Landfill fire breaks out in Johnston

PHOTOS: A fire broke out at a landfill in Johnston on Friday. Smoke billowed into the sky on Shun Pike. It's unclear what may have caused the fire. No injuries were reported.
WJAR-TV NBC 10 Providence

Follow-up: Rhode Island fallen firefighters honored at annual memorial event in Maryland

VIDEO: Two fallen Rhode Island firefighters were honored in Maryland on Sunday during the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend. The 43rd annual event, organized by the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF), paid tribute to those who died in the line of duty in 2023 and those who passed away in previous years. The two firefighters from Rhode Island were James L. Varin Sr., who served in Providence’s Fire Department, and Robert T. Gardner Jr. from Richmond-Carolina’s Fire District. The NFFF said Varin Sr. passed away last February from brain cancer. 12 News recently spoke with Gardner Jr.’s wife, who said he suddenly died from a heart attack after coming home from a fire call in January of 2023. Family, friends, and fellow firefighters gathered during the event to grieve those they’ve lost.
WPRI-TV CBS/MyNetworkTV 12 Providence

Van crashes into entrance of laundromat building in West Warwick

A van collided with the entrance of a laundromat in West Warwick on Wednesday. According to officials, a woman driver hit the gas instead of the break and crashed into the entrance of Tumbletown Laundromat. NBC 10 crews observed scattered glass shards near the entrance of the building. West Warwick police said no one was injured from the crash.
WJAR-TV NBC 10 Providence

Update: Providence City Council calls for closure of scrap yard which caught fire

The Providence City Council passed a resolution Thursday condemning and calling for the closure of a scrap yard that had caught fire in April. The council said that the scrap yard on Allens Avenue has been the source of “ongoing environmental threats” with the fire being the latest example. The company that owns the yard, Rhode Island Recycled Metals, has had several issues with the city in the past, with Mayor Brett Smiley’s office issuing a cease and desist order on March 8 because the company was operating the yard without a required license. “This scrapyard is a hazard to its neighbors and dangerous to our environment,” Councilman Pedro Espinal, the sponsor of the resolution, said. “The business must be held accountable for its repeated violations and disregard for public safety.”
WLNE-TV ABC 6 New Bedford