Crews battled a house fire in Cape Coral on Wednesday afternoon. Firefighters responded to a home on Southwest 26th Place shortly after noon. They confirmed that vehicles and a large amount of ammunition stored inside were destroyed. Viewer-submitted footage from the scene shows smoke and flames pouring out of the home.

According to the Cape Coral Fire Department, no one was home at the time, and a neighbor called 911 after seeing that the garage was on fire. Fire officials said multiple vehicles were in the garage, and crews kept the fire from spreading to nearby homes.

Cape Coral Fire also said the home is not a total loss, the garage was the only place affected, and the inside of the home wasn’t touched. The Lee County Electric Cooperative shut down power to the home.

The fire left neighbors shaken but relieved that the fire did not spread to nearby homes or the house itself. “I heard like a pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, and I’m like, what?” said Laurie Edwalds, a neighbor who ran outside to investigate.

Edwalds was one of several neighbors who rushed outside to see what was happening at the home. “I was literally in tears thinking somebody is losing their home, my neighbor is losing their home. And it just, it was overwhelming. I did cry,” Edwalds said.

WZVN-TV ABC 26 Naples

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The Clarion Events Fire & Rescue Group was saddened to learn of the recent passing of Bud Calkin, founder of Skedco, Inc., at the age of 88.

The post Bud Calkin, Founder of Skedco, Passes appeared first on Fire Apparatus: Fire trucks, fire engines, emergency vehicles, and firefighting equipment.

VIDEO: When someone gets lost or hurt in the rugged terrain of western Washington, every minute counts.

Now, Seattle Mountain Rescue is testing technology that could shave critical time off a response: wearable exoskeletons that power a rescuer’s legs through the mountains.

The team is one of only two in the country using the devices — made by the company HyperShell — on actual missions.

In just the past month, the exoskeletons have already been deployed three times in the field.

“If we can get to a subject a half an hour or an hour earlier, that could mean the difference between a positive and a negative outcome,” said Wes Cooper, advanced technology director for Seattle Mountain Rescue.

The device straps around a rescuer’s waist and legs.

Once on, it senses the wearer’s movement, anticipates their next step and adds mechanical power in sync with every stride — reducing fatigue and helping small teams cover more ground, even in terrain where other tools like e-bikes cannot go.

KING-TV NBC 5 Seattle

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VIDEO/PHOTOS: A new set of murals is giving the El Paso Fire Department’s downtown station a fresh look — and a public tribute to the firefighters who serve the city.

El Paso muralist Babak Tavakoli painted five murals on 30-foot walls at the fire station on South Florence Street. Tavakoli said the department asked that its special teams be represented throughout the artwork.

“They wanted all of their special teams represented in this mural and various parts. So that’s really what it is, is like each team and what they do and kind of in an artistic way, put it on the wall,” Tavakoli said. “I want to make sure that whenever you’re looking at these scenes, you know, oh, you’re in El Paso.”

Tavakoli said he worked local elements into the murals, including “local wildlife, local scenery, landmarks,” aiming for details that “are not too cliche but definitely clue you in. This is El Paso.”

He also said the project was meant to honor firefighters and their work.

KFOX-TV FOX 14 El Paso

The post Muralist paints five 30-foot murals honoring firefighters at Texas fire station appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

VIDEO: When someone gets lost or hurt in the rugged terrain of western Washington, every minute counts.

Now, Seattle Mountain Rescue is testing technology that could shave critical time off a response: wearable exoskeletons that power a rescuer’s legs through the mountains.

The team is one of only two in the country using the devices — made by the company HyperShell — on actual missions.

In just the past month, the exoskeletons have already been deployed three times in the field.

“If we can get to a subject a half an hour or an hour earlier, that could mean the difference between a positive and a negative outcome,” said Wes Cooper, advanced technology director for Seattle Mountain Rescue.

The device straps around a rescuer’s waist and legs.

Once on, it senses the wearer’s movement, anticipates their next step and adds mechanical power in sync with every stride — reducing fatigue and helping small teams cover more ground, even in terrain where other tools like e-bikes cannot go.

KING-TV NBC 5 Seattle

The post Seattle Mountain Rescue deploys exoskeletons as second team in U.S. to use the tech appeared first on Daily Dispatch.