VIDEO: Neighbors watched thick smoke and flames consume a Port St. Lucie home after it caught fire Friday evening during a storm.

The fire happened on Bellevue Avenue. Video captured by a nearby resident shows flames coming from the home as smoke billowed into the neighborhood.

Neighbor Leigh Michele said she was inside talking with a friend while listening to thunder from a storm moving through the area when she heard what she believes was a lightning strike.

“I heard the lightning strike. It took out the internet and power briefly, so I knew it was around here. I happened to look at my cameras, and I’m like, ‘Oh my God, that house across the street is on fire,'” she said.

When she looked outside, Michele said the scene was overwhelming.

“I looked out the door. I’m like, ‘Oh, my goodness.’ The area was filled with smoke,” she said. Another neighbor, Glenn Doyle, said he also heard a loud crack during the storm but didn’t initially realize what had happened.

“I heard a loud crack, and it sounded like it came from the front of our house. Didn’t think anything of it,” Doyle said.

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Firefighters were called to an apartment in St. Louis Park Friday afternoon, where a massive blaze was burning at the top of the building. The city of St. Louis Park said the fire was reported at 4:47 p.m. at Helix Apartments, located in the 7500 block of Highway 7.

Upon arrival, fire crews found a fire that appeared to have started on the third-floor balcony of the building, though the city says this has not yet been confirmed.

St. Louis Park Fire said the fire was under control as of 8:30 p.m., with some crews remaining on scene to extinguish hot spots and conduct an overhaul to ensure the fire is completely extinguished.

Firefighters from approximately 20 fire departments were called to the apartment to help contain and extinguish the three-alarm fire.

One person was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, and two firefighters were treated on scene for heat-related injuries. Approximately 90 apartment units were affected by the fire.

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VIDEO: Sometimes it’s a simple act of generosity that has the power to make someone feel appreciated. And one Albuquerque man is using his paintbrush to give back to the first responders who once came to his aide.

Walking into 77-year-old Joseph LaForte’s home you would think you walked into a gallery, as colorful paintings line the walls. LaForte has been an artist most of his life and since retiring as a craftsman seven years ago, Laforte’s studio has been the birth place of more and more pieces.

“We’re here in New Mexico, it’s a graveyard, right? It’s got hot air balloons,” said LaForte, pointing to one of his paintings. After a recent medical scare for LaForte, and an emergency involving his 86-year-old wife, his inspirations shifted towards the first responders who answered the call.

“Recently my wife had fallen and broken her hip and they came right away and they were wonderful,” said LaForte. “And as far as the inspiration, I just felt like, wow, these people do a really beautiful thing.”

So, LaForte created this piece to show his appreciation and gifted it to Albuquerque Fire Rescue’s, Station 12.

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Firefighters are investigating how a factory exploded into flames early Sunday morning in Weirsdale.

Marion County Fire Rescue responded to a reported commercial structure fire in the 16600 block of S. Highway 25 after multiple 911 callers reported a large factory building on fire.

Crews were dispatched at 4:02 a.m., and Engine 27 arrived on scene three minutes later to find a 25,000-square-foot, two-story commercial building with about 50% of the structure involved and flames showing through the roof.

Firefighters immediately began an offensive attack while additional resources were requested, escalating the incident to a third alarm. As conditions worsened, crews encountered a structural collapse, downed power lines and a violently behaving fire.

Priorities shifted to protecting nearby homes, adjacent commercial properties, and surrounding wooded areas, firefighters say.

According to MCFR, the fire grew so large that backup units were brought in from Silver Springs, Spruce Creek, Friendship, Rolling Green and The Villages.

The fire was brought under control at 5:04 a.m, an hour after the first alarm. Crews remained on scene afterward to conduct an overhaul and extinguish hot spots.

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A massive three-alarm fire destroyed a fiberglass manufacturing warehouse in far north Fort Worth on Thursday afternoon, reducing a building firefighters described as longer than a football field to rubble.

The fire broke out around 2:45 p.m. at F&F Composite in the 5800 block of Egg Farm Road, just off North Main Street. Witnesses at the scene said employees inside the manufacturing facility heard a “pop” just before the fire started and quickly evacuated as flames spread through the building.

F&F Composite employee Vincent Ridenhour was not inside the warehouse when the fire began. After learning about the fire, he rushed to the facility and watched as firefighters battled the flames.

“I heard it started in the ceiling and by the time they noticed it, it was already too late,” Ridenhour said. “I’m glad everyone is safe. No one got hurt.”

When firefighters arrived, they initially believed people might still be trapped inside the warehouse. Those concerns were later resolved after crews confirmed everyone had safely evacuated.

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Gov. Kelly Ayotte was surrounded by legislators and first responders Wednesday for the signing of a bill that expands access to mental health coverage for volunteer first responders.

The new law establishes a “First Responders Support Fund,” which will be managed by the state Department of Health and Human Services.

The governor’s office said it will include support for post-traumatic stress disorder.

“By expanding mental health coverage through House Bill 1705, we’re making sure these dedicated men and women have access to the care and support they deserve after everything they do to keep our communities safe,” Ayotte said.

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Two members of Albert Lea Fire Rescue are making their community proud for their performance at the Firefighter Challenge Midwest Region Classic.

Captain Kurt Wallace and Firefighter Kyo Htoo represented the department during the competition in Valparaiso, Indiana with Wallace earning four medals and setting new state and regional timing records.

Wallace placed first in multiple events within the age 50–59 male category including individual race, tandem event and relay event.

Htoo also competed in a large field, placing 18th in the age 18–29 male individual category. The Firefighter Challenge tests competitors’ physical fitness and job-specific skills in a grueling obstacle course that puts participants through five timed tasks that simulate real-life emergencies.

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VIDEO/PHOTOS: Wild video shows a freight train surrounded by huge flames from the roaring Canadian wildfires near Armstrong, Ontario.

According to local sources, three Canadian National Railway Company (CN Rail) trains were halted on their tracks because of the fires in the area.

“This could potentially overtake us here,” said one man on the train. “This has gotten a little scary.” Flames can be seen whipping against the windows of the train as two of the operators inside communicated over the radio for help.

“Ya’ll need to hurry up here. We’re encased in flames now.” Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) said that three trains carrying combustible and flammable materials were stopped shortly before 5:00 p.m.

During the video, another train is seen passing the caught train, much to the relief of the crew on board. Sources tell FOX Weather that the crew seen in the video is safe.

OPP released a statement saying, “While there is no immediate threat to public safety, emergency responders and railway officials are working together to assess conditions and support ongoing safety measures.”

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VIDEO: The leading cause of line-of-duty deaths for firefighters is not from fires, although in Worcester there has certainly been terrible tragedy in that regard, such as the Dec. 3, 1999, Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co. fire, which took the lives of six firefighters.

And while cardiovascular events from stress can definitely be a killer, that is not the leading cause, either.

Rather, cancer is the biggest risk for firefighters, and by a staggering margin. According to the International Association of Fire Fighters nearly 80% of member line-of-duty deaths in 2025 were due to occupational cancer.

“Cancer is a pandemic sweeping through the fire service,” said award-winning Worcester-born filmmaker, writer and actor Tommy Jay Dwyer, who comes from a well-known local family of firefighters. “A lot of it is preventable,” he noted. Preventable in the fire service’s own house — namely, its firehouses.

Dwyer, who now lives in Paxton, hopes to bring the hidden challenges facing today’s firefighters to light as the director of the documentary “Burnin’ Down the House,” which has its world premiere on Aug. 6 at The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts, 2 Southbridge St., Worcester.

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Firefighters responded to a boat fire at a marina in New London on Thursday morning.

The Groton Fire Department confirmed that it provided mutual aid to a situation at Burr’s Marina on Pequot Avenue.

Surveillance video from a Ring camera was shared with Channel 3. It showed the boat on fire. Channel 3’s traffic system reported that Pequot Avenue has been closed in both directions in the area. The road was closed between Gardner Avenue and Shaw and Nameaug streets.

However, dispatchers could not confirm the exact nature of the incident.

The fire marshal arrived on the scene later in the morning.

“It’s a shame. I don’t know these people or their boat, but it’s devastating,” said Matt Garneau, owner of a boat at Burr’s Marina. “Especially in the middle of summer.”

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PHOTOS: One person is dead and three others are missing after a boat with more than a dozen passengers aboard capsized and sank in San Francisco Bay near Alcatraz Island on Tuesday, according to local authorities.

Authorities said they believe 20 people were aboard the Volare, a 50-foot cabin cruiser based out of Stockton, California, when it was hit by a wave, causing it to capsize.

The person who died was taken to the shore severely injured and, despite CPR being administered, was pronounced dead, officials said. He has not been identified but authorities said he was an adult male.

Three people were taken to the hospital and reported to be in stable condition. They were expected to be released later Tuesday.

San Francisco Fire Chief Dean Crispen told reporters that authorities believe that there was some kind of memorial service that the 20 passengers, all adults and mostly comprised of family members, were engaging in on the vessel when it capsized.

The U.S. Coast Guard will continue the search-and-rescue efforts for the three missing passengers. The San Francisco Fire Department said it initially received a call for a fire on the boat at 3:30 p.m. local time. However, authorities said they haven’t yet seen evidence that there was a fire on board.

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VIDEOS/PHOTOS: The Pennsylvania Pump Primers hosted their 50th annual antique fire apparatus shows and muster, featuring one last mass pumping along the Susquehanna before the event moves to Millersburg next year. The event is connecting generations of firefighters and visitors from all over the world.

Dozens of antique fire trucks lined Harrisburg’s riverfront Saturday for a longstanding tradition. And for 16-year-old junior firefighter Michael Stein, the event offered a look at the history of a service he hopes to one day turn into a career.

“Me being new, I see all the newer fire engines and like people and all that, so it’s cool to see the history of it and how many people it brings together,” he said.

Stein joined the West Manchester Township Fire Department two years ago. His grandfather was part of York City, and his stepfather works alongside him at West Manchester. The Pennsylvania Pump Primers’ annual muster gives him a chance to learn from the firefighters who came before him.

“I’ve been asking about what’s changed and what’s still going on, and there are older stories about what they went through and how they got into the fire service and all that stuff like that,” Stein said.

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VIDEO/PHOTOS: A three-alarm fire at a commercial warehouse in Seattle’s Industrial District caused a roof collapse and significant damage to the building. 911 callers first reported the incident along 7th Ave. S. at around 1 a.m.

According to the Seattle Fire Department, arriving crews found that the fire involved two tractor-trailers and the commercial warehouse, with a large column of black smoke rising into the sky.

Large plastic and metal barrels were found inside one trailer and surrounding the building. It was unknown if the barrels were empty or what substance they may have contained, which prompted firefighters to adopt a defensive strategy, battling the flames from a safe distance.

An AlertSeattle notification was sent to residents within a half-mile radius, advising them to close windows and doors to avoid smoke.

The incident escalated rapidly, upgrading to a 2-alarm fire at 1:06 a.m., and then to a 3-alarm fire just 6 minutes later. A total of 115 personnel responded, including fifteen fire engines and seven ladder trucks.

Firefighters used multiple hose lines to douse the flames, while several ladder trucks “raised their aerials to gain elevated vantage points.” Seattle police closed multiple streets in the area while firefighters worked to contain the flames.

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An investigation is underway after a fire destroyed parts of a multi-family home in Enfield Sunday night. It happened on Maple Avenue.

Neighbors told Channel 3 that they believe fireworks started the blaze. They said they noticed the fire appear in the back corner of the home and that charred fireworks were visible at the scene.

Crews arrived to find flames billowing from the roof of the structure. Several departments were involved, including Bradley International Airport firefighters, according to a Connecticut state firefighters union.

They worked to extinguish the fire as flames and smoke filled the air. David Carmona, who lives across the street, said he was inside his home when he began hearing fireworks before the fire broke out.

“They were shooting off fireworks in the street and we’re not talking little firecrackers. We’re talking canons,” Carmona said.

Fire crews from several towns, including Bradley International Airport firefighters, according to a Connecticut state firefighters union, responded to and battled flames that spread to the roof of the structure.

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When firefighters respond to the scene of a fire, they’re risking far more than burns. They get exposed to cancer-causing components from the fire that can remain on clothing long after the fire is put out.

However, research at Oklahoma State University’s Textile and Apparel Science Laboratory is making strides to help protect them from that.

Their goal is to create nano-fibers that are initially almost invisible to the human eye. “But if I shut down the machine, shut down the roller,” OSU Ph.D. Student Ishmam Chowdhury said about their machine.

After Chowdhury shuts down the machine they use to make them, it comes into view. You could see a nano-fiber thousands of times thinner than a human hair.

Theoretically, though, it’s still strong enough to keep firefighters safe from cancer-causing components that they might come in contact with while fighting wildfires.

“It is so fine that it can trap all of the other fine smoke particles; it can trap the carcinogenic components,” associate professor Dr. Sumit Mandal said.

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VIDEO: Former Western New York volunteer firefighter Brian Dadswell was deployed to New York City 25 years ago, just 36 hours after the September 11 terrorist attacks, joining crews in the days following the nation’s darkest moments, and recently, a chance encounter halfway around the word has inspired him to give back in a powerful way.

“I’ll always remember walking that area with the handwritten notes on it of, ‘Have you seen my mother, have you seen my father, have you seen this person?’ That’s something that stuck with me,” Dadswell said. “Every year when we come up to the anniversary of 9/11, it’s always something I take time to reflect on.”

Decades later, while vacationing with his wife in Kinsale, Ireland, the couple stopped by a local fire station while exploring the town.

A visit that quickly became deeply personal when they were told about a memorial garden on Ireland’s southern coast, honoring the hundreds of firefighters who made the ultimate sacrifice on Sept. 11, 2001.

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The National Multi-Agency Coordinating Group (NMAC) issued a safety bulletin asking wildfire resources to take a 10-minute safety stand-down to check their fire shelters and ensure they meet required Agency standards.

This comes after “non-specification” fire shelters have been found on multiple incidents this year. I have confirmed with the Agency that what has been found is non-compliant, Chinese-made knockoffs. In the most recent case, during a compliance check, these shelters were found on a contract crew.

All wildfire resources are being asked to inspect their shelters before the end of the shift TODAY, July 13, 2026.

This issue came up back in 2023 after knock-off shelters were found boldly claiming to be NWCG-compliant. NWCG issued a safety bulletin in March of that year addressing the problem. However, these new counterfeit shelters have different identifying markers than those found in 2023.

NWCG clearly states that while these counterfeit shelters have been found on multiple incidents this year, none have been involved in entrapments or deployments.

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A massive fire broke out and spread rapidly between three buildings in Lawrence, Massachusetts, on Sunday, sending heavy smoke into the sky as firefighters from more than 20 neighboring departments battled the blaze for hours.

Lawrence police urged the public to avoid Haverhill Street at Margin Street while firefighters worked to contain the flames. Lawrence Fire Chief Patrick Delaney said crews were first called to the scene around 12:45 p.m.

“We had three occupied dwellings all with heavy fire,” he said. “The primary concern making sure everybody was out of these buildings. Next was getting some aerials in place, establishing water supplies and getting our members up.”

Delaney said one person was rescued from a third-floor window and taken to the hospital. Their condition wasn’t immediately clear. The mayor’s office later said two people had been transported to hospitals for evaluation, but that there were no serious injuries reported.

“This is one of those days that reminds us what it truly means to serve our community,” Mayor Brian A. DePeña said in a statement. DePeña specifically expressed his appreciation to the 22 mutual aid fire companies that responded to assist Lawrence firefighters throughout the incident, as well as the Lawrence Police Department for helping secure the scene and maintain public safety.

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VIDEO: San Francisco first responders are raising concerns about autonomous vehicles blocking emergency routes and delaying response times, prompting city leaders to explore additional accountability measures for self-driving car companies.

The concerns come three years after the California Public Utilities Commission allowed Waymo and Cruise to expand self-driving vehicle operations in San Francisco. Since then, hundreds of autonomous vehicles have become part of daily life in the city, but firefighters say they have also created challenges during some emergency responses.

“Anytime we are blocked by any autonomous vehicle that matters, and we don’t want that to continue to happen,” said Mariano Elias of the San Francisco Fire Department. The department has been documenting incidents involving autonomous vehicles for years, according to Elias.

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VIDEO: Thai indie band Thotsakan was performing at a packed bar in Bangkok on Sunday when band manager Ice Athipat Wijarn, seated off stage, saw smoke emerging from behind the keyboardist.

The keyboardist, Kwang, shouted for people to flee – and within seconds a fierce blaze tore through Rong Beer Na Lat Phrao, in the city’s vibrant Chatuchak district.

Ice recalls fumbling with the door in the smoke-engulfed room as he tried to escape.

“Everybody was running, squeezing into each other,” he told Thai talk show Hone-Krasae. He crawled towards the exit – then something exploded, throwing him out of the bar.

“The sight of my girlfriend’s body being carried out, the sight of my friend who was burned in the fire and everything that happened are still etched in my mind,” he said in comments reported by Agence France-Presse.

The blaze killed at least 28 people and left dozens more injured, authorities confirmed on Monday.

Kwang, along with Thotsakan’s female singer Breeze and drummer Bew, died after succumbing to their injuries, according to a Facebook post from another band member, Patchara Songphatkaew.

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