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Popular St. Louis-area Restaurant Burns Down

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A POPULAR FAMILY-OWNED RESTAURANT IN CAHOKIA, ILLINOIS, was totally destroyed Monday afternoon by a fire of unknown origin. Stingers Restaurant and Pizzeria was not only a local favorite, but they also catered to the area police and firefighters who patronized the business loyally.

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Fox2 / Nelson

The restaurant is closed on Mondays, but the owners and a couple of employees had been there earlier preparing an order of carry-outs for the local Meals-on-Wheels program.  Nobody was in the business at 2:30 when the fire broke out, however.  The incident brought units from 12 neighboring fire departments with over 70 firefighters.  The Cahokia VFD attempted to attack it from the interior, but the fire was too advanced to remain inside.

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Fox2

The entire roof collapsed into the building and everything was burned.  There is no indication of anything suspicious, but the Illinois State Fire Marshal’s office is investigating the cause.  KPLR-TV filed this video report:

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Factory Fire in France

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EARLY MONDAY MORNING A MAJOR FIRE broke out in a factory in Sorbiers, Loire, France.

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SDIS 42

The fire in the Thiollier textile factory grew rapidly and brought over 60 firefighters  to the scene and 8 deluge monitors were in service.  Thiollier’s entire plant was destroyed including all of its textile stock and its workshops.

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Le Progres

The plant employed 40 people who have now lost their jobs.  The cause of the fire is still undetermined.

Le Progres has the story and more photos HERE.
The fire department, SDIS 42  has a 63-image photo gallery on their official WEBSITE HERE.

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SDIS 42

Written and prepared by Laurence Delorme

Georgia Mansion Burns

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A SANDY SPRINGS, GEORGIA, HOME BURNED TO THE GROUND early Monday morning.  The 6,800 sq. ft. mansion was undergoing a major renovation and the family, which had lived there for at least 20 years, was staying elsewhere during the work.

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WSB-TV

The fire was discovered by  a police cruiser after it broke through the roof shortly before 3 am.  When the FD arrived it faced an access challenge because the house had a “several hundred” foot-long driveway and was built against a steep hillside in the rear.  The first-arriving officer described it as “almost a fireball” as the stores of paints and flooring materials were feeding the fire.

The home is a total loss and investigators are waiting to get into the rubble to try and find the cause.  Currently, arson is not suspected.

WAGA-TV Ch. 5 has this video report:

Basement Dance Hall Fire Kills 4

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AN EARLY-MORNING FIRE IN A ROMAN, (ITALY) DANCE HALL killed four people when they were trapped with only one possible exit.

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La Stampa

The club was a large concrete room that had been created in an underground parking garage.  The police are investigating the circumstances and what may have caused the fire.  One possibility they are considering is a circuit overload from the sound amplifying equipment that was being used for the party.

La Stampa has this STORY along with a photo gallery.

In Diretta has this video report from the fire scene later today:

4 Alarms at East Bay Lumber Yard

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A 4-ALARM FIRE DURING THE  SATURDAY SHOPPING TIME destroyed a Walnut Creek, California, lumber yard and home improvement center.

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Contra Costa Times

The fire was discovered around 1:30 pm when an explosion-like sound was heard and fire broke through the building housing the Piedmont Lumber Co. warehouse.  The business is located on N. Main St. near the city center.  The spectacular blaze brought traffic to a halt in the entire downtown area as streets were shut down to allow for the FD operations.

The fire spread into the showroom area and destroyed that as well.  Ir was five hours before the fire was completely knocked down. 

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CBS5

No estimates have been released yet on damages.  Piedmont has three other locations including a trade-only store in Pittsburg that also had a major fire this past August.

The Contra Costa Times has the STORY.

“Home-Alone” Boy Saved in Illinois 3-Bagger

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Larry Shapiro photo

A THREE-ALARM FIRE IN MAYWOOD, ILLINOIS, late Friday night was punctuated by the rescue of a boy about 9 years old who was alone in his apartment.  The fire in the Chicago suburb started in the rear of the first floor of a 3-story commercial building that has apartments on the upper floors.  The fire began around 11:30 pm and an automatic alarm notified the FD.

When the first units arrived they were told of the boy in one of the apartments and a woman not yet accounted for in another unit. A 2nd alarm was struck shortly after.  

The Chicago Sun-Times reports:

Firefighter Tony Morrone was part of the team searching the interior when he found an 8- or 9-year-old boy sleeping in a bedroom, Maywood Fire Chief Keith Dobberfuhl said.

“The boy was under the layer of smoke when [Morrone] found him,” Dobberfuhl said. “The boy was asleep face down. Morrone carried him through the smoke and brought him down the staircase. All the while, the kid was calm and just waking up. [The kid's] dad was waiting outside,” Dobberfuhl said. The father took himself and his son to stay at a neighbor’s house a block away, he said.

 Morrone has been a firefighter with the Maywood Fire Department for 15 years, Dobberfuhl said.

The 3rd alarm was struck shortly after midnight and the fire was declared out at 4 am Saturday morning.  During the operations part of the second floor collapsed onto the first floor, but the entire 3rd floor remained intact and the late-19th century building is believed to be repairable.  The woman who was missing at first was later found to have been led out of the fire by another tenant.

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Larry Shapiro photo

Chicagoland fire photographer Larry Shapiro has a 100-image photo gallery of his always-quality photographs HERE.

Night Fire in Italy

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WE HAVE NO INFORMATION ON THIS FIRE Tuesday night in Turin (Torino) Italy.  But it’s always enlightening to see the the operations and equipment deployed by the Vigili del Fuoco.

Downtown Fire in London

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Update: Additional video added, scroll down.

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BBC News

AN EARLY-MORNING FIRE IN A FASHIONABLE restaurant district in London, England, on Thursday has gutted a 4-story building and spread to a second building before the London Fire Brigade was able to contain the blaze.

The fire was reported around 4:30 am and the first-arriving units found the building well-involved already.  Upgraded responses brought over 100 firefighters to the scene and it took them more than six hours to bring it under control.  Early in the operation the top two floors collapsed after the FF’s attempted to do a primay search with thermal imaging cameras.  It is believed that there were no casualties from the fire.

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BBC News

Some unconfirmed reports say that the restuarant involved is The East Room, a private members’ club.  Others say that it began in the Sosho Bar and Restaurant.  Police and fire investigators are on the scene, but it will be a long time before they can get inside to search for the cause and point of origin.

Sky News has posted this brief video report from the fire scene:

This Islington Gazette has MORE.

Update:
ITN has just posted this video:

Update #2:
The Daily Mail has an updated report with some good photos HERE.

Lane-Changer Triggers Fiery Multi-Vehicle Wreck

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A 76-YR.-OLD MAN DRIVING ON I-465 in Indianapolis, Indiana, started to exit the freeway Tuesday afternoon, then changed his mind and attempted to pull back into the traffic lane.  He then struck an SUV causing it to spin around and collide with a tractor-trailer carrying a large water tank containing salt-water fish.

The truck crashed into the jersey barrier splitting open the fuel tank and starting a diesel fire before the vehicles even came to a stop.

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WRTV

The fire was so destructive to the asphalt pavement that the highway had to be shut down for several hours while an emergency re-paving job was done to the lanes.  Police believe that alcohol was a factor in the cause of the wreck.

WISH-TV Ch. 8 has this video report including an interview with the obviously disgusted truck driver:

WRTV has a photo gallery HERE.

4-Alarms at Charlotte Apartment Building

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A FIRE AT A CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA, APARTMENT building Tuesday morning challenged the CFD with a night-rescue problem.  The 70-unit 4-story building was heavily damaged and firefighters rescued many upper-story residents by ground ladders.

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Charlotte Observer

The fire was brought under control in 3 hours and aside from one civilian who was transported for observation, no injuries have been reported.

FireNews.net has the full story along with a response roster and a video report HERE.

Overnight Fire Displaces 100 Residents

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A 2-ALARM FIRE IN A NEW LONDON, CONNECTICUT, apartment building has left nearly 100 people homeless this morning.

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The Day / Jensen

The blaze broke out on the 3rd-floor of the 36-unit building and quickly got up into a false attic where a peaked roof had been built over the original flat roof.  When the first-alarm units arrived, the fire was growing rapidly and they FF’s were faced with a major rescue challenge with 30 to 40 people trapped in their apartments.

Fire attack was delayed as all hands were devoted to the evacuations.  “While we were doing that, we couldn’t extinguish the fire, so it did get ahead of us a little bit,” New London Fire Chief Ronald Samul told reporters.  Approx. 6 people were brought down via ground ladders and so far only three injuries have been reported, all of them civilians suffering smoke inhalation.

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The fire started around 10 pm Tuesday night and it was called under control at 2:30 am Wednesday.  Chief Samul said the city’s hydrants were running at maximum capacity and “we’re taking every drop” as firefighters battled the blaze.

This video report from The Day has good fire footage and an interview with Chief Samul:

The Day also has a written report HERE.
New London Firefighters L-1522 WEBSITE.

Spectacular Fire Destroys Furniture Factory

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A FIRE EARLY FRIDAY MORNING DESTROYED a family-owned furniture factory in the Rochelle region of France.  The AG Products Corporation employs 24 workers who make specialty furniture that includes a large amount of plexiglas. 

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The blaze was heavily fueled by the plastics stored there along with the venting of compressed gas cylinders that prevented the initial response units from entering the building.

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The fire was exinguished by 65 firefighters with the help of master streams and there were no reported injuries.

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The local fire department, SDIS 17 has posted a 13-minute raw video of the fire HERE.

Fire Kills 2 Young Brothers – Father Charged.

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A GREENFIELD, OHIO, MAN IS BEING ARRAIGNED today on two felony counts of child endangerment following a fire in his house Sunday morning that killed his two sons ages 3 and 4.  Following the 8 am court appearance, he is being held on $1 million bond.  Investigators said they are charging Wesley Coonrod, 42, because of his level of intoxication and his actions when the fire started.

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Wesley Coonrod

Investigators have not yet determined what started the fire, but neighbors reported that it was well involved before the FD arrived and the house was so filled with smoke that none of the neighbors were able to get inside to search for the boys.

WKRC-TV Ch. 12 has this video report:

Tv station NBC4 Columbus has a full report HERE.

Coonrod has a prior arrest record  including domestic violence, aggravated menacing, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and numerous criminal damaging and OVI and DUI arrests.

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The Red Cross had just moved the family temporarily into the duplex apartment two days earlier following another fire in their previous dwelling last week.

8 FF’s Injured When Aerial Brushes Electric Lines

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WISN-TV

EIGHT WALWORTH COUNTY, WISCONSIN, FIREFIGHTERS WERE injured at a major fire Friday when an aerial operating a master stream brushed along a high-voltage electric line.  All of them were transported with non-life threatening injuries, but one of them remains hospitalized with burns.  Most of them were people who were on the ground but in contact with the truck when it happened.

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WISN-TV

The fire began at 2 pm when a grease pit under the broiler flamed up.  One of the restaurant’s cooks was there and he acitvated the Ansul system before initiating an evacuation of the popular tavern.  By the time the FD arrived, the fire had extended rapidly.  

The 6-alarm fire completely destroyed the Mulligan’s Sports Bar & Restaurant, a popular business in the community of Delavan.

WTMJ-TV Ch. 4 Milwaukee has this video report:

Changing Lanes

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MID-WEST KEGLERS HAVE FEWER ALLEYS to play in this morning following the destruction of two bowling centers in two days.

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Wisconsin Radio Network photo

This morning (Wednesday) a fire broke out around 4 am Central in a Fond du Lac, Wisconsin bowling alley.  As is usually the case with bowling alley fires, the roof collapsed during the operation, but nobody was in the building which is a stand-alone structure with negligible exposures.  Units are still working on the scene and it is too soon to find the cause.  The building was closed at the time.

WLUK-TV Ch. 11 has this report from the fire scene:

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Tuesday, shortly after noon, a fire started in a Sellersburg, Indiana, bowling alley that was undergoing some renovations.  The Alley Cat Lanes is located in a strip mall shopping center and the fire spread to several of the business in the center.  An insufficient water supply called for a tanker relay to supply  the water for the four aerial trucks in service.

The fire is thought to have started in the kitchen area, but investigators want to interview an electrical contractor’s crew that was working in the area.

WLKY-TV Ch. 32 has this video report:

4 Alarms Working in Dallas

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A 4-ALARM FIRE IN DALLAS, TEXAS, HAS BURNED DOWN a city-block size shopping arcade that was built in the 1920’s.

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WFAA-TV

The mall’s primary tenants  were four restaurant/bars that were very popular in the Greeville section of Dallas along with several smaller shops and night clubs.  The fire was first reported at 5:45 am Central time while the restaurants were serving breakfast diners.  The fire got into the common attic of the entire mall structure and quickly spread throughout the building.  The subsequent alarms were struck at 5:46, 5:57 and 6:01.

The Dallas Observer is reporting that there are 72 firefighters on the scene with 12 engines, four trucks and four rescue vehicles.  While it is already known that the fire began in Terilli’s Restaurant, it is not yet known what the cause was.

This video report from WFAA-TV has good fire footage:

The fire is knocked down now (9 am Central) but units will be on the scene much longer.

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Dallas Observer

Read the article in the Dallas Observer for more photos and additional information HERE.

Downtown Fire in Bellingham

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Update:  Video added.  Scroll down.

“THIS IS GOING TO BE AN ALL-NIGHTER,” Bellingham, Washington, Fire Chief Bill Boyd said early this morning (Monday).

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Bellingham Herald / Stark photo

Chief Boyd was speaking at the fireground in downtown Bellingham this morning as fire razed three older, wood-frame buildings in the central part of the city.  The fire was discovered at 2:30 am Pacific after it broke through the front of one of the buildings, scattering debris and window glass across the street.  The Bellingham Herald REPORTS:

  One two-story structure collapsed at about 3:40 a.m., and the second, also two stories, fell about 10 minutes later.  One building, which was one story tall, was too badly burned to tell what it was used for. It was mostly collapsed at 5 a.m.

Reportedy, all of the buildings were currently vacant and with the extensive involvement on arrival, the FD went into a containment, controlled burn, operation.

Thanks to WUSA-TV and STATter911 we have this raw aerial video of the fire:

Popular Iowa Restaurant Burns Down

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KCCI-TV / Batcher photo

ONE OF CENTRAL IOWA’S MORE POPULAR RESTAURANTS, the Mineral City Mill & Grill in Fort Dodge burned down Sunday morning.  The fire was discovered coming from behind the deep fryer by a cleaning crew around 3 am who first tried to hit it with fire extinguishers while calling the fire department.

One of the cleaners was unable to operate the extinguisher, but the fire was out of control by then anyway.  When the FD arrived on the scene, the fire was already through the roof.  Fort Dodge FD Capt. Paul Nesson explains for the public about the rapid fire spread in this video interview for KCCI-TV Ch. 8 in Des Moines:

The loss is expected to exceed $1 million.  The owner, Jim Bird also operates two other restaurants and he says that he will be able to keep his employees working while he rebuilds.

KCCI also has a 16-image photo gallery HERE.

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KCCI-TV

Fort Dodge Fire Department WEBSITE.
Mineral City Mill & Grill WEBSITE.

Never Off Duty

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PAT FOLEY, A BOSTON FIREFIGHTER WAS ON HIS way to work Saturday morning and only one block away from his firehouse in Dorchester when he spotted a fire in an apartment building.  After first calling in the alarm, he ran into the 4-story brick apartment building and started banging on doors while looking for the unit on fire.

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WHDH-TV

Just as he located the fire on the 3rd-floor, the engine co. arrived and they broke into the apartment.  Inside they found a woman unconscious but breathing and carried her out.  The fire was easily extinguished leaving damages of about $50,000.  The woman remains in the hospital in serious condition.  No other injuries have been reported.

WBZ-TV has the STORY.
WHDH-TV has a brief video report HERE.

Garment Factory Fire Kills 21

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A FAST-SPREADING FIRE IN GAZIPUR, BANGLADESH, killed 21 of the 50+ workers in the Garib & Garib sweater factory Thursday night.

The fire started in a large stock of acrylic sweaters giving off large volumes of thick, toxic smoke.  None of the fatalities were burned, leading to speculation that they perished from the smoke suffocation.

Abu Zafar Ahmed, Gazipur fire station officer said that there was no water in the factory’s reserve tank.  “Although there were hosepipes on every floor, they were virtually useless.”  Firefighters resorted to using water from the company’s fabric-washing facility and utilizing two pumps from the washers.  Gazipur’s fire engines were unable to get anywhere near the building  because all the alleyways around it are too narrow.

The employees were trapped on the second floor with no fire escapes and the windows blocked with security bars.

Collated from various news sources.

Wind-Swept Blaze Takes Out Full Block

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FIRE BROKE OUT EARLY FRIDAY MORNING in a shuttered oceanfront hotel in Hampton, New Hampshire.  At the time, the entire Northeast U. S was being buffeted by a large windstorm with 60 mph winds.  The Hampton FD was running multiple wind-related calls when one of the units spotted fire in the 3-story Surf  Hotel which was closed for the winter.

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WMUR-TV

When the first-alarm units arrived on the scene, the wind had already blown the entire roof off and fire was spreading rapidly through the block.  Multiple alarms were called bringing in units from Maine and Massachusetts to help the several New Hampshire departments on the scene.

Before long, the entire block of about 8 buildings was on fire.  They directly face the Atlantic Ocean across the street.  The FD worked to keep it from spreading to other blocks via wind-borne embers.

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WMUR-TV

The fire was largely knocked down before daybreak, but units are still tackling the hot spots.  It is probable that the fire started in the Surf Hotel, but it will be a long time before a cause can be established, if ever.  The entire wood-frame building was leveled.

 The New England Cable Network has some fire footage in this video report:

WBZ-TV Ch. 38 Boston has the full story plus more videos including an aerial view HERE.

Blaze Claims Firefighter’s Daughter

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MARSHA BEARD, 46, HAD RECENTLYMOVED into a mobile home next door to her parents so that she could help them out.  The mother of two grown children wanted to be near after he father Thomas Simmons had open-heart surgery and her mother needed assistance taking care of him.  Thomas Simmons is a firefighter with the Duncanville Vol. Fire Department in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, but he was not ready for the news he got when his wife phoned him Tuesday afternoon to tell him that their daughter had just perished in a fire at her home.

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Thomas Simmons is consoled by fellow volunteer firefighter Melissa Hughes
at the scene of the fatal fire that claimed his daughter.
(Tuscaloosa News / Robert Sutton photo)

WVUA-TV picks up the story:

“I was out and it hadn’t gone on the air,” Simmons began. “And my wife called me and told me my daughter’s house was on fire. Then, she called me back and told me she was deceased in the fire.”

Simmons, a firefighter for 14 years with the Duncanville Volunteer Fire Department, didn’t get a chance to save his daughter, even though the fire that claimed the life of 46-year-old Marsha Beard happened right next door.

Firefighters told us a family member who lives nearby noticed the front yard burning, and called 911. What the caller didn’t realize is that the mobile home had already burned to the ground, with Marsha Beard inside.

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Tuscaloosa News / Sutton

“I fought many fires in Duncanville, but nothing that has hit this hard,” Simmons told the Tuscaloosa News. “God will see us through it. If you trust in God, God will listen.”  Members of the FD immediately attended to the Simmons’, comforting them and bringing their pastor to their home.

Alabama State Fire Marshals are investigating the fire, but have not yet determined the cause of the destructive fire.

Read the WVUA-TV story HERE.

Downtown Fire in Upstate New York

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A LARGE FIRE THAT STARTED AROUND 5 PM Wednesday evening is still keeping Dunkirk, New York, firefighters busy this morning.

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WIVB / Fountain photo

The fire triggered a fire alarm in a 4-story building that was 105-years old  that currently houses a church and related activity rooms and has spread to a neighboring building.

The fire flow needed was in excess of the town’s water treatment plant’s ability to provide, so additional supply lines were laid to Lake Erie for additional water.

Firefighter Nation is carrying this story with more photos and two videos of the fire HERE.

Downtown Fire Takes Historic Bldg. in Illinois

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A FIRE BROKE OUT EARLY TUESDAY MORNING in the heart of downtown Vandalia, Illinois.  The fire spread to four businesses including one building that dated back to 1867.  The fire was first noticed at 1 am and kept the firefighters busy throughout the day because of numerous hot spots fed by adhesives and solvents stored in a carpet store along with a lot of paper storage in a tax preparer’s office.

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KTVI-TV

Firefighters from Ramsey and Brownstown assisted on the mutual-aid call.

KTVI-TV Ch. 2 has this video report:
 

Vandalia is one of the state’s oldest towns and served as the first state capital from 1819 to 1839.  The Old State Capital building is directly across the street from the buildings that burned.

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KTVI-TV

The St. Louis Globe-Democrat has the STORY.

Downtown Fire Successfully Contained in Germany

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Thuringer Allegemeine

A FIRE WEDNESDAY MORNING IN A VACANT MOVIE THEATER was seen for miles away in Arnstadt, Germany.  The alarm was sent shortly after 9 am and the first-arriving units immediately called for additional alarms, bringing 16 engines and over 100 firefighters to the scene.

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TA

The incident commander properly put containment as his first priority with the auditoreum fully involved.  According to the officers at the scene, the incident played out in “textbook” order with no fire spread or damage to any adjoining buildings.

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TA

The large fire was knocked down by applying a water/foam solution.

The former Mercury Theater was a cultural landmark in the city which had closed in 1995.  Since then, neighbors have reported a consistent use of the building by vagrants who repeatedly broke into the building seeking shelter.  It is too early to have learned the cause of this fire.

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TA

Thuringer Allegemeine has a 76-image photo gallery HERE.

Hat tip:  Christian L.