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Update: Arrests Made…. 4-Alarms at Oregon High School

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Damage Appears To Be Contained to One Wing

Update, Saturday morning: Three juveniles arrested on arson charges.  Scroll down for details.

A FIRE STARTED DURING CLASS HOURS at the Woodburn High School in Woodburn, Oregon, Friday morning and went to four alarms.

KPTV

The blaze began shortly before 9:30 am Pacific and is still burning at the time of this writing.  Some early, but unconfirmed, reports say that it began in a classroom in the woodshop class area.  One student told the Salem Statesman-Journal:  "We went out like it was a planned fire drill, but when we were told to go to the football field we knew it was real. We’d never done that before."

The school principal told the press that 1,250 students along with 150 teachers and other staff were all evacuated safely.  After roll call in the football field, the students were walked to a nearby clinic where their parents would be able to pick them up.

KPTV News posted this raw video taken from their helicopter:

 

The Woodburn Fire Department was assisted by Aurora, St. Paul, Hubbard, Tualatin Valley and Marion County firefighters.  No further information has been made available yet.

Hat tip:  Mark Donovan

Update, Saturday morning:
Woodburn Police Dept. detectives announced that they have arrested three 15-yr.-old boys and charged them with 1st-degree arson, reckless burning and reckless endangerment.  NWCN is reporting:

As the fire was brought under control investigators learned it was not accidental, according to Detective Sgt. Nick Wilson.

"Detectives were able to take the information and it led them to the arrest of three 15-year-old juveniles, who were students of WHS," Wilson said. They were lodged in the the Marion County Juvenile Detention Center.

All three of the juveniles are students at the school.

It was also announced that the school will be closed all next week and will reopen on the 21st.  The fire destroyed the wood and metal shops.

KOIN-TV posted this video update:

 

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Posted by on May 11, 2012 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: , , ,

Four Alarms in Elizabeth

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Wood-Frame Row Houses Involved

A MAJOR FIRE IN ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY, TUESDAY night was contained to three homes thanks to quick, upgraded responses.  Fire departments from two counties were dispatched to assist on the fire that began around 8:30 pm.

When the first units arrived they found two wood-frame row houses well-involved.  The buildings were all covered with old asphalt siding that was igniting easily and spreading rapidly from the point of origin in the rear of one of the homes.  Elizabeth Fire Chief Thomas McNamara said, "We call it ‘gasoline siding. Once it ignites, it just takes off."

By 11 pm the fire was largely knocked down but prior to that at 10:30 the firefighter evacuation signal was sounded as one of the building threatened collapse.  Around midnight two of the homes did collapse on themselves.

Two firefighters were treated for minor injuries and at least 5 residents were transported for smoke inhalation.  All the residents were able to escape safely, however.  The cause of the fire is still being investigated.

The Star-Ledger has more details HERE.

WNYW-TV posted this excellent raw video taken from their helicopter:

 

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Posted by on April 18, 2012 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: , ,

4-Alarm Blaze Takes Out 15 Rowhouses in Pennsylvania

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Saturday Night Fire Leaves 2 Dozen Homeless

A FIRE THAT STARTED IN A BATHROOM vent fan motor Saturday night went straight up into a common attic and soon involved  15 rowhouses in Morrisville, Pennsylvania near Philadelphia.

WPVI-TV image

The fire soon went to four alarms with the first being tapped out at 10:30 pm.  By midnight the fire was knocked down but not before many homes were destroyed and several more heavily damaged.

WPVI-TV has this early video report:

 

The Philadelphia Inquirer has MORE.

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Posted by on February 26, 2012 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: , , ,

Another Multi-Alarm Blaze in New Jersey

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Apparently Everyone Safe

A FIRE RACED FROM THE GROUND FLOOR to the top 5th floor of a Hoboken, New Jersey, apartment building Sunday night.  The fire started around 7 pm and indications are that it began in a ground-floor shop.  Most of the people who were in their apartments above fled to the roof of the 5-story building and the neighboring structure where they were all safely evacuated by aerial ladders, however three people were treated for smoke inhalation.

Jersey Journal / Steadman

WNBC-TV reported:

Anthony DiCio, a Hoboken resident and local business owner, told The Associated Press he saw smoke coming out of the first floor entrance of the New Farm Market grocery store on Washington Street.

"A few minutes later, people were standing on the roof of the building next to it yelling for help to be evacuated," DiCio said.

The building that was consumed in flames over the next three hours contained four floors of condos above the store. It is a mostly wood frame building with bay windows.

Some among the hundreds of local residents who came outside to watch the fire were commenting on what a shame it was that the building caught on fire because it was an old nostalgic-looking building, a Hoboken classic, DiCio said.

This citizen/video captured the fire as it was breaking through the top two floors:

 

Reportedly, the fourth and fifth floors both collapsed.  The building is pretty well burned out, but firefighters are still on the scene working hot spots this morning and investigators are not yet able to get inside.

Fire companies from Elizabeth and Newark assisted in the fire.

Google Street View of the fire building

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Posted by on February 20, 2012 • Filed under: fire, Fires, rescue, Rescues, Videos • Tagged: ,

San Antonio Landmark Building Lost to Fire

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Built in 1885

ONE OF THE EARLIEST REMAINING BUILDINGS and an architectural landmark in downtown San Antonio, Texas, was completely destroyed in a 4-alarm fire Saturday.

Express-News

The building known variously over the years as the Wolfson Building, the Bell Building, and more recently the Main Street Ballroom, was built on the site of General Santa Anna's headquarters camp during the Battle of the Alamo.  It was also one of just two buildings remaining on the Main Plaza from that period.

The fire that began around 4:15 am is initially believed to have started in the kitchen of one of the building's tenants, the Meat Market Barbecue, from where it spread into the 2nd-floor ballroom.  The fire soon ignited a city office in the 5th floor of the neighboring 21-story office building, destroying most of the 5th floor and causing water and smoke damages to the 4th, 6th, and 7th floors.

WOAI-TV filed this video report that includes the front wall collapse:

 

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Express-News

The San Antonio Express-News had the latest FULL REPORT.
KSAT-TV has more plus additional video HERE.

Google Street View of the fire buildings.

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Posted by on October 2, 2011 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: , , , ,

Louisiana Apartment Fire Takes Out 58 Units

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Jefferson Parish FF's Work All Night

A FOUR-ALARM FIRE IN METAIRIE, Louisiana, Sunday night swept through a block of apartments leaving hundreds of residents displaced.

Times-Picayune

The fire began just before 9 pm Central and spread rapidly causing several people to be trapped as firefighters were being dispatched.  Two people were injured when they jumped from their 2nd-floor balcony and two more were rescued by firefighters.  It is reported that three people total were injured.

Times-Picayune

The dispatched was quickly elevated to three alarms and later on a fourth was struck.  At least 125 firefighters worked the blaze for 8 hours before it was knocked down.

WDSU-TV Ch. 6 filed this video report from the scene:

 

The preliminary cause is being listed as a kitchen fire started when something on a stove was left unattended.

The Times-Picayune has the latest report plus a photo gallery and more video HERE.

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Posted by on August 15, 2011 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: , , ,

Fire Claims Heritage Inn

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Original Structure Dates Back 330 Years

WCVB-TV

ONE OF NEW ENGLAND'S OLDEST remaining hostelries was destroyed by fire Tuesday night in Groton, Massachusetts.  The Old Groton Inn, also known as the Stagecoach Inn & Tavern, is one of the state's prize landmarks.  In business since 1678, the current structure was built in 1761 and has been maintained and restored over the centuries, still taking bookings for rooms and special banquets.

Old Groton Inn photo by John Phelan prior to August 2, 2011

Tuesday night around 9:30 pm one of the employees noticed smoke on the second floor and sent the alarm.  The first-in units found fire already building in the attic area of well-seasoned wood and escalated the dispatch to four alarms, bringing in an additional 15 FD's to assist.

NECN documents the fire's progress in this video report that includes a description by the Groton fire chief:

 

No injuries were reported from the fire and there is no indication yet of the cause.  Damage is extensive, but it is not known yet if any of the original portion of the building will be salvagable.  The current proprietor has owned the inn since 1977, but has reportedly been trying to sell it recently.  Apparently during none of the restorations was it decided to install a sprinkler system.

WCVB-TV

The Lowell Sun posted this raw video of the fire:

 

Old Groton Inn WEBSITE.

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Posted by on August 3, 2011 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: , , ,

Sunday Morning 4-Bagger in New Hampshire

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Destroys Three Buildings

AN EARLY-MORNING FIRE ON SUNDAY DESTROYED a local meat packing company and a residence in Hooksett, New Hampshire.

WMUR-TV

The fire was reported at 4:30 am when a neighbor spotted the fire which had started in a barn at the Garos Meat Packing Co.  It had spread to the slaughterhouse and was threatening an occupied residence when the neighbor, Mary Scott ran to warn them of the danger.  After failing to rouse the couple living there after banging on the door, she went around to the side and threw a rock through the window and that woke them up.  They escaped safely before the house caught on fire and collapsed.

The fire went to four alarms to bring enough firefighters and equipment to the scene to battle the fires in all three buildings.  The fire is out now, but investigation is just beginnig into the cause of the blaze.

WMUR-TV has the early report HERE.

Hat tip:  Mark D.

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Posted by on July 17, 2011 • Filed under: fire, Fires • Tagged: , ,

Glue Factory Blast and Fire Create Sticky Situation for Haz-Mat Team

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4-Alarm Fire Creates Runoff Problem

AN EXPLOSION THAT TRIGGERED A LARGE FIRE in Middleton, Massachusetts, Sunday night created a potentially hazardous threat to the Ipswich River from firefighting runoff.  The blast hit an adhesive factory owned by Bostik, Inc. that was filled with large quantities of several chemicals used in the glue-making process.

WHDH-TV

Four people were injured by the event, but their conditions have not been released yet.  The Boston Herald adds:

The blast caused heavy damage inside Bostik, a company that manufactures glue as well as other chemicals for industrial uses, state police said. The state fire marshal declared a tier-three hazardous material response, due to the toxins in the plant.

“It’s a serious event from the fire marshal’s perspective,” said Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency spokesman Peter Judge. “Initially there was an explosion that many people thought was an earthquake. There wasn’t a significant fire, but there was some fire involved.”

He said firefighters are now accounting for the chemicals in the plant, checking to see if their containers have been damaged, and making sure none of them are in danger of contaminating the area around the plant.

This good video report from WHDH-TV includes some aerial views that show significant damage to the plant:

 

The explosion shook homes in the vicinity for several seconds causing some worry by the residents.  The Boston Globe reports:

Boston Street resident Beverly Peterson, in a telephone interview, reported hearing “a big bang’’ from the direction of the Bostik campus.  “We’re really concerned,’’ said Peterson. “We saw a bunch of ambulances head down toward the plant.’’

Another local resident, Amy Fuller, said she thought a tree fell on her house as she was putting her kids to bed.  She said her house shook for 40 seconds. “It shook [the house] like an earthquake,’’ she said.

AP

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Posted by on March 14, 2011 • Filed under: explosion, fire, Fire Rescue Topics, Fires, HazMat, Videos • Tagged: , , , ,

Texas Warehouse Burns

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Burning For More Than Ten Hours

A LARGE WAREHOUSE IN THE DALLAS SUBURB of Grand Prairie, Texas, is still burning this morning keeping a 4-alarm assignment busy all night long.

The fire was reported at 8:30 pm Central on Monday night at the multi-occupancy facility. The fire was largely knocked down until 5 am when it flared up again and led to the roof collapsing.

NBC News

The Dallas NBC tv station reports this morning:

Part of the warehouse involved has a large amount of Monster and Dr. Pepper canned drinks, but there are several other businesses contained in the complex as well. NFI, a freight trucking and logistics company, and Pitney Bowles, a direct mail advertising company, are also housed in the complex.

Numerous loud explosions have been heard throughout the morning in the complex. The roof, walls, doors, and other internal structures have collapsed inside the buildings due to the blaze.

The large amount of water used to put out the flames has flooded the parking lot.

ABC News has posted some raw video taken from their helicopter:

 

This is an ongoing incident and no other information has been made available yet.  No injuries have been reported.

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Posted by on February 8, 2011 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: , ,

4 Alarms Hit San Jose

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A SUSPICIOUS FIRE SET BETWEEN TWO San Jose, California, businesses Monday morning spread to the adjacent buildings and caused $2 million in damage.

KGO-TV

The fire alarm was transmitted at 2:30 am and the FD found both buildings on fire.  One of the businesses is a metal recycling firm and the shop next door housed the El Savoy night club.  The response was upgraded to four alarms before the 75 firefighters had the fires extinguished at 6 am.  No injuries were reported.

San Jose Metals expects to be back in business before long, but the El Savoy appears to have been destroyed.

One of the El Savoy employees went into the burned-out
club to see if anything was salvageable and was surprised
to find Sunday night’s tip jar was unaffected by either the fire
or the water.  (Mercury News photo)

There have been several arsons in the same general area over the past few weeks.

The San Jose Mercury News has the STORY.

Posted by on November 2, 2010 • Filed under: fire, Fires • Tagged: , , ,

Fatal Four-Bagger in Massachusetts

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ONE MAN WAS KILLED AND FOUR OTHERS were injured Sunday morning in Lowell, Massachusetts, when fire swept through a 4-story residential building that contained 15 apartments.  Seven people were rescued by the firefighters.

The fire was reported around 4 am and Lowell Fire Chief Edward Pitta told the press:  “The first company came on the scene and there was really no indication of a fire.  They were starting to go inside the building to check what may have caused the alarms and then all of a sudden the conditions worsened very, very quickly.”

WCVB-TV

Fire companies from Chelmsford and Tewksbury assisted Lowell on the fire.

One of the injured civilians is in critical condition after leaping from a 4th-floor window to escape.  In addition to the injured residents, two firefighters were hurt trying to rescue the man who perished in the blaze.

The building is rendered structurally unsound and will be demolished after investigators finish gathering evidence.

NECN has filed this video report later this morning:

The Boston Globe has MORE.

Posted by on October 10, 2010 • Filed under: fire, Fires, rescue, Rescues • Tagged: ,

4-Alarm Dumpster Fire

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A FIRE STARTED MONDAY NIGHT IN (OR NEXT TO) A DUMPSTER placed behind the Torrington Country Club in Goshen, Connecticut.  The ballroom’s fire alarm was triggered at 10:30 pm and when the FD arrived the fire had climbed the outside wall and gotten into the attic area of the clubhouse.

WTNH-TV

Calling for mutual aid immediately, the Goshen FD went to work cutting off the fire spread in the attic and made what the fire chief called “a great stop” on it.  While there was an estimated half-million dollars of damage, they did effectively save the building.  About 75 firefighters attended the blaze.

WTNH-TV Ch. 8 filed this video report from the scene this morning:

The fire was knocked down in about three hours and the last units left the scene around 6:30 this morning (Tuesday).

Register Citizen photo of the point of origin.

Approximately 15 years ago the entire  clubhouse burned down.

The Register Citizen has MORE.

Posted by on September 28, 2010 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: , , ,

Heat Fells 5 FF’s at Ohio 4-Bagger

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A MULTI-ALARM FIRE IN A CINCINNATI SUBURB led to five firefighters needing treatment for heat-related injuries Friday.

WKRC-TV

A fire on the balcony of a Union Township apartment building spread upward and had units on three floors involved when the FD arrived.  The outside temperature had a heat-index that exceeded 100º and extra alarms were struck for additional manpower.  Before the fire was knocked down, five firefighters were transported including one that passed out inside the fire building and had to be carried out by his colleagues.

Cincinnati Enquirer

WCPO-TV Ch. 9 filed this video report on the injuries:

The fire was discovered around 10 am by an off-duty firefighter who was doing some maintenance work for the apartment complex when he noticed smoke coming from under the eaves of the roof and called in the alarm.

Cincinnati Enquirer

The fire began on a 2nd-floor balcony when the tenant was using “Tiki torches” to ward off mosquitoes.  The fire leapfrogged up the balconies above it and when the fire reached the 4th-floor it heated a gas grill propane tank causing it to vent.  The fire took off then and got into the attic area.  Altogether 11 apartment units were destroyed and half of the building has been condemned by the building inspector.

WLWT-TV Ch. 5 provided this video report:

The Cincinnati Enquirer has a 16-image photo gallery HERE.

Posted by on August 14, 2010 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: ,

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.

walnut a cctimes

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. 

walnut c cbs

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.

Posted by on March 14, 2010 • Filed under: fire, Fires • Tagged: , ,

Fire Ravages CTV Network News Studios

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A FIRE ON SUNDAY MORNING DESTROYED A MAJOR PORTION of the CTV television network newsrooms in Ottawa, Ontario. 

CTV a ctv ottawa

CTV Ottawa

The fire was first detected at 4:30 am on the 2nd-floor and has caused at least $2.5 million in damage.  The network spokeman says that the number could go much higher because of the high value of some of the equipment.  In addition, most of the news archives was destroyed.

Seventy firefighters worked the 4-alarm fire bringing it under control in about two hours. District Fire Chief Jim Corrigan said, “We managed to contain the fire to the second-story of the building. However, smoke migration made it to the fifth floor.”

CTV has two other broadcast facilities in Ottawa and will be able to continue broadcasting their news programming from one of those.  The network is trucking in replacement equipment from their facilities in Montreal, Toronto, and Saskatchewan.

The Canadian Press provided a bit of background history of the network’s early days:

CJOH TV, which signed on back on March 12, 1961, broadcast the first “Question Period” and was home to shows such as “You Can’t Do That on Television” – which was Alanis Morissette’s first television show – “The Galloping Gourmet”, “The Amazing Kreskin,” as well as two soap operas.

The late ABC “World News Tonight” anchor Peter Jennings started his professional career with CJOH TV during its early years, where he anchored local newscasts and hosted a teen dance show, “Saturday Date.”

CTV’s own report on the fire along with some videos is HERE.

ctv b ctv ottawa

CTV Ottawa

Posted by on February 7, 2010 • Filed under: fire, Fires • Tagged: , , ,

What a Pal!

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 FOUR APARTMENTS WERE COMPLETELY DESTROYED IN GRAPEVINE, TEXAS, Friday night when a 4-alarm fire ripped through the center of a building with a common attic.  A 31-yr.-old man who was visiting a family in the complex decided that he would help bring some smouldering embers in a fireplace back to life by pouring some gasoline on them. 

It worked. The fire roared back to life and instantly involved the entire living room of the apartment, leaving scant time for the family to run for their lives.  Within moments the fire was roaring through the building and the first-in units escalated the response in order to get a quick start on containment because of the common loft.

A total of 75 firefighters from 8 departments fought the blaze.  KDFW-TV Ch. 4 has this video report:

Posted by on December 13, 2009 • Filed under: fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: , ,