Pittsburgh (PA) had ordered 13 new fire trucks using funds pledged by healthcare nonprofits UPMC and Highmark, as the city works to replace an aging fleet.

The post Pittsburgh (PA) Fire Department Buying 13 Apparatus To Update Aging Fleet appeared first on Fire Apparatus: Fire trucks, fire engines, emergency vehicles, and firefighting equipment.

PHOTOS: Fire crews are at the scene of what was once a massive fire in downtown South Bend that sent flames high into the air. This is at the construction site for the new Stadium Flats Apartments near Four Winds Field.

The South Bend Fire Department was called out to the site just after midnight Tuesday, with several callers saying the building was engulfed and that a crane was also on fire. Firefighters were able to prevent the flames from spreading to the Diamond View Apartments and the South Bend Cubs Performance Center.

Residents in the Diamond View Apartments were evacuated. There is no word on what caused the blaze, as an investigation is underway.

WSBT-TV CBS 22 South Bend

The post VIDEOS: Apartments under construction in Indiana reduced to charred frame after massive fire appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

VIDEO: Arizona is currently home to about 100 solar farms, with several of those massive facilities operating right here in Yuma. While clean energy continues to expand across the region, fire safety experts warn that though solar-related fires are rare, they present intense, highly volatile hazards that can take days to control when they do ignite.

Just across the Arizona-California state line, firefighters battled a massive blaze Wednesday at the Mount Signal One Solar Plant. Local crews say fighting these unique electrical and chemical fires requires entirely different tactics compared to traditional structure blazes.

“Fires when they involve hazardous materials basically force us to slow down our stride,” said Cedric Cesena of the Imperial County Fire Department. “We have to ensure we are talking and looking with the technical experts who have the technical references that we can use.”

Many solar installations utilize lithium-ion batteries to store vast amounts of electricity. While highly efficient, that concentrated energy can become unstable. According to firefighters, these thermal runaway events can reach temperatures of up to 3,600 degrees Fahrenheit.

Lithium-ion battery failures have been blamed for a growing list of emergencies nationally, including golf cart, garage, car, airplane, and commercial building fires. When these chemical liquids are involved in a blaze, conventional firefighting methods do not work.

KTVK-TV CBS 3 & KPHO-TV CBS 5 Phoenix (AZ Family)

The post Why Arizona’s growing 3,600° solar blazes require entirely new firefighting tactics appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

An Auburn fire lieutenant is being praised for springing into action and driving a burning fire truck away from a gas station on Friday night. Shocking surveillance video shows the moment when Engine 4 caught fire around 7 p.m. at the Shell Station on Washington Street after a fuel line let go and sparked a fire in the engine compartments, according to the Auburn Fire Department.

That’s when officials say the lieutenant jumped into the driver’s seat and pulled the truck out from under the canopy and away from the building.

“The security video shows when he jumped out of the truck, fire followed him out of the cab,” the department said in a statement. “The other three members of the crew grabbed fire extinguishers from the gas station and extinguished the fire, as well as removing equipment from inside the cab of the truck.”

The statement continued, “The crew did a great job preventing damage to the pumps, the building, and our own equipment. One minor injury was sustained, but the member has been treated and will be OK.”

WHDH-TV 7 Boston

The post VIDEO: Firefighter drives burning fire truck away from gas station in Massachusetts appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

A single-engine plane crashed into a yard near the Frontier Air Park community in Lake Stevens, leaving the plane’s only occupant seriously injured, according to the Snohomish County Fire District #22.
Crews responded at about 6:05 p.m. to the reported crash near the 11000 block of 127th Avenue NE.

Getchell firefighters were already handling an unrelated medical call nearby when a Getchell chief officer diverted and arrived to find the aircraft in a yard adjacent to Frontier Air Park. The aircraft’s sole occupant, the pilot, was trapped and had sustained serious injuries. Neighbors provided first aid before crews arrived, and additional responding units helped extricate the victim. They were then transported to an area trauma center.

KOMO-TV ABC 4 Seattle

The post Small plane crashes in residential neighborhood in Lake Stevens appeared first on Daily Dispatch.