PHOTOS: A two-alarm fire tore through a more than 100-year-old church in Wilmington, Delaware, leaving most of the historic structure in ruins.

Battalion Chief of the Wilmington Fire Department, Robert Pryor, told NBC10 that the fire broke out around 3 a.m. on Sunday, May 17, 2026, at the Mother African Union Church along North Franklin Street.

Pryor said the fire spread throughout the entire church, shooting flames 20 to 30 feet into the air.

“Due to the extensive fire conditions, a defensive attack was ordered and all arriving units were ordered to attack the fire from the exterior. A second alarm was quickly transmitted, bringing all remaining on duty Wilmington firefighters to the scene, along with assistance from several New Castle County departments,” said Pryor.

It took crews over an hour to get the fire under control.

While firefighters battled the flames, they also evacuated the surrounding homes due to falling embers, according to Pryor.

WCAU-TV NBC 10 Philadelphia View Full Story

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PHOTOS: Two people are dead after a plane crashed into an Akron home on Thursday afternoon. The crash occurred around 3:45 p.m. in the 2000 block of Canterbury Circle, a residential neighborhood in the southern part of the city.

Akron Fire said both of the deceased were located inside the aircraft. No one in the house was injured, but Akron District Fire Chief Sierjie Lash said all four residents were inside at the time of the crash. “There were a couple and two children that live there,” Lash said.

“They were all four home, and they were able to get out with no injuries, so we’re very fortunate that they are safe.” The home caught fire, and heavy black smoke was reported in the area. Lash said crews extinguished the fire and prevented it from spreading to other homes.

“Definitely smoke, fire, flames and explosion,” Lash said. “Our fire crews came out, and they put the fire out as a house fire, and they’re currently investigating.” Two homes were evacuated following the crash.

“We put out a fire. We have to make sure the aftermath of that fire, anything that may still be smoldering, we’ll keep taking a look at that,” Lash said.

The Red Cross was on the scene of the crash Thursday and is assisting the four family members impacted by the crash, it said in a Facebook post.

WEWS-TV ABC 5 Cleveland View Full Story

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VIDEO: More than two decades after retiring, former Springdale Fire Chief Mickey Jackson still remembers some of the department’s biggest calls like they happened yesterday.

Jackson spent a combined 37 years leading the Springdale and Fayetteville fire departments – an illustrious career in Northwest Arkansas that started in 1964. “Springdale was growing real fast,” Jackson said.

“When I became chief, we had a population of 12,000 people. Gutensohn Road was the west city limits line, and Mountain Road was the east city limits line.”

As the city boomed, Springdale transitioned from an all-volunteer fire department to a full-time force. Out of 16 applicants, Jackson — just 23 years old at the time — was selected as the city’s first full-time paid fire chief.

“Nationally, there weren’t any 23-year-old fire chiefs in the country then,” Jackson said. “So I knew they were taking a chance on me.”

Jackson said the department was in need of modernization when he took over leadership – and the community stood behind them. “There wasn’t any doubt when I took over the department that it was behind the times,” Jackson said.

“A major turning point for me was in 1966 when we presented to the citizens the bond issue just for fire department improvement, and they overwhelmingly approved it.” That investment helped modernize the department.

KFSM-TV CBS 5 Fort Smith View Full Story

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Several residents at a Plymouth Township apartment complex are displaced following a massive fire on Thursday morning.

According to Plymouth Township Fire Chief Pat Conely, several residents called in the fire around 11:30 a.m. at Hines Park Place Apartments near Wilcox and Haggerty roads.

Conely said the fire started in the back corner of one unit, and then transitioned to the far section of the building. In all, about eight units in the first building were impacted by the fire, and another 16 units in another building were affected by smoke.

Conely said a third building was also impacted by smoke, but they hoped to get some residents in those buildings back into their apartments by Thursday night.

Everyone did make it out of the buildings OK, and crews also rescued pets. Conely said one firefighter was injured when he fell through the roof, but he was checked out and was back working.

According to Conely, the high winds made fighting the fire a challenge, and also the fact that the building has two roofs, and the fire got below the first roof and above the second roof.

Fire crews from several other cities also responded to the fire, and workers with the Red Cross and Salvation Army were on scene assisting residents impacted.

WXYZ-TV ABC 7 Detroit View Full Story

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Crews battled a house fire in Cape Coral on Wednesday afternoon. Firefighters responded to a home on Southwest 26th Place shortly after noon. They confirmed that vehicles and a large amount of ammunition stored inside were destroyed. Viewer-submitted footage from the scene shows smoke and flames pouring out of the home.

According to the Cape Coral Fire Department, no one was home at the time, and a neighbor called 911 after seeing that the garage was on fire. Fire officials said multiple vehicles were in the garage, and crews kept the fire from spreading to nearby homes.

Cape Coral Fire also said the home is not a total loss, the garage was the only place affected, and the inside of the home wasn’t touched. The Lee County Electric Cooperative shut down power to the home.

The fire left neighbors shaken but relieved that the fire did not spread to nearby homes or the house itself. “I heard like a pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, and I’m like, what?” said Laurie Edwalds, a neighbor who ran outside to investigate.

Edwalds was one of several neighbors who rushed outside to see what was happening at the home. “I was literally in tears thinking somebody is losing their home, my neighbor is losing their home. And it just, it was overwhelming. I did cry,” Edwalds said.

WZVN-TV ABC 26 Naples View Full Story

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VIDEO: When someone gets lost or hurt in the rugged terrain of western Washington, every minute counts.

Now, Seattle Mountain Rescue is testing technology that could shave critical time off a response: wearable exoskeletons that power a rescuer’s legs through the mountains.

The team is one of only two in the country using the devices — made by the company HyperShell — on actual missions.

In just the past month, the exoskeletons have already been deployed three times in the field.

“If we can get to a subject a half an hour or an hour earlier, that could mean the difference between a positive and a negative outcome,” said Wes Cooper, advanced technology director for Seattle Mountain Rescue.

The device straps around a rescuer’s waist and legs.

Once on, it senses the wearer’s movement, anticipates their next step and adds mechanical power in sync with every stride — reducing fatigue and helping small teams cover more ground, even in terrain where other tools like e-bikes cannot go.

KING-TV NBC 5 Seattle View Full Story

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VIDEO/PHOTOS: A new set of murals is giving the El Paso Fire Department’s downtown station a fresh look — and a public tribute to the firefighters who serve the city.

El Paso muralist Babak Tavakoli painted five murals on 30-foot walls at the fire station on South Florence Street. Tavakoli said the department asked that its special teams be represented throughout the artwork.

“They wanted all of their special teams represented in this mural and various parts. So that’s really what it is, is like each team and what they do and kind of in an artistic way, put it on the wall,” Tavakoli said. “I want to make sure that whenever you’re looking at these scenes, you know, oh, you’re in El Paso.”

Tavakoli said he worked local elements into the murals, including “local wildlife, local scenery, landmarks,” aiming for details that “are not too cliche but definitely clue you in. This is El Paso.”

He also said the project was meant to honor firefighters and their work.

KFOX-TV FOX 14 El Paso View Full Story

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A case of arson at a Monroe County cannabis shop is now the subject of a police investigation after two suspects crashed a vehicle through the front door of a business and poured gasoline inside.

Video from Pure Cannabis Outlet, located at 15311 S. Dixie Highway, showed the suspects backed a Jeep into the business, then stole items from inside the business.

The shop is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the individuals.

At 1:04 a.m. on May 10, the Monroe County Central Dispatch received a report of a vehicle that crashed into the building.

The caller told the dispatch center that the crash appeared intentional. Witnesses also told police that at least two unknown subjects fled the store, running southbound before getting into a dark-colored vehicle that was waiting for them.

Fire alarms soon alerted the dispatch of the blaze building out of the building.

At the business, a maroon-colored Jeep Cherokee was found partially inside the store and suppression sprinklers were extinguishing the fire.

Police say the Jeep was stolen out of Detroit. Evidence was gathered from the escape route.

WJBK-TV FOX 2 Detroit View Full Story

WJBK-TV FOX 2 Detroit

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VIDEOS: Helena is home to one of only three airport firefighting training facilities in the western United States, drawing crews from across the country and Canada to learn life-saving skills.

The Rocky Mountain Emergency Services Training Center in Helena has been training airport firefighters since 1996. Firefighters from Pullman, Washington and Victoria, Canada recently came together at the facility to take advantage of its classroom instruction, fire trucks, and hands-on drills.

The center features a specialized aircraft fire trainer that lets firefighters experience what the inside of a burning plane may be like. For exterior fire training, crews use a large spill trainer that burns about 100 gallons of propane every 30 seconds, simulating how a real aircraft fire may behave.

Training Center Coordinator Mike Anderson said the facility stands out among its peers. “This is one of the best engineered and built training facilities in the U.S.,” Anderson said. Crews spent the day training to extinguish engine, wheel brake, and large spill fires, as well as interior fires, which place firefighters in a tight space with near-zero visibility.

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A large overnight fire tore through part of a building in Cypress Hills, leaving behind burned bikes, scooters and heavy damage across the property.

FDNY says the fire broke out just after 1:20 a.m. Wednesday at 503 Ridgewood Ave., near Lincoln and Autumn avenues. Firefighters say flames were reported on the first floor of the three-story building.

Video from the Citizen app shows huge flames shooting from the back of the property as sirens echoed through the neighborhood.

FDNY says 21 units and 79 fire and EMS personnel responded to the scene. Hazmat crews were also called in because of the presence of lithium-ion batteries. The fire was brought under control around 2:13 a.m.

Officials say no injuries were reported. A full vacate order has now been posted on the property. Neighbor Jose Mena said the situation could have turned deadly.

“I came out and by the time I came out, the fire was spreading already,” Mena said. “One of the guys who lives there, he was trying to wake everybody up. This could’ve been worse — a lot worse. People were sleeping.”

News 12 Brooklyn View Full Story

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PHOTOS: A fast-moving fire forced dozens of residents from their homes at a North Attleboro condominium complex Monday afternoon.

North Attleboro Fire Chief Chris Coleman told 12 News a 911 call came in around 2 p.m. reporting a fire in an air conditioning unit at the Hawthorne Village Condominiums on Juniper Road.

Heavy flames and thick smoke were seen pouring from the top of the 34-unit building, which sustained significant damage and a collapsed roof.

At 3:30 p.m., officials upgraded the fire to seven alarms, prompting departments from surrounding communities, including some from as far as Norwood, to respond. The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency also assisted.

According to Coleman, mutual aid was needed not only for additional manpower, but also because crews faced challenges with the water supply.

He said their primary concerns were ensuring all residents evacuated safely and preventing the fire from spreading to an adjacent 20-unit building.

WPRI-TV CBS/MyNetworkTV 12 Providence View Full Story

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VIDEO: New research could soon change emergency medicine and make it easier for first responders to stop bleeding anywhere in the world. Researchers in Pittsburgh and Cleveland have developed the first-ever freeze dried artificial platelets.

“One of the most frustrating things are the patients that we don’t ever get a chance to take care of. The patients who don’t have access to the lifesaving resources that we have in the hospital,” said Matthew Neal, M.D., a trauma surgeon and professor at University of Pittsburgh.

Blood platelets help stop the bleeding when people get injured but in traumatic situations, the body doesn’t always have enough or they cannot work fast enough. Currently donated blood platelets can only be given to a patient inside a hospital setting or within close proximity.

But one little vial could soon change that and field medicine as first responders know it. Neal and Anirban Sen Gupta, Ph.D., a professor of biomedical engineering at Case Western Reserve University, spent nearly 10 years researching blood platelets and how to make artificial platelets.

The result is a small vial of powder — freeze-dried artificial platelets. One vial is the equivalent of one donated unit of platelets that would be given to a bleeding patient. They said the powder only has to be combined with 10 mL of sterile water which first responders already carry.

WTAJ-TV CBS 10 Altoona View Full Story

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VIDEO: The screams. The bodies lying across the freeway. The people trying to run away from a toxic cloud before collapsing to the ground. Fifty years later, retired Houston firefighters say they still remember every detail from one of the deadliest disasters in Houston history. “It looked like a war zone,” retired Houston firefighter Brad Rilay said.

On May 11, 1976, a tanker carrying more than 7,000 gallons of anhydrous ammonia plunged off the 610 West Loop ramp and crashed onto the Southwest Freeway below. The impact ripped open the tanker, sending a massive cloud of toxic ammonia into the air during the middle of the morning rush.

Seven people died. Dozens more were injured. And the disaster changed the Houston Fire Department forever. Rilay was only 20 years old when he responded to the scene. That morning had started like any other shift.

Rilay said he and a district chief had just finished another call farther down the Southwest Freeway when dispatchers warned crews about a tanker crash involving ammonia near the West Loop interchange. As they drove toward the area, traffic completely locked up.

Rilay said he ended up driving against traffic on the freeway shoulder just to reach the scene. When they arrived, he said the destruction was overwhelming.

“Man, it looked like a war zone, you know, the parts of the truck scattered everywhere, and the truck driver’s body was lying in the middle of the road,” Rilay said.

The crash scene stretched across the freeway. Pieces of the tanker and destroyed vehicles were scattered throughout the interchange. Victims were already dying from exposure to the fumes.

Rilay remembers immediately finding several people on the ground struggling to breathe. “We immediately came across three people, one man who had already died, and there were two who were struggling to breathe,” he said.

At the time, Houston firefighters had little training on hazardous material incidents and almost no specialized equipment to handle a chemical release that large. Firefighters grabbed an air pack from the chief’s car and tried helping victims breathe through the mask.

“But I don’t know how much good that did,” Rilay said quietly. What stayed with him most was the helplessness. “You know, have a brown mucus coming out of their mouth and their nose, and the feeling of not being able to help them,” Rilay said.

KPRC-TV NBC 2 Houston View Full Story

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A firefighter was hurt Sunday morning while responding to a quick-moving fire at an office supply store in downtown Los Angeles.

The blaze was reported at about 4:40 a.m. near the intersection of Hope Street and Pico Boulevard, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Upon arrival, firefighters were met with heavy smoke and flames coming from the roof of the building. Due to the fire, a shelter-in-place was issued for surrounding residents and businesses.

No one was inside the building at the time of the fire, LAFD said. One firefighter reported minor injuries and was treated for those wounds. He is expected to be OK. Arson investigators are investigating what could have caused the fire.

KNBC-TV NBC 4 Los Angeles View Full Story

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PHOTOS: Alan “Gus” Gustafson was on a mission.

The energetic 80-year-old strode through Kalispell’s Public Safety Building on a damp April morning, looking for the 2,200-pound bell that once hung from the Fire Department’s hose tower, ready to summon firefighters in an emergency.

The retired firefighter’s first stop was the first floor offices of the Kalispell Police Department. When that proved fruitless, he headed across the lobby, where he said the bell was once put on display, to question the staff at Kalispell Municipal Court. They couldn’t remember a bell either.

A few minutes and one flight of stairs later, Gustafson was in Fire Chief Jay Hagen’s office, asking if he knew of the bell’s whereabouts. Hagan shook his head. He did not.

“OK, I’m going to find it,” Gustafson replied. Hagen agreed that he would. “When he sets his mind to it, it’s going to happen,” Hagen said from behind his desk.

Gustafson, who still serves as the department’s historian, more than 20 years into his retirement, had a personal connection to the bell (he later located it around the corner at the Northwest Montana History Museum). Firefighters were still ringing it when he joined the department in 1971, just not for its original purpose.

“After I started, the bell was used to call curfew,” he said. “Every night at a certain time we would ring the bell.” The bell isn’t the only piece of the department’s history that Gustafson enjoys a personal connection with. The crown jewel of its historical collection, a 1925 American LaFrance fire engine, was still in service when he first donned turnout gear.

Daily Inter Lake View Full Story

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PHOTOS: An apartment fire at a student housing complex in East Lansing has left nearly 50 people without homes. On May 9, around 8:20 p.m., a building at The Village at Chandler Crossings caught fire and quickly spread across the entire roof.

When 6 news arrived on scene, over one hundred people were standing in the parking lot watching firefighters work to put out the flames. Will Dryer, the project manager for the Choice Group, says the fire started from a grill on the third floor.

“Received a phone call from our fire alarm system at about 8:24. Fire department responded probably about 10-15 minutes later,” he says. “I showed up for the fire department along with our maintenance tech or our maintenance supervisor to clear out the building, get crews on site.”

While firefighters worked to clear flames and smoke, staff set up a table to help displaced residents find temporary housing.

“I have a crew over by building 8 here at the village making sure that these kids have a home to go to tonight, or hotels, whatever the situation might be, or what we need to do, just trying to resolve anybody that needs a house, their apartment to get into. We’re here for them. We’ll be here all night until we find everybody an apartment.”

WLNS-TV CBS 6 Lansing View Full Story

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Two firefighters were injured — one critically — after a fire truck crashed in Muskingum County on Thursday. It happened near 910 Dresden-Adamsville Road on State Route 208.

One firefighter was flown by helicopter to Grant Medical Center in Columbus in critical condition. The second firefighter was rushed to Genesis Hospital in Zanesville and was said to be stable.

The crash involved a lengthy extraction to get the driver out, a spokesman for Muskingum County said. He added that the fire truck dropped off the edge of the road while coming down a hill, and when the driver tried to correct, the tanker “flipped over before striking a tree and ending up back on its wheels.”

WSYX-TV ABC Columbus View Full Story

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VIDEO/PHOTOS: What some might see as rust, dust and worn out machinery, Lincoln County’s own Dylan McCool sees as opportunity.

With a YouTube following of more than 640,000 subscribers, McCool has built a national reputation for rescuing forgotten cars, trucks and what he jokingly calls “plenty of junk.” But to him, every abandoned machine carries a story worth saving.

Through nearly 400 videos, McCool has documented the process of finding vehicles tucked away in fields, barns and overgrown lots, then methodically bringing them back to life.

Now, that passion has found its way to Fayetteville. Through a partnership with the Fayetteville-Lincoln County Museum and the Fayetteville Fire Department, McCool has taken on one of the community’s most recognizable historic artifacts: a 1953 Mack fire truck affectionately known as “Maude.”

For decades, Maude served the citizens of Fayetteville, responding to emergencies from the old fire station on what many locals still remember as Fire Hall Hill.

Photographs from the 1950s show the truck sitting proudly in front of the station alongside the firefighters who operated it which you can see in McCool’s YouTube video.

After being retired from service in the mid-1990s, the truck sat largely untouched. In recent years, it rested behind the museum in a chain-link enclosure, weathered, faded and uncertain if it would ever run again.

Elk Valley Times – Metered Site View Full Story

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PHOTOS: The occupants of a home that caught fire in South Haven were evacuated, South Haven Area Emergency Services (SHAES) says.

SHAES was dispatched to a structure fire at 849 Phillips Street around 8:45 a.m. Thursday. When firefighters arrived at the scene, they found the home fully engulfed in flames.

Neighbors of the home said they heard a series of explosions. Michigan Gas Utilities was needed to turn off the gas supply to the home. All of the six occupants of the home were evacuated safely, SHAES said.

One person was taken to the hospital for burns and smoke inhalation. SHAES said mutual aid was requested from the Bangor Community and Covert Township fire departments. The Hartford and Watervliet fire departments was also dispatched to the scene later.

Firefighters remained on the scene until after 12:00 p.m., SHAES said. The nearby St. Paul Lutheran Church and School was placed in a soft lockdown, which has since been lifted, as first responders addressed the structure fire.

WZZM-TV ABC 13 Grand Rapids View Full Story

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PHOTOS: A former firehouse in Aurora, Illinois hides a remarkable slice of history behind its brick walls. Built in 1894, this Victorian-era station still stands along North Broadway, now serving a very different purpose.

Inside, visitors step into more than a century of firefighting history, where vintage engines, detailed artifacts, and interactive exhibits bring the past to life. One moment you’re looking at hand-powered equipment, the next you’re exploring how early crews responded to emergencies long before modern tools existed.

The building itself adds to the experience, with its restored architectural details offering a glimpse into the city’s past. It’s an unexpectedly engaging stop that blends local heritage with hands-on discovery, making it just as appealing for curious adults as it is for younger visitors.

For 86 consecutive years, this building was not a museum or a landmark. It was a fully operational fire station, housing the Aurora Fire Department and sending crews out to protect the city from 1894 all the way through 1980.

That kind of longevity in a single structure is genuinely rare, and it gives the building a lived-in energy that no amount of decorating could manufacture.

Generations of Aurora firefighters reported to duty here, trained within these walls, and answered calls from this very address at 53 N Broadway, Aurora, IL 60505.

The rhythms of shift work, the clang of alarm bells, and the rumble of engines rolling out through those garage doors were part of daily life in this neighborhood for nearly a century.

Ever After in the Woods View Full Story

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