A local firefighter's home was damaged Wednesday after being struck by lightning. Deputy Chief Chris Burnham said the firefighter and his wife were at home around 4:15 p.m. when a nearby tree was struck by a bolt of lightning. The electrical charge traveled underground and caused the basement of the home at 41 Brandyview Terrace to catch fire. The firefighter, whose ...

SAN FRANCISCO - Fire crews and police could only watch after a man waded into San Francisco Bay, stood up to his neck and waited. They wanted to do something, but a policy strictly forbade them from trying to save the 50-year-old, officials said. A witness finally pulled the apparently suicidal man's lifeless body from the 54-degree water. Interim Alameda Fire ...

CARYVILLE -- Dozens of firefighters this morning were greeted with sparkling flames when a blaze erupted at a Campbell County fireworks business. Firefighters from six fire departments tackled the flames that erupted about 2:30 a.m. at Thunder Mountain Fireworks, 292 John McGhee Blvd., according to Caryville Fire Chief Eddie Hatmaker. "When we got there, flames were shooting through the roof," Hatmaker ...

John Filipowicz caught a glimpse of fire as he drove through Portland shortly after 7 p.m. Sunday, only a moment before the worst thing imaginable dawned on him. He saw the flames move and drop to the ground. Someone was on fire. Filipowicz slammed on the brakes, jumped from his 1960 GMC pickup, bolted over a guardrail, down a steep embankment ...

May 22, JOPLIN, Mo. - A massive tornado that blasted a four-mile path across southwestern Missouri slammed into the city of Joplin with cataclysmic force. The tornado Sunday night ripped into a hospital, destroyed neighborhoods and upended cars. An unknown number were killed in Joplin. Officials struggling to communicate without power and cellphone service were leery of putting a hard figure ...

MELBOURNE, Australia--Firefighters have brought a massive fire at a Melbourne petrochemical factory under control after it ignited tens of thousands of gallons (liters) of mineral oil. The blaze started Thursday on the outskirts of the Australian city, setting off explosions and sending massive fire balls into the air. The Australian Broadcasting Corp. says it raced through 130,000 gallons (500,000 liters) of ...

VENTURA, Calif. -- Three crew members aboard a Boeing 707 tanker loaded with jet fuel escaped with only minor injuries when the aircraft skidded off the runway and exploded into flames at a Southern California Navy base, officials said. The plane crashed as it was taking off from Naval Base Ventura County Point Mugu at about 5:25 p.m. Wednesday. It slid ...

BOSTON - The City of Boston and six truck maintenance shops have been sued for their alleged roles in allowing a 49,000-pound firetruck to go out on the road with faulty brakes, leading it to plunge down a hilltop street two years ago, killing a firefighter and damaging a Mission Hill apartment complex. The lawsuit was filed by Federal Insurance Company, ...

ORLAND, Ind. — Crews had to pull a firefighter to safety after he fell through the ice while trying to reach a dog from a northeastern Indiana lake. Orland firefighters were called Sunday by the owners of the dog after it walked onto the half-inch ice of Lake Pleasant and fell in. Firefighter Mike Garrison inched out while wearing full rescue ...

ATLANTA - An investigation of video taken of a Griffin woman just moments after she was killed in a car accident will continue in hopes of identifying the second voice captured during the recording, officials said Friday. Related A Spalding County firefighter was notified Thursday that he will be terminated for using his cell phone camera to record the image of ...

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - A parked Spokane Fire Department engine with nobody at the wheel rolled into a home where firefighters were making an aid call. Fire Chief Bobby Williams says the truck had been parked about 100 yards from the home Wednesday night. Shortly after medics walked inside, they heard the crash. KXLY-TV reports the engine knocked down porch supports ...