Crews battled a massive fire at an abandoned chemical factory for several hours overnight in Paterson, New Jersey. Smoke continued to pour out of the rubble throughout the day Saturday.

The flames, which began around 11:30 p.m., burned through the old facility on Piercy St. near Presidential Blvd. and the Passaic River, also damaging power lines that caused some people nearby to lose electricity.

“I was about to go to bed and looked out the window, saw the flames, felt the heat,” neighbor Ramon Pacheco told NBC New York, about the fire that also threatened nearby homes. “Just woke the wife up and the kids, and you just got out (of) the house before anything happened.”

Paterson Deputy Fire Chief Michael Cleenput says the factory has likely been abandoned for about two decades. “We had one operational hydrant and severe low water pressure. So, that took a while to really overcome and get an effective firefight here,” he said.

Other fire departments were called in to help battle the 5-alarm fire. “We were surprised to find out that after all the years of this building being vacant, that there was a live gas feed,” said Cleenput. Crews were eventually able to shut down the gas feed.

WNBC-TV NBC 4 New York City

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VIDEO/PHOTOS: Two fire chiefs who were searching for a missing Berks County woman while riding on a UTV were struck and killed by a man who was driving under the influence, police said.

Fire Chief Jeffory L. Buck and Assistant Fire Chief Robert R. Shick, Jr., of the Walnuttown Fire Company, were driving in the UTV northbound on the shoulder of Kutztown Road in Richmond Township, Pennsylvania, shortly before 6 p.m. on Saturday when a Toyota Camry was seen by witnesses swerving while going southbound, police said.

Officials said the Camry swerved off of the road and hit the UTV head-on. The two firefighters died from their injuries, according to police. “You don’t really prepare yourself for an incident like this,” Walnuttown Fire and Rescue Lieutenant Ryan Tyson said. “Let alone two at the same time.”

NBC10 crews at the scene saw a red-colored off-roading vehicle on its side in the middle of the roadway and a gray-colored sedan with extensive damage off the side of the road.

WCAU-TV NBC 10 Philadelphia

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A truck driver was critically injured overnight after the 18-wheeler he was driving crashed, knocking down power lines before catching fire, police said.

Officers responded to a crash around 1 a.m. on Sunday, April 5, at a Valero gas station located at 13900 Trinity Boulevard, the Fort Worth Police Department said in a press release. The crash involved a car and an 18-wheeler carrying 9,000 gallons of gasoline, the release states.

Powerlines were knocked over in the crash, causing the 18-wheeler to catch fire, police said. The driver of the 18-wheeler attempted to stop gasoline from leaking and draining in the gas station parking lot, but the fire spread to the gasoline, causing it to ignite, police said. The driver was taken to a hospital in critical condition, according to the press release.

The fire burned for hours overnight as fire crews worked to spray the tanker with water to keep it cool, the release states. Firefighters also used foam to fight the fire, and sand trucks were used to prevent the foam from running off, police say. Crews fought the fire for six hours, leaving the scene at 7 a.m., according to the release.

WFAA-TV ABC 8 Dallas

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PHOTOS: A fire broke out at Ferrucci Junior High School in Puyallup Saturday morning, according to Central Pierce Fire and Rescue. Authorities said a backup battery system short-circuited and melted in a small electrical room in the campus’s new wing. Fire marshals are still investigating what caused the battery failure. No one was inside the school at the time of the fire. Fire alarms and the school’s sprinkler system were promptly activated, preventing the fire from spreading further, officials said.

“That room could’ve completely caught fire, but the sprinkler head did its job, and the alarm activated us early,” District Chief Ron Kent said. “All of the systems worked as designed.” Kent said black smoke fills the nearby hallway, and the sprinklers also caused water damage. Puyallup School District officials confirm at least two classrooms are impacted. The wing has a total of 11 classrooms.

KOMO-TV ABC 4 Seattle

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Spokane County Fire District 9 firefighters traded their usual cat-in-tree rescue for something much larger Thursday when they helped free a 200-pound dog trapped in a creek. Riley, a 12-year-old Leonberger, found himself stuck in a ditch on his owner’s property after what appeared to be an investigation of sounds near a pond went wrong.

“He means everything to me. We have done anything and everything for this dog,” said Rosa McGuire, Riley’s owner. McGuire let Riley outside Thursday morning as part of their usual routine. When she checked on him hours later, the gentle giant had vanished.

“He must’ve heard something going on down towards the pond…and what I think he did is he started walking the creek up and he got to the point where he couldn’t get out,” McGuire said. The family attempted their own rescue mission, trying to lift Riley using a toboggan and even a tow truck winch, but the steep creek bank proved too challenging for the nearly 200-pound dog. That’s when they called Fire District 9 for assistance.

KAYU-TV FOX 28 Spokane

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