PHOTOS: Six buildings caught fire in Lowell, Massachusetts, after embers from one home were blown to others amid high winds on Tuesday, the city’s fire chief said. Two firefighters were taken to the hospital.

They were being treated for for smoke inhalation and heat exhaustion, Lowell Fire Chief Phil Charron said. Firefighters from around the region came to help, from Burlington, Massachusetts, to Salem, New Hampshire.

The fire was first reported at a Bridge Street home about 2:51 p.m., and crews who arrived saw heavy flames. And the strong wind “carried fire up over the three-story building and two adjacent streets, Wachusett Street and also May Street,” Charron said, prompting some of the first crews to split up and battle new fires in Lowell’s Centralville neighborhood.

Charron called it “a very bad day, a dry day with the wind moving up the hill.” But he also noted that the wind could have carried more burning embers onto more homes.

“We’re very lucky,” Charron said. “It could have been 12, 15 buildings.” “I didn’t even have time to think, and I just ran out the back door, jumped over the fence,” said Ritaj Fadil, a resident of one of the homes.

“It’s a lot to process, because everything we own is in there,” said Shantell Nganga. Carmen Ortiz left the Bridge Street home where she has lived for 15 years minutes before the flames started.

WBTS-CD NBC 10 Boston

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VIDEO: This week, Aurora Fire Rescue launched a new program that places naloxone kits directly in the hands of overdose survivors and their loved ones.

It’s a move department officials say could mean the difference between life and death in a city where opioid overdoses have become an almost daily emergency.

The Narcan Leave-Behind Program equips every fire truck with an initial supply of five naloxone kits, funded through a state grant that provided the department with 950 kits in total.

Narcan is the brand name of naloxone, an opioid overdose reversal drug. First responders will distribute the kits to individuals who have experienced or witnessed an opioid-related overdose, along with instructions and QR codes linking to treatment resources and guidance on how to use the medication.

Dr. Eric Hill, medical director for Aurora Fire Rescue, said the program was born out of a sobering reality. In 2025, the department administered naloxone more than 500 times and responded to more than 300 suspected opioid-related overdoses.

“When you look at the, you know, the number one cause of death, certainly the preventable causes of death that we have really in our city, it’s really tied to the opioid epidemic,” Hill said. “Every single month, almost every single day, we run on these types of calls and we administer Narcan.”

KUSA-TV NBC 9 Denver

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PHOTOS: A fire destroyed a Dayton convenience store early Wednesday morning. As reported on News Center 7 Daybreak, smoke could be seen throughout Montgomery County.

Dayton firefighters responded around 4:40 a.m. to a structure at the 900 block of West Third Street.

Part of Third Street remained closed due to the fire investigation. When firefighters arrived, flames were ripping through the Tasty Bird Market on West Third Street.

News Center 7’s Xavier Hershovitz said the smoke could be seen from as far away as Kettering and Oakwood. The fire caused part of the building to collapse.

Dayton fire officials said the fire was so significant that they had to battle it from the outside. They said that the owner has been notified and is on the scene.

Fire officials believe no one was inside at the time of the fire. They told Hershovitz that firefighters were battling hotspots.

Hershovitz said that smoke has been blowing into Dayton neighborhoods. Fire officials said that an emergency demolition has been ordered.

WHIO-TV CBS 7 Dayton

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VIDEO: A fire in the 22000 block of SR243 South near Mattawa at Central Washington Wine Production Group is sending columns of smoke into the air. Crews are working to contain the fire. The facility reportedly holds 4.5 million gallons of wine. No report of injuries or risk to the public, Grant County Sheriff’s Office said in a release. Firefighters from Grant County Fire District 8, Grant County Fire District 3, Royal Slope Fire and Hanford Fire responded to the scene.

KHQ-TV NBC 6 Spokane

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After nearly 35 years in firefighting service, including eight in Yakima, the chief of the Yakima Fire Department will retire at the end of June. According to officials with the City of Yakima, Yakima Fire Department Chief Aaron Markham has announced he is retiring and his last day in the position will be on June 30. Markham has served as Yakima fire chief since June 2018. Markham’s career in fire service began in 1991, when he joined the Sunnyside Fire Department in 1991 as a firefighter and EMT.

“Aaron has served the City of Yakima and the Yakima Valley extraordinarily well over more than three decades,” said Yakima City Manager Vicki Baker in a written statement. “He has had a distinguished career in the fire service and demonstrated a deep understanding of how to administer a fire department and the complexities of providing a wide range of emergency response capabilities. His shoes will be difficult to fill.” Baker said a process is underway to find a replacement fire chief after Markham retires.

Apple Valley News Now

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