firefighting news

Colleagues praise Stockton Battalion Chief Kim Olson

September 24, 2008

STOCKTON – This is what Stockton Fire Department Battalion Chief Kim Olson does. On July 26, Daniel Packer, a 49-year-old firefighter from Washington state, was killed while surveying a lightning-sparked wildfire in the Klamath National Forest. Packer, the chief of East Pierce Fire and Rescue in Bonney Lake, Wash., was caught when the Panther Fire [...]

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Inland Empire Fire Crews Fight Strip Mall Fire in Grand Terrace

September 20, 2008

GRAND TERRACE – The lifelong dreams of business owners crumbled under a mountain of charred wood beams, shattered glass and gnarled metal early Wednesday when a suspicious fire roared through a strip mall.The cause of the devastating blaze at Barton Road and La Crosse Avenue remained a mystery hours later. But store owners, who stared [...]

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Bomberos Train with Sacramento & Consumnes Firefighters

September 18, 2008

Firefighting knows no borders, whether it’s battling a blaze in Sacramento or Mexico. The mission is the same: Rescuing people from fires and accidents. Preventing flames from destroying homes and businesses. In the spirit of brotherhood, 25 Mexican firefighters were in the Sacramento region last week, picking up training and tricks from their local counterparts. [...]

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Swiftwater Specialists from Sacramento Area Sent to Texas

September 14, 2008

14 specialists from the Sacramento Fire Department’s Swift Water Rescue Team – assigned to Galveston, where the eye of the massive hurricane touched land late Friday night, packing 100 mph winds. “Many people did not evacuate,” said fire Capt. Jim Doucette. “There no doubt will be some people we help get to safety. That’s always [...]

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San Jose Fire Crews Save Trapped Window Washers

September 9, 2008

Two window washers who spent nearly two hours suspended outside the ninth floor of a downtown San Jose office building were lifted to safety Monday morning in a dramatic rescue by members of the Fire Department’s Urban Search and Rescue Team. The drama unfolded just after 8 a.m. when the scaffolding the two men were [...]

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LAFD Firefighters Respond to Fatal House Fire

September 8, 2008

On Monday, September 8, 2008 at 5:25 AM, 5 Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters, 2 LAFD Rescue Ambulances, 3 Arson Units, 1 EMS Battalion Captain, and 1 Battalion Chief Officer Command Team, under the direction of Battalion Chief Michael Greenup responded to a Structure Fire With a Civilian Fatality at 3448 S. Colonial Av. in [...]

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Homeless Suspected in Parkway Fire for Sacramento Firefighters

September 7, 2008

As firefighters tried to tame a blaze Saturday along the lower stretch of the American River Parkway and as cars on Highway 160 slowed to watch a helicopter dart overhead to make a water drop, Ralph Plunkett stood in the shade of the overpass, his head bowed. It was too soon to tell what caused [...]

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500 Acres Burned, 2 structures lost in Fire Near Lincoln

September 1, 2008

A grass fire near Lincoln burned more than 500 acres and destroyed multiple structures, fire officials said Monday. The blaze, named the Gladding fire, started at about 12:40 p.m. on Gladding Road and Merritt Lane.The fire started burning about an acre of land but quickly grew with the aid of 30 mph wind gusts, officials [...]

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2 Structures Keep North Sacramento Firefighters Busy

August 30, 2008

Two homes were destroyed Friday during a three-alarm blaze in north Sacramento. The fire was reported shortly after 5 p.m. in the area of Renondo Avenue and Edgewater Road. Fire crews faced a tough job battling the flames as temperatures hovered just over 100 degrees. One firefighter suffered a minor injury. Another person suffered from [...]

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Los Angeles Firefighters Battle Late Night Commercial Structure

August 26, 2008

On Monday, August 25, 2008 at 11:12 PM, 18 Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters, 4 LAFD Rescue Ambulances, 1 Arson Unit, 2 Urban Search and Rescue Units, 1 Hazardous Materials Team, 2 EMS Battalion Captains, 6 Battalion Chief Officer Command Teams, 1 Division Chief Officer Command Team, Emergency Air 1, DOT, DWP and LAPD, under [...]

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