PHOTOS: Fierce flames erupted in a furniture store off McKinley Avenue in Mishawaka. Flames and smoke were seen rising from the store for several hours as firefighters battled the blaze.

“This looks so crazy. Like, I ain’t never seen nothing like this before,” Said Lovon Hopper, bystander. “We just started to hear booming, and then saw the smoke in the air. You could literally smell it, taste it, almost,” said Brandon Varda.

“We saw everyone just making a detour by the fire department. So we parked to see what was going on, and we saw just the big flames, and we just heard it all come crashing down,” said Megan Martinez, bystander.

Massive flames rising from an AAA Mattress and furniture just before 5:30 p.m. during a heavy thunderstorm. Multiple units responded, including Mishawaka, South Bend and Clay Township.

Those at the scene said it was not just the sight but the sounds that were concerning. According to firefighters, there was a large storage of lithium-ion batteries in the building, potentially the source of the booms people were hearing.

Those nearby said they had no idea what the noise was. “When we got close, we just started hearing like a lot of booms, like fireworks. Sounded like some gunshots, but it was this,” said Ethan Martinez, bystander.

According to police, while they do not know if anyone was in the building when the fire broke out, they said no one was hurt, and employees stopped anyone from getting hurt by calling 9-1-1 right away.

“They did the right thing. Called us out, and we were able to mitigate the problem. It’s definitely noted that to get out and let us take care of it, not to go in and try to solve the problem,” said Josh Courtney, Mishawaka Fire Department battalion chief.

The post VIDEOS: Firefighters respond to fire at warehouse in Indiana appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

PHOTOS: Law enforcement responded to a reported blowout at an oil well drill site in rural southern Nacogdoches County.

According to the Nacogdoches County Sheriff’s Office, the fire was reported before midnight Tuesday in the 15000 block of Farm-to-Market Road 226, north of Etoile.

Around 11:17 p.m. Monday, law enforcement said there were multiple reports of a loud explosion. A KTRE viewer’s drone could spot the flames glowing in the sky from 20 miles away in the city of Nacogdoches.

Multiple agencies responded to the scene, including the Texas Division of Emergency Management, Texas Dept. of Public Safety, the Nacogdoches County Sheriff’s Office, Etoile Volunteer Fire Dept., Nacogdoches Fire Depart., and multiple other fire crews.

“There is currently no danger to local residents from the fire, and air quality in the area is being monitored as well,” said Kevin Meyer, the incident public information officer from the City of Nacogdoches.

Sheriff’s deputies met with workers at the oil well who evacuated after the fire. No injuries were reported. “Deputies met with workers at the oil well site who had evacuated from the scene with no injuries reported,” the sheriff’s office said.

The post VIDEOS: Evacuations reported after Texas oil well explosion appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

When wildland firefighters are on prescribed fires, they’re breathing the same smoke and facing many of the same hazards found on wildfires, but they don’t get the same hazard pay. That could soon change.

Resolving that disparity has been a longstanding demand of wildland firefighters. Last week, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management proposed to do just that, and acknowledged the real dangers of prescribed fire.

“Prescribed fire duties expose employees to open flame, radiant and convective heat, smoke, unstable terrain, fire-weakened trees, and other physical, chemical, and biological hazards during ignition and patrol phases,” the recent Federal Register notice read. “Safety practices and Personal Protection Equipment…reduce—but cannot eliminate—these risks.”

“The hazards of a prescribed fire are very similar to the hazards of a suppression fire,” said Max Alonzo, secretary-treasurer of the National Federation of Federal Employees, a union that represents many federal wildland firefighters and has advocated for this change.

The post Wildland firefighters could get hazard pay for working on prescribed fires appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

PHOTOS: Fire crews from multiple towns battled a fast-moving overnight fire that damaged three homes in Ridgefield Park. The fire broke out around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday in the rear of a home on Brinkerhoff Street and quickly spread to two neighboring houses, according to fire officials.

Flames fully engulfed portions of the homes, and a vehicle in a driveway was also destroyed as the fire intensified. All of the residents inside the homes were able to get out safely, the fire chief said.

Several firefighters suffered minor injuries during the response. They are expected to be OK. Assistant Fire Chief Michael Alberque said crews faced challenges as the fire spread from one building to multiple structures.

“When it went into the second and third structure, it becomes an issue,” Alburque said. He said crews had to stretch water supplies from multiple hydrants because of the size of the fire and nearby trees.

By about 5 a.m., the fire appeared to be under control as crews began winding down operations. There was no immediate word on how the fire started.

The post VIDEOS: Crews battle large residential fire in New Jersey, 3 homes damaged appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

Dozens of people are without homes after a massive overnight fire tore through several buildings in Newark’s Ironbound neighborhood, injuring six firefighters and displacing nearly 60 residents.

Firefighters spent hours battling the blaze after it broke out late Friday night in a commercial building on Jefferson Street before quickly spreading to at least three neighboring multifamily homes.

Video from the scene showed heavy flames shooting through windows as crews worked to contain the fire.

“I started seeing smoke coming out of the building,” witness Jose Marte said. “As soon as I went over there, there were families and dogs coming out. There were a lot of kids.”

Officials said the fire began around 10:30 p.m. More than 100 firefighters responded as flames rapidly moved through multiple structures.

Neighbor Douglas Gamez said the fire spread fast, breaking windows and engulfing floors within minutes.

The post VIDEOS: Massive fire in New Jersey leaves dozens homeless, injures 6 firefighters appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

VIDEO: April 18, 2026, was the 120th anniversary of the great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire, memorialized and remembered at 5:14 a.m., the exact time when the earthquake struck.

Proceeded by a foreshock, the magnitude of the incident, which occurred before monitoring and scaling became standardized, is often debated as a 7.7 to 8.3 magnitude event lasting 42 seconds. Perhaps most remarkable, it was reportedly felt from Los Angeles to Oregon to central Nevada. The earthquake occurred on the San Andreas fault, impacting some 280 miles of the fault line and impacting multiple communities.

Over the years, fatality estimates have been revised for the entire region. It is now believed that some 3000 people were killed, placing this earthquake in the top 10 most catastrophic, deadliest and destructive events in the nation, slightly above the 2,974 victims of the 9/11 who died in the terrorist attacks on New York City in 2001.

While San Mateo County miraculously reported no fatalities, it did sustain significant damage to many structures. Locally, in Menlo Park and Atherton, significant and major structural damage and collapse was visible at Saint Patrick’s Seminary, Sacred Heart School and Duff and Doyle’s Mercantile Emporium Store, but fortunately all were spared from fire, despite being heavily damaged.

The post Remembering the great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire 120 years ago appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

VIDEO: Pennsylvania State Police say one woman and six children died in a house explosion early Sunday morning in Clinton County.

Police identified the victims as 34-year-old Sarah Stolzfus, an 11-year-old boy, a 10-year-old boy, an 8-year-old girl, a 6-year-old girl, a 5-year-old boy, and a 3-year-old boy.

Emergency crews said they were dispatched around 8:30 a.m. Sunday morning to the home on Long Run Road in Lamar Township.

They say when they got there, the home was already fully engulfed in flames. State police said the victims were trapped inside the home.

According to investigators, the explosion was caused by a propane leak in the home. The Pennsylvania State Police Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit in Montoursville is now investigating.

The post One woman, six children killed in Pennsylvania house explosion appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

VIDEO: A fire was tearing through a townhouse apartment complex in Woodbridge, New Jersey Friday morning.

The fire broke out on the third floor and was seen shooting through the roof of Woodbridge Center Plaza on Plaza Drive just before 5:45 a.m.

Residents were evacuating as firefighters arrived. Firefighters initially battled the blaze from the inside but were forced to turn it into an exterior operation due to the heavy flames. No injuries have been immediately reported.

The post Fire tears through apartment complex in New Jersey appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

Rodney Marshall will be Boston’s first Black fire commissioner, Mayor Michelle Wu announced Thursday. He will take over when current Commissioner Paul Burke retires at the end of the month.

“I’ve seen firsthand his steady leadership, sound judgment, and commitment to our mission,” Burke said of Marshall. “He is a good choice by the Mayor—and he will be a great commissioner.”

Wu commended Marshall for his “quick thinking and bravery” and explained he had “earned trust every step of the way” in his 35 years with the department.

“As a lifelong Bostonian, he knows our communities, has demonstrated his leadership on the job, and has devoted his career to serving and protecting our residents. It’s my honor to appoint him as our next Fire Commissioner,” Wu said in a statement.

Marshall, a Dorchester native and Boston College graduate, will become the 45th fire commissioner in the city’s history. He is currently the Deputy Fire Chief and Chief of Operations.

“I love this department, and I love this city,” he said.

He explained that the job is all about “teamwork” and emphasized the importance of firefighters’ place in the community. Marshall vowed that all firehouses will be open in the summer.

The post Rodney Marshall makes history as Boston’s first Black fire commissioner appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

VIDEO: In an effort to combat the high rates of cancer and chronic stress inherent to the profession, fire departments across the Phoenix metropolitan area are increasingly adopting “Recharge Rooms,” specialized wellness suites designed to accelerate physical and mental recovery for first responders.

What began as a pilot program in Gilbert has expanded rapidly. In just two and a half years, the concept has grown to reach 21 cities across six states, offering a 33-minute recovery circuit that includes red-light therapy, saunas, and cold plunges.

The initiative targets a grim reality for firefighters: members of the service are 9% more likely to develop occupational cancer and 15% more likely to die from the disease than the general population. For veterans like Capt. Joe Sperke, a 28-year veteran of the Gilbert Fire Department, the rooms have been life-altering.

Before the program, Sperke said he woke up in pain nearly every day and relied on medication to sleep. “I don’t wake up in pain. I don’t take sleep medication anymore,” Sperke said. “It was a huge benefit for me. I utilize it every day and we encourage people to use it as often as possible.”

The post ‘Recharge Rooms’ help Arizona first responders recover faster and live longer appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

VIDEO/PHOTOS: Authorities have confirmed the cause of the “significant fire” that erupted at Viva Energy’s Geelong refinery overnight. The fire broke out around 11p.m. on Wednesday at the crucial facility, which supplies 10 per cent of Australia’s fuel and 50 per cent of the fuel used in Victoria.

Fire Rescue Victoria said it will stay at the facility “until at least tomorrow due to safety concerns,” after firefighters worked quickly to contain the blaze and prevent it spreading. FRV crews were joined by Viva’s own emergency teams, with Incident Controller Anthony Pearce describing the early stages as “very, very dangerous” with explosions occurring.

Authorities later revealed the fire was caused by a gas leak from a mechanical component. “The gas has then appeared to have ignited,” Mr Pearce said, adding the exact ignition source is still under investigation. Despite the incident, much of the refinery remains operational. “The remainder of the plant still is functioning,” Mr Pearce said, though he noted ongoing activity could still affect the damaged area.

Viva Energy representative Bill Patterson said the plant is running at reduced capacity as a precaution, but continues to produce fuel. “We’re still making petrol, diesel and jet fuel at pretty decent rates… It hasn’t been a very large impact at this stage,” he said.

The post International News: Cause of Australia refinery blaze confirmed, refinery ‘still making fuel’ despite incident appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

PHOTOS: Jeremy Renner is sitting in his Lake Tahoe kitchen in a black baseball cap and a somehow even darker tee, somberly recounting the details of the now-famed incident that left him clinging to life. On New Year’s Day in 2023, Renner was nearly killed on his Nevada property when his 14,000-pound snowcat pinned him on an icy mountain.

The “tragic accident,” as the Reno sheriff would then call it at the time, left the two-time Oscar nominee with over 30 broken bones, a collapsed lung, and a pierced liver that left him in critical but stable condition in intensive care following surgery.

The 54-year-old, probably most famous for playing the Marvel superhero Hawkeye in eight different appearances, was frank when discussing the incident: If it weren’t for the people rushing to help him that fateful New Year’s Day morning, he may very well have succumbed to his blunt chest trauma and orthopedic injuries.

All paths to his home were blocked (he was initially trying to dig out a family member), and the cascade of emergency responders had to navigate the brutal terrain to keep him alive, from fire departments to paramedics to a Care Flight helicopter, 150 people in total, by Renner’s own count. He spent months recovering, asking a single question: What could he do for the people who saved him?

The post Actor Jeremy Renner bets on the tech that could have saved his life faster; ‘There’s 150 people that are responsible for me not dying’ appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

John J. Harvey has published an article marking the 95th year of the retired New York City fireboat and describing its continued public trips on New York Harbor.

René Allen Mack wrote that the vessel was built in 1931, was decommissioned by the New York City Fire Department in 1994 and was then bought out of the scrapyard by a group of private marine enthusiasts for ten dollars more bid.

The boat was restored with private funds and donations and began hosting free public trips on the river for donations. In June 2000, it was added to the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places.

The fireboat still sails regularly and recently took passengers on a free 90 minute trip around the Battery, moving near the Staten Island Ferry, the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge.

The article also recounts the fireboat’s role in New York maritime history and in emergency response. It welcomed major ocean liners into New York, fought the 1942 Normandie fire and later took part in the September 11, 2001 response.

After the attacks, the U.S. Coast Guard authorized any boat to assist with evacuations from Manhattan and John J. Harvey joined that flotilla.

The post Fireboat John J. Harvey marks 95 years in New York Harbor appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

Firefighters who rescued five people from a Sunday morning apartment fire described the moments they pulled a family to safety as flames destroyed the building.

Christopher Carter – a Chatham County firefighter – said he saw people hanging out a window when crews arrived around 4 a.m. “I literally just set up the ladder right here and prepared for rescue,” Carter said.

Body camera footage captured the family’s cries for help, met with calm but direct directions from Chatham County Police officers. The fire destroyed the entire building and left families without their belongings. Each family however, says they are thankful no person was majorly injured.

Joshua Anderson – Chatham County Fire’s Safety and Training Chief, said he watched Carter and captain John-William Farrell develop throughout their careers.

“Assigning them those tasks to do, I had the confidence in them to do it,” Anderson said. “That’s what we prepare for, for situations like this. The crew that actually made the rescue out the window were all back there, we were doing this same scenario at 2 o’clock that afternoon before.”

Two county police officers and two county firefighters worked together to make a complete rescue. Every neighbor affected by the fire has been offered a new room. Stephen Frazier, who saved his dog Dutchess, was moved to a one-bedroom unit in another building.

The post VIDEO: Georgia firefighters describe heroic rescue of 5 people from intense 3rd-floor apartment fire appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

VIDEO: Many volunteer fire departments rely on members who’ve grown up in their community. But for the Factoryville Fire Company in Wyoming County, some helping hands came from across the pond.

“We just said, ‘Oh, so how’s the fire service work here?’ Then, he said, ‘ Oh, it’s all volunteer.’ We were like, could we volunteer? And he was like, yeah. And so we did,” said Former Factoryville Volunteer Firefighter Alex Boirand.

While playing soccer and pursuing a degree at Keystone College in 2007, Alex Boirand and Jamie Ellis of England became volunteer firefighters.

“It was something I always wanted to do when I was younger is be a fireman before we came over here. So coming to college and then having seen it, we had an opportunity to do it here,” said Former Factoryville Volunteer Firefighter Jamie Ellis.

Nearly two decades later, the two men came back for an alumni soccer game at their alma mater and to take a quick tour of a newer Factoryville fire station.

The post An overseas education in Pennsylvania turns two men from the UK into volunteer firefighters appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

VIDEO: A morning fire in an electrical room at Boston Medical Center in Brighton prompted hospital officials to evacuate dozens of patients to other hospitals on Wednesday, officials said.

Fire officials say the fire was first reported in an electrical room around 1:30 a.m. but has since been brought under control. There were no reported injuries.

Because the fire knocked out power to some parts of the hospital, 26 patients were being transferred to other hospitals, including Boston Medical Center’s main campus. Twenty-four of those patients were in the Intensive Care Unit, two were transferred from the emergency room.

Family members of those who were transferred to other hospitals have been notified. The hospital is currently being powered by a generator while repairs are being made and it is operating under a Code Black, which means no ambulances are bringing patients in but people can walk in if they need help.

As a result of the incident, some planned elective procedures and outpatient appointments are being rescheduled. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

The post Fire prompts evacuation of some patients from Boston Medical Center in Massachusetts appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

VIDEO/PHOTOS: Dozens of cars burned Saturday afternoon in Cahokia Heights at a tow lot fire, creating a large smoke plume visible from St. Louis. ‘We had the whole back lot of a tow company on fire,” Cahokia Fire Department Deputy Chief Jordan Simmons said.

“They were moving vehicles around with heavy equipment and struck the battery on a hybrid vehicle which caused the fire.” “A lot of smoke. You can actually see it from in the far distance, so I came down to see what was going on and just a lot of flames,” witness and former Kinloch fire deputy Se’an Whiteside said.

According to the St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency, the cars were on fire at Patterson Towing LLC at 499 N. 73rd St. At least 10 fire departments responded to the scene, including Midway, Camp Jackson, Cahokia, East St. Louis, Prairie Du Pont, Church Road, Alorton, Hollywood Heights, Millstadt and Villa Hills.

Deputy Chief Simmons said it took crews at least 8 hours to extinguish the flames. “The hydrant wasn’t enough to supply the amount of water that we needed at the time. We had to call in tankers, and in doing so, we’ve flown 60,000 gallons of water. About 20 trips, tankers in total,” Simmons said.

The owner of the tow lot said an electrical issue sparked the fire and damaged at least 100 cars. The owner told 5 On Your Side that the tow lot mainly contained junk cars being scrapped. Despite the fire, he plans on reopening the business soon.

The post At least 100 cars damaged by fire at Illinois tow lot appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

Two Lexington firefighters have made and continue to make world history in the Firefighter Challenge League. Both Sarah McGill and Andrew Cook received awards in the 2025 Firefighter Challenge Championship Series.

The Firefighter Challenge League is an official sporting league designed for firefighters across the nation, regardless of their experience or status, to receive recognition for their emergency services.

Each year, the league hosts the Firefighter Challenge Championship Series, a set of competitions allowing firefighters across the nation to compete with each other in different obstacle courses. Participants in each challenge are timed based on how fast they can complete the criteria for each specific obstacle course.

According to the Firefighter Challenge League, both firefighters are members of the Firefighter Challenge League Lion’s Den, an award and honor for athletes who can meet a certain amount of criteria.

In 2021, McGill received the award for a female to have a run-time less than or equal to three minutes. In 2022, Cook received the award for having a run-time less than or equal to 100 seconds.

The post Kentucky firefighters make history in Firefighter Challenge Championship Series appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

VIDEO: A massive fire happened at an historic building in Cullman. Crews got the initial call to the Stiefelmeyer Building before dawn. The building houses multiple businesses.

Cullman Fire Chief Darren Peeples said they arrived at the scene at about 4 a.m. and would most likely be there till midnight or later. While the blaze is contained, there were still flames in pockets and voids in the roof and attic area of the 134-year-old building.

It took crews and equipment from Cullman and several other jurisdictions to get the massive blaze under control. Dozens of residents camped nearby to watch the 134-year-old structure go up in flames.

The post Owner, tenants react after fire destroys historic Stiefelmeyer Building in Alabama appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

Firefighters battled a massive fire that erupted at an apartment building in Manhattan on Sunday morning. The fire broke out around 6 a.m. at a six-story building on 7th Avenue between West 22nd and 23rd streets in Chelsea.

According to the FDNY, the building where the fire started is vacant. Heavy fire was reported on the first, fifth and sixth floors of the building.

Video captures heavy flames engulfing and thick, black smoke billowing from the structure. Eyewitness News was on scene as firefighters tried to get the fire under control and extinguish hotspots.

Officials say the building was unsafe for firefighters to walk in to, so the FDNY conducted searches from the tower ladders looking into the building.

“They were able to do a search from the ladders. Right now, the way that the construction is after the fire, it’s unsafe for us to do a full search,” said an FDNY Deputy Chief during a Sunday morning press conference.

The post VIDEOS: Massive fire erupts at vacant apartment building in New York; 2 firefighters hurt appeared first on Daily Dispatch.