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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Dallas Fire Rescue said dozens of people were displaced at Campbridge Park Condominiums at 11490 Audelia Road in Northeast Dallas.

DFR said they were called out around 1:00 Friday morning for a structure fire at the condos. They said they were met with fire coming from the roof of the three-story building.

“Attack teams moved in to fight the fire offensively, but since the fire was well into its advanced stages, a second-alarm response was quickly dispatched,” DFR said in a statement.

They said a third-alarm was called for more help. About 60 to 80 firefighters were on scene at one point to battle the blaze.

“When I came outside of my condo, I didn’t see anything. I had to drop to my knees and crawl down three flights of stairs. When I looked up, I could look and see that my condo was gone,” one resident told NBC 5. At least 24 condos were destroyed, and more than 40 people have been displaced. DFR said no injuries were reported.

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VIDEO: Fountain Hills firefighters are busy this summer. They are not putting out house fires, but rather going on calls for snakes. Fountain Hills fire crews went on about 1,100 snake calls last fiscal year.

That breaks down to about three calls a day. A single shift went on six calls before noon. Those calls come in several times a day, especially in the summer, and it is the fire department’s job to remove and relocate the creatures.

Many people may think Fountain Hills firefighters go on a lot of fire calls, but medical calls actually top the list, and right below medical emergencies are calls for snakes, and it becomes quickly apparent how fast those calls can come in.

Cameras were rolling for 30 seconds when a snake call came in. By 10:00 a.m., it was already the fourth call of the day. The snake was a smaller one, sitting in a corner outside a home.

This was not the first rodeo for the homeowner. “Rather not kill the snakes, but I don’t want to see him released. You know right across the wash cause they come back,” resident David Cook said.

Firefighter Rocky Craig snatched the snake with a snake grabber, threw it into a bucket, and then released it into the wild away from any homes. It is a dangerous job, but somebody has to do it.

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VIDEO: Astronauts want to light it up on the moon — for science. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, as part of its Artemis program, is planning to conduct combustion experiments on the lunar surface to better understand how fire operates outside of Earth.

Think of a lit match. On Earth, the flame has a distinct, upward teardrop shape. This happens due to gravity, with hotter air rising, creating the yellow trail as it burns up. In space, a flame instead takes on the shape of a blue sphere, representing a slower, cooler burn, referred to as a “cool flame.”

NASA’s prior combustion experiments on the International Space Station showed that fire behaves differently in space. The microgravity on the ISS is about 90% of Earth’s gravity (known mathematically as 1g). The gravity on the moon is about 16.667% of 1g, meaning the moon’s gravity is one-sixth that of Earth’s gravity.

With such low but stable gravity, we can expect flames on the moon not to behave as they would on Earth. The burn rate in lunar gravity is sometimes referred to as a “Goldilocks zone” for studying combustion, due to flames lasting longer than they usually do.

Another difference between fire on Earth and in space is what’s left behind. With a normal lit flame, carbon dioxide and water are produced, but once the visible, yellow flame is gone, the cool, blue flame produces carbon monoxide and formaldehyde.

The lunar experiment is called Flammability of Materials on the Moon, or FM2. It would be the “first-ever combustion experiment to be performed on another planetary body” and marks “a critical step in determining material flammability and safety for future missions,” according to NASA.

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VIDEO/PHOTOS: Multiple crews responded after an overnight fire erupted at NASA Steam Plant in Hampton. According to officials, crews were dispatched just before 1 a.m. for a fire in the debris pit.

When crews arrived, an officer indicated there was heavy fire inside the structure with flames showing above the roof. Additional resources were then requested.

The incident was marked as a Level 2 working incident and a second alarm was called. Due to the amount for fire and unknown stability of the structure, fire crews utilized a ladder tower to suppress the fire from the exterior.

Once an adjacent portion of the structure was deemed safe, crews were able to place suppression devices inside the building to attack the fire. Officials say the bulk of the fire was marked knocked down at 2:24 a.m.

All workers inside the building were able to safely evacuate and no injuries have been reported by the workers or firefighters. 10 On Your Side arrived on scene just before 4 a.m. and observed multiple police vehicles blocking a portion of Wythe Creek Road.

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VIDEO/PHOTOS: The Central Fire Station in Taunton, Massachusetts is closing after 157 years of continuous service.

Built in 1869, it was the third-oldest fire station still active in the United States and the oldest continuously operated station, having never closed for any period of time.

Over the years, veterans of the Civil War, World War l, World War ll, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, Operation Desert Storm, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation Iraqi Freedom all served as members of the Central Fire Station.

The station closed Wednesday morning as the department transitions to its new public safety facility for police and fire.

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VIDEO: A bagpipe and drum band in South Carolina is carrying on a tradition rooted in more than 170 years of first responder history.

The Coastal Carolina Shields Pipes and Drums is a service band composed primarily of fire and police personnel.

The tradition traces back to the mid-1800s, when most police officers and firefighters in New York City were of Irish and Scottish descent. Today, first responders of all backgrounds make up similar bands across the country.

Retired Yonkers police officer Bob Brown founded the band in Myrtle Beach. “It’s become such a tradition with the police department,” Brown said. “I just thought it would be something nice to bring down here.”

Brown serves as pipe major and is responsible for selecting the band’s music. Firefighter Jeanine Shelley has played pipes for 15 years and is a member of the band. She said Scottish and Irish immigrants brought the pipes to New York City and into fire and police service.

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