Six firefighters were injured, including one seriously, while fighting a blaze in Queens on Thursday. FDNY officials say the fire broke out around 6:45 p.m. in a vacant, two-story rectory, then spread to a vacant church next door. Both are over 100 years old.

Officials say 84 units and 270 fire and EMS personnel responded to the five-alarm fire. A thick wall of smoke swallowed the neighborhood as the firefighters tried to knock down the raging flames, but the flames were relentless.

Debris rained down on top of New York’s Bravest after part of the roof collapsed. Six firefighters suffered non-life-threatening injuries, including a firefighter who was struck in the head by falling debris from the collapse. He is conscious and alert, and is expected to be OK.

“Once the fire gets into these old churches behind the walls and into the roof space, it’s very difficult to extinguish, and there was major collapse danger to our members,” said FDNY Chief of Fire Operations Kevin Woods.

WABC-TV ABC 7 New York City

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VIDEO: A North Carolina diver found a firefighter’s gold necklace after he lost it in Myrtle Beach. Firefighter Marshall Marler and his wife, Shannon, were on their annual trip to Ocean Lakes Family Campground earlier in April.

Marshall took off his necklace to put on some sunscreen, but he forgot to put it back on before leaving the beach. “I called her, and I was like, ‘You didn’t, by chance, happen to put my necklace in your bag, did you?’” Marshall said. “She was like, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ So, I was like, ‘Well, it’s probably in the sand.’”

So, Shannon posted in an Ocean Lakes Facebook group, hoping someone would find the necklace. “I put it out there, just in hopes,” Shannon said. “He was just like, ‘It’s gone. I’m done. I don’t want to talk about it. I’m sad.’ I just felt like, ‘Hey, it’s worth a shot.’”

Recovery specialist John Connor, who loves diving and metal detecting for what he calls “treasure,” saw that post. He drove all the way from Calabash, North Carolina, to Myrtle Beach to help Marshall.

Connor searched for hours, in the middle of the night and into the morning, until he went closer to the water. “Right at the water’s edge, it was just a dusting over,” Connor said. “Anybody could’ve kicked it, and it would’ve shined right out into the sun.”

WGHP-TV FOX 8 Greensboro

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PHOTOS: A fiery crash shut down southbound U.S. Highway 281 near Evans Thursday evening. All southbound lanes were closed, but have since reopened.

One driver was pulled from a vehicle and taken to University Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The other driver was pronounced dead at the scene after their vehicle caught fire.

The crash happened just before 7 p.m. Investigators believe alcohol may have been a factor. A police sergeant at the scene said a truck towing another truck was traveling in the far-left lane when it struck a safety barrier, causing both vehicles to overturn and catch fire.

Witnesses reported hearing honking moments before the crash and told authorities they believe road rage may have played a role.

WOAI-TV NBC/CW 4 San Antonio

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VIDEO: A man broke into the Boistfort fire station in Curtis late Wednesday and stole several pieces of equipment, according to the Boistfort Firefighters Association. The break-in happened April 22 between about 10 p.m. and 10:25 p.m. at the station at 997 Boistfort Road in Lewis County. Chief Turner said the stolen items include a TNT 7 3/4-inch Brute Force C-Cutter, a TNT 28-inch Spreader and a Stihl K12 saw. The association said video from cameras inside the station captured the man inside the building.

KING-TV NBC 5 Seattle

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Washington has fully restored $60 million in wildfire preparedness funding that was cut last year, Commissioner of Public Lands Dave Upthegrove said, calling it a critical investment as the state heads into another fire season amid a fourth consecutive year of drought. The legislature slashed the Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) wildfire preparedness budget from $120 million to $60 million shortly after Upthegrove took office in 2025. He spent the past year lobbying lawmakers across the state to reverse the cut.

“I made it my mission,” Upthegrove told “Seattle’s Morning News.” “I spent a lot of time up and down the I-5 corridor making the case that wildfire prevention and response is a core public safety function of government that even in tough budget times, you need to do the basics.” The restored funding will go toward grants for local fire departments, aviation resources, staffing, and forest health work aimed at reducing fuel loads. Upthegrove argued the investment is far cheaper than suppression costs, pointing to the $300 million the state spent fighting wildfires last year during what he described as a fairly modest season.

KIRO-TV CBS 7 Seattle

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