When Julio DeCastro, a civilian worker at Pearl Harbor’s naval yard, reached the capsized U.S.S. Oklahoma on the infamous morning of December 7, 1941, he heard the sound of frenetic tapping of sailors trapped within the hull. Hours earlier, during a surprise assault on the Honolulu military base, Japanese forces had bombarded the American battleship with torpedoes, sending it rolling onto its side with more than 450 men still below deck. - PUB DATE: 12/7/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Smithsonian Magazine - Metered Site
VIDEO: An expanded partnership between the Columbus Fire & EMS Department and the Muscogee County School District helps the city recruit firefighters and provides job opportunities for aspiring public servants, right out of high school. After department officials visited each MCSD high school to explain the program last spring semester, more than 25 students participated in the Saturday morning program called Combat Challenge. - PUB DATE: 12/7/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Ledger-Enquirer
VIDEO/PHOTOS: A three-alarm fire raged early Monday (Dec. 6) at the Cypress Run Apartments complex in Algiers.
Occupants smelled smoke around 4:40 a.m. and began evacuating the first involved three-story building before New Orleans Fire Department crews arrived on scene, resident Kiesha Williams told WVUE-Fox 8. - PUB DATE: 12/6/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WVUE-DT FOX 8 New Orleans
VIDEO/PHOTOS: A Hubert Volunteer Firefighter received treatment at Vidant Medical center after an accident involving their fire engine Saturday.
Deputy Chief of the Hubert Volunteer Fire Department, Hernan Melendez, said the accident happened when his team was returning from the annual Maysville Christmas Parade. - PUB DATE: 12/6/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WLOS-TV ABC 13 Asheville
There’s a reason that the death toll of the Winecoff hotel fire in 1946 has never been surpassed.
Immediately after the disaster that killed 119 people, cities across the country began to re-examine their fire codes.
In their definitive 1993 book, “The Winecoff Fire,” co-authors Sam Heys and Allen Goodwin point out that the blaze prompted new laws requiring sprinkler systems, fire escapes and fire doors. - PUB DATE: 12/6/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution - Metered
VIDEO/PHOTOS: What if you could control the force of gravity to avoid injury? A couple of Cincinnati inventors have a device that allows people and objects to descend slowly and carefully.
Bailout Systems is the brainchild of retired Navy diver Michael Ragsdale, who along with mechanical engineer Ben Krupp, have come up with something the size of a hockey puck. - PUB DATE: 12/6/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WVXU 91.7 FM Cincinnati
Talk to many firefighters and they’ll explain that "suck it up and get on the truck" mentality.
"Coming from a law enforcement family, to talk about feelings and emotions is a challenge at times," admitted firefighter Dustin Hawkins. "After my father, being 30 years in law enforcement, I just now coaxed him into the ‘snuggle with the struggle. - PUB DATE: 12/6/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTVT-TV FOX 13 Tampa
VIDEO: Dec. 2, 2021 marked the fifth anniversary of an Oakland tragedy.
In 2016, a late night fire broke out at a warehouse. It happened during a dance party and killed 36 people.
The master tenant, Derick Almena, was sentenced earlier this year to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter. - PUB DATE: 12/3/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KRON-TV MyNetwork 4 San Francisco
A new partnership between the American Cancer Society and the International Association of Fire Fighters will work to improve policies and treatment for firefighters with cancer.
The IAFF, or firefighter’s union, describes the new partnership as pivotal in their battle with cancer.
The collaboration was announced Thursday, Dec. - PUB DATE: 12/3/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WLOS-TV ABC/MyNetwork 13 Asheville
It's a tool that can be the difference between life and death on the scene of a fire. The Kansas City, Missouri, Fire Department is now making sure every crew has a special kit that can treat patients for smoke inhalation.
A house fire on Saturday could have been a tragedy, but firefighters say the victim inside was saved by a tool they recently started carrying. - PUB DATE: 12/3/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KMBC-TV ABC 9 Kansas City
Actress and talk show host Drew Barrymore welcomed the Long Beach Fire Department to the “Drew Barrymore Show” last month. Barrymore recognized the entire department, highlighting firefighter Catherine Lewis.
Lewis, who is known as Cat to her fellow firefighters, was sworn in as the first paid female firefighter in the department’s 111-year history in March, which Barrymore noted. - PUB DATE: 12/3/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: LIHerald.com
VIDEO: A long-awaited addition to the Hermon Fire Department has finally arrived. A new training prop is helping firefighters be better prepared to enter burning buildings.
“We’ve been getting pictures of this as it’s been built over the months, so it’s kind of like a baby. We’ve been waiting for it to arrive,” said Hermon Fire Chief Frank Roma. - PUB DATE: 12/3/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WABI-TV CBS/CW+ 5 Bangor
VIDEO: In the darkness that comes earlier these days, flames lit up the sky for miles long in north suburban Kildeer following a massive fire.
According to fire officials, a multi-story home caught fire and is uninhabitable. Officials say the structure may be a total loss.
The size of the fire necessitated a mutual aid response from a dozen neighboring communities. - PUB DATE: 12/2/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WGN-TV 9 Chicago
PHOTOS/VIDEO: Twelve men made history in 1955 as the first African Americans firefighters in Memphis. They faced and pushed through poor living conditions and discrimination with being forced in segregated quarters at Fire Station 8 at Mississippi and Crump and the institutional racism due to them being second-class citizens
Wednesday, the Fire Museum of Memphis opened a new exhibit to honor those men along with current and previous African American firefighters. - PUB DATE: 12/2/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WATN-TV ABC 24 Memphis
San Francisco firehouses will light up again for the holidays, formally reviving a station decoration tradition that started in the 1940s, then was brought back last year to add some joy during bleak pandemic times.
With less than two weeks’ notice in 2020, 17 stations set up elaborate decorations, including a winning house (Station 38 in Pacific Heights) that produced snow. - PUB DATE: 12/2/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle - Metered Site
Overdoses from synthetic opioids like fentanyl are steeply rising in Connecticut and across the country. The 12-month period ending in April 2021 was the deadliest year yet, with U.S. overdose deaths reaching a record high of over 100,000, reports the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). - PUB DATE: 12/2/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: UConn Today
The 788th Civil Engineer Squadron Fire Department always aims for lofty milestones to make sure it is prepared to safeguard people and infrastructure in an emergency.
“We conduct formal training three days a week, and informal training as opportunities arise,” said Bryan Weeks, the Fire Department’s assistant chief for training. - PUB DATE: 12/2/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: DVIDS
VIDEO:An explosion blew through the lower levels of a home in the Cypress Hills section of Brooklyn, injuring six and leaving dozens homeless.
The blast, which was caught on camera, collapsed the first floor of the Vermont Street home into the cellar just after midnight.
Six residents were treated for remarkably minor injuries, two of them taken to Brookdale University Hospital. - PUB DATE: 12/1/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WABC-TV ABC 7 New York
Hall County plans to spend up to $300,000 for rebranding the fire department to Hall County Fire and Rescue.
In a video announcing the changes, Hall County Fire Chief Chris Armstrong said the impetus to transition from Hall County Fire Services was a $10,000 pay incentive for paramedics adopted in March. - PUB DATE: 12/1/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Gainesville Times
PHOTO: A 1954 fire truck that was used by the Chippewa Falls Fire Department until it was sold in 1987 is returning to the city, and when the public gets a chance to see it, the antique vehicle will look shiny new.
The fire truck has been restored and will be on display at the new Chippewa Area History Center that is under construction along Bridgewater Avenue. - PUB DATE: 12/1/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Chippewa Herald
