FDNY World Trade Center Memorial Wall. On Sept. 11, 2001, 343 FDNY responders were killed, many as they rushed into burning, collapsing skyscrapers to try to save lives. Since that day, 363 more have died of illnesses related to the toxic work of digging through rubble looking for survivors and recovering the deceased, including fellow firefighters, according to the FDNY.
Gothamist

Syracuse Fire Department receives $7.5M grant for new hires

More than seven million dollars is going to the Syracuse Fire Department to help hire and train new firefighters. The money comes from the Department of Homeland Security’s Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Program. The $7,595,180 grant is the third largest in the program’s history, and the largest federal grant the Syracuse Fire Department has ever received. “Today’s funding will help keep the world-class Syracuse Fire Department prepared to take on any emergency and hire the additional personnel they need to keep Syracuse safe,” New York Senator Chuck Schumer said. The funds will cover the salary and benefits of 20 new firefighters for three years. The Syracuse Fire Department has been able to expand several times thanks to federal grants made possible by senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand.
WSTM-TV NBC/CW 3 Syracuse

Orchard Park Fire District to use cloud-based software to help save lives during Buffalo Bills home opener

VIDEO/PHOTOS: The Orchard Park Fire District will be using a cloud-based software called Florian. The fire district will be the first fire and emergency medical service provider in Western New York to use the software. The district fire chief called the technology "indispensable," for the Windom Volunteer Fire Company, which is technically the only volunteer fire department that serves a major NFL team. Florian is taking fire and EMS protection to another level with the Bills home opener this weekend. The Orchard Park Fire District will be putting it to the test. "Everybody's safety is number one and our firefighter's safety is number one," Orchard Park Fire District Chief Jay Knavel said. The software will keep track of the fire district's assets, its crew members and better protect the public.
WKBW-TV ABC 7 Buffalo

Fire destroys Nanuet apartment building, investigators search for cause

VIDEO: Multiple homes were destroyed when fire erupted at an apartment building in Nanuet. Fannetta Glass-Miles and her husband Terry say all their belongings are gone. "The smoke came in through the walls, the vents, everywhere," says Glass-Miles. They were home Tuesday afternoon at their apartment off of Avalon Gardens Drive in Nanuet when smoke started billowing into their apartment and then, there was fire. "The was a boom and flames erupted up the sides of the building," says Glass-Miles. Moments before that, emergency officials say some kind of work was being done outside the building. At one point, contractors out there smelled gas and called 911, according to emergency officials. Shortly after that is when the fire began. Emergency crews tell News 12, the flames spread quickly. No one was seriously hurt.
News 12 Hudson Valley

FDNY Commissioner Robert S. Tucker adds 32 names to the World Trade Center Memorial Wall

VIDEO: The FDNY added the names of 32 members who died of illnesses related to their work in the rescue and recovery efforts following September 11th to the World Trade Center Memorial Wall during a ceremony on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, at Department headquarters in Brooklyn. "Next week, we will mark the 23rd anniversary of September 11. As we do every year, we will reflect on the 343 members who died that day, and we will be sobered in knowing that those insurmountable losses did not end at the World Trade Center site," Fire Commissioner Robert S. Tucker said at Wednesday's remembrance. "Instead, we have seen our members become sick because of time they spent working in the rescue and recovery ... For you, their loved ones, the pain is fresh. Their losses have left gaping holes in our hearts that will not close."
City of New York Fire Department