SWEET HOME — Many heads turned skyward as EMT/firefighter Alex Thompson carefully climbed to the top of the 105-foot ladder mounted to one of the community’s newer fire trucks Saturday morning during the third annual safety fair sponsored by the city. This event has been renamed the Jim Bean Memorial Safety Fair in honor of the longtime city councilman who died ...

DENVER - Denver fire officials are investigating the discovery of a noose by a black Aurora firefighter in a conference room at a training center used by both Denver and Aurora fire departments. The Denver firefighter who planted the noose at the Rocky Mountain Fire Academy in Denver did so as a joke, said Denver Fire Lt. Phil Champagne. "It was ...

The U.S. Fire Administration has announced the theme of Arson Awareness Week 2010: Community Arson Prevention. USFA and its partners are conducting education and awareness efforts based on that theme today through Saturday. The goal is to give communities tools and strategies to combat arson in their neighborhoods, businesses, schools, and places of worship. USFA's partners are the International Association of ...

APPLETON, WI — Three city firefighters who died in the line of duty, all in the early 20th century, will be recognized this fall at the Wisconsin State Firefighters Memorial. The names of Chief Elmer Anderson, Assistant Chief Mike Calnin and firefighter Louis McGillan will be added to the memorial at Ben Hansen Park in Wisconsin Rapids at 3:33 p.m. Oct. ...

WILMINGTON, N.C. — Theresa Dailey was a little surprised to find firefighters equipped with drills and a ladder at her door Friday evening. Nor was she expecting the question posed to her: How many smoke detectors do you have in your house? Firefighters from the Wilmington Fire Department spent about an hour canvassing the area around Burnett Boulevard and North Carolina ...

ARIZONA - An enormous wildfire in eastern Arizona is poised to become the largest in state history, as firefighters tried Tuesday to keep the blaze from crossing into New Mexico and devouring a small mountain town. Fires grew elsewhere in New Mexico and at the state's border with Colorado, where flames forced the closure of a busy interstate highway. In Luna, ...

BOWER HILL, PA - Bryan Pritchard of Collier has been a volunteer with the Bower Hill Volunteer Fire Department in Scott for a half-dozen years, giving his time and talents to his community. Now the community can return the favor. A candidate for a kidney and pancreas transplant, Mr. Pritchard, 38, is waiting for the organs to become available. He has ...

BOULDER, Colo. — As thousands of people waited to learn if their homes survived a raging Colorado wildfire, Dan Hackett hiked a second time behind roadblocks to make sure his house near Boulder was still standing. Hackett, who lives in the mountain community of Gold Hill, said he watched his neighbor's home burn. "The house 200 feet from my house is ...

SAN JOSE, CA - More than 50 San Jose firefighters were set to lose their jobs in a matter of hours Thursday night as the city struggled to close an $118 million budget gap. Firefighters were also upset because the city may drastically change the way labor contract disputes are resolved. Mayor Chuck Reed had a polite but tense meeting with ...

BOCA RATON, FL — They brought out pulleys, hoists, straps and boards. The group of Boca Raton firefighters pretended to rescue injured workers stuck in underground pipes. "You're going to take the guy and strap him on here," said private instructor Kevin Mullen as he demonstrated on a plastic board. Tuesday was the second day of training for 17 Boca Raton ...

CHEYENNE -- One of the county's largest grass fires in recent memory burned southwest of town Wednesday afternoon behind commercial explosive producer Dyno Nobel Inc. Fire officials said the area burned was approximately 700 acres. Laramie County Fire District 2 public information officer Lew Simpson said the fire reignited from a blaze that crews extinguished early Wednesday morning. The first fire ...

NEW CANAAN, Conn. (AP) - A 9-year-old Connecticut girl who climbed to the roof of her house and attempted to crawl back inside through the chimney has been rescued after getting stuck. Assistant Fire Chief Jack Hennessey says the girl climbed up a house painter's ladder Wednesday morning, walked across the roof and tried to climb down the chimney. She almost ...

OKALOOSA ISLAND – Lt. Sean Mast with the Okaloosa Island Fire Department has seen a lot as a firefighter, but Thursday morning’s rescue was far from the typical calls he receives. Mast, along with Firefighter Michael Russ, climbed 30 feet up the fire truck’s ladder around 8:30 a.m. to release an osprey tangled in fishing line from its nest near the ...

DOVER, N.H.—A former New Hampshire firefighter is going to prison for at least three years after pleading guilty to setting a series of fires. Forty-four-year-old Stark Liedtke of Alton had pleaded guilty to three charges that he set fires on Berry Road in New Durham in 2006 and 2007. He also pleaded guilty to eight other arson-related charges. In court Tuesday, ...

Sacramento, Calif. (AP) -- A dog that fell into a 30-foot hole appears to be in good condition after being rescued by firefighters. The Sacramento Bee reports that after 13-year-old yellow Labrador was discovered stuck down the narrow hole around 4:45 p.m. Friday, a firefighter was lowered by rope to pull the dog out. A Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District official says ...

While there was a lot of traffic this weekend for EMS injury prevention event at the Clay Center Airport Saturday, organizers said EMS Week was a success. EMT Beth Kaul said over 200 people came through the ambulance services building last week and 75 people filled out File of Life sheets to place on refrigerators that paramedics can easily pull off ...

VALLEJO — A three-alarm fire scorched a shuttered Vallejo auto dealership often frequented by the homeless, authorities said. Vallejo firefighters responded about 7 a.m. to the former Bill Lang's Cadillac Pontiac at 4301 Sonoma Blvd. The call escalated to three alarms before crews from Vallejo, Crockett, American Canyon, Benicia and Cal Fire had the blaze under control about an hour later. ...

NEW YORK — A woman who lost seven children and her husband in a 1978 arson at their home near Albany was questioned again this week as investigators put renewed effort into solving the case. No one was ever charged for setting the fire 32 years ago in Cohoes. Detectives traveled to Okanogan, Wash., and spent several hours Wednesday questioning Virginia ...