VIDEO: It's considered one of the toughest firefighter training programs in the country, with a waitlist stretching three years and filled with the names of firefighters from as far away as California and Washington State. The North Carolina Breathing Equipment School, which is held twice a year at Gaston College's Dallas campus, even held the distinction of being named the "Top Gun" of firefighter schools.
- PUB DATE: 12/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WCNC-TV NBC 36 Charlotte

Nashville residents were jolted awake by a loud explosion in the city’s historic downtown district on Christmas morning. The bomb, hidden inside a recreational vehicle, devastated businesses in the area and disrupted AT&T communication networks throughout the state. Officials described the event as an “intentional act” and a “deliberate bomb.
- PUB DATE: 12/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Washington Post - Metered Site

VIDEO: A homeowner said she is glad to be alive after her house exploded into a fireball that damaged multiple homes in southeast Houston. The explosion happened around 11 a.m. Sunday at a home in the 6000 block of Doulton Drive near Bellfort Avenue. Mildred Whitfield captured the fire on her phone across the street.
- PUB DATE: 12/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KPRC-TV NBC 2 Houston

A Muhlenberg boy is finishing up a year-long journey. Seven-year-old Ayden Robbins does good deeds year-round, but he’s most proud of the thousands of cards he’s written to first responders. In all, he’s written cards to 68 departments across the country, from California to Alaska to Florida to Maine.
- PUB DATE: 12/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WYMT-TV CBS 15 Hazard

VIDEO: On Sunday 37 years ago, five Buffalo firefighters and two civilians died in one of the worst disasters the city has ever seen. A propane explosion leveled a portion of North Division Street downtown. Every year, the Buffalo Fire Department marks the exact time of the blast, 8:23 p.m., with a moment of silence.
- PUB DATE: 12/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WGRZ-TV ABC 2 Buffalo

Four house cats were saved and no injuries were reported after a house fire took place in the City of Oconto on Saturday night. According to the Oconto Fire and Rescue, just before 10:30 p.m., firefighters responded to a residence located on the 200 block Erie Avenue for a report of a house fire. Upon arrival, crews found flames and smoke coming from an enclosed front porch and report having quickly performed a knockdown of the flames and contained the fire to the area of the porch.
- PUB DATE: 12/27/2020 11:39:24 AM - SOURCE: WFRV-TV CBS 5 Green Bay

Multiple law enforcement agencies are investigating what police describe as a suspicious fire that took the lives of several victims Christmas morning. According to a press release from the Omro Police Department, an officer on patrol saw flames and heavy smoke near a house in the 200 block of McKinley Avenue around 4:30 a.
- PUB DATE: 12/26/2020 3:39:20 PM - SOURCE: WGBA-TV NBC 26 Green Bay

One Madison resident is displaced after an apartment fire in downtown Madison. MFD says they responded to Bassett Warehouse Apartments on North Bedford Street around 7:30 a.m Saturday. Residents of the 27-unit apartment complex reported smoke in the hallway. Responding firefighters found heavy smoke and flames in an apartment on the first floor.
- PUB DATE: 12/26/2020 1:50:01 PM - SOURCE: WMTV-TV NBC 15 Madison

The Madison Fire Department helped put out an illegal backyard bonfire early Sunday morning that reached 10 feet in diameter with flames up to six-feet high. According to a daily report, the Madison Fire Department responded to the bonfire around 12:15 a.m. on Lathrop Street that had a “notable glow” coming from the backyard.
- PUB DATE: 12/24/2020 5:35:17 PM - SOURCE: WMTV-TV NBC 15 Madison

VIDEO: A De Soto recycling plant was destroyed in a fire Tuesday night. A view from Sky5 around 6:30 p.m. showed massive flames at the Proud Veteran Resources and Recycling. Several fire trucks could be seen spraying water on the flames. By about 7:45 p.m., it appeared firefighters were able to extinguish most of the heavy flames.
- PUB DATE: 12/23/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KSDK-TV NBC 5 St. Louis

Everyone remembers the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, but the blaze that left over 300 dead and thousands homeless was not the last disaster to scorch the city — not by a long shot. On Dec. 22, 1910, a fire broke out at the Morris and Co. meatpacking plant at the Union Stockyards, burning out of control despite the efforts of many heroic firefighters.
- PUB DATE: 12/23/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Chicago Sun Times - Metered Site

New Orleans residents and visitors having emergencies can now talk to first responders by video when they call or text 911, thanks to a program city officials say will be a big help for people in crisis. The Orleans Parish Communications District, which handles the city's emergency dispatches and 911 calls, will also be able to better determine a person's location using upgraded software from its private partner, Carbyne, a call handling platform.
- PUB DATE: 12/23/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Nola.com

Steve Buscemi hosted a virtual fireside chat on Tuesday in support of Friends of Firefighters, which offers essential programs and services to help active and retired firefighters and their families support, prioritize and clearly communicate their physical and mental health needs during stressful times.
- PUB DATE: 12/23/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Hollywood Reporter

A certain fellow in a red coat has the City of Laurinburg Fire Department to thank after he was stuck in a chimney. Or, at least, that’s what the department said. The department posted a video on Sunday to its Facebook page paying tribute to first responders, detailing a firefighter’s version of the classic “The Night Before Christmas.
- PUB DATE: 12/23/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WBTW-TV CBS 13 Florence

The Beaver Dam Fire Department rescued a man who was stuck on Beaver Dam Lake Tuesday morning after falling through the ice and calling 911. According to a press release from Beaver Dam Fire Department Capt. Lee Smith, the 911 call came in at 5:37 a.m., but the person on the line was not communicating with dispatchers and then the call was disconnected.
- PUB DATE: 12/22/2020 5:58:07 PM - SOURCE: Chippewa Herald - Metered Site

With the holidays upon us Green Bay firefighters are again making sure hospitalized kids, still get to enjoy some Christmas magic. Kris Schuller has more on their annual trip to St. Vincent Children’s Hospital and the special guest they brought along. Outside HSHS St. Vincent Children’s Hospital, a fire truck sits, filled with presents just for kids.
- PUB DATE: 12/22/2020 4:24:54 PM - SOURCE: WFRV-TV and WJMN-TV CBS 5 Green Bay

Kenosha County Sheriff’s Deputy Colin Coultrip said he didn’t give much thought to the potential danger when he climbed into a canoe and began pushing the boat with his hands across a barely frozen pond toward a man who had fallen through the ice and was struggling in the water. “I just went for it,” Coultrip said.
- PUB DATE: 12/22/2020 7:21:31 AM - SOURCE: Kenosha News

A fire destroyed a large playground set at a Fond du Lac Park on Monday, Dec. 21. The Fond du Lac Fire Department was called to the park, located on Park Avenue, around 4:18 p.m. The fire was put out by crews but not before officials say the equipment was destroyed. “This is quite disturbing”, said Fire Chief Peter O’Leary.
- PUB DATE: 12/22/2020 5:11:53 AM - SOURCE: WDJT-TV CBS 58 Milwaukee

State officials say they’re expecting thousands of doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine to arrive later this week. Monday afternoon, Governor Tony Evers announced the state will receive an initial shipment of 16,000 doses, and in the coming weeks, will receive a total of 100,000 doses. Moderna’s vaccine can be stored in normal freezers, allowing it to be directly shipped to vaccinating units.
- PUB DATE: 12/22/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WBAY-TV ABC 2 Green Bay

Two buildings were destroyed Monday night in a major emergency fire in North Hollywood that burned for nearly two hours before being extinguished. The fire was first reported around 9 p.m. in the 5400 block of North Tujunga Avenue, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. The fire was "well developed" by 9:15 p.
- PUB DATE: 12/22/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KNBC-TV NBC 4 Los Angeles