VIDEO: Lee Ryan and Will Grow met about 16 years ago as research volunteers at the Fireman’s Hall Museum in Old City. They are united in their mission to preserve the past. “We go all the way back to Ben Franklin and the Union Fire Company,” says Will Grow, volunteer researcher for the Fireman’s Hall Museum.

And by their brotherhood in the fire service. “I was a volunteer firefighter in Oaklyn, New Jersey,” says Lee Ryan, volunteer researcher with the Fireman’s Hall Museum. “I’m the vice president of the fire department.” He’s been a member of the Oaklyn Fire Department for 59 years, serving in various roles, including chief in the 1980s. Grow was a Philadelphia firefighter for 30 years, retiring in 2016 as a lieutenant.

“I spent most of my career at Engine 16 over in West Philly. I got promoted and then every three years rotated to a different company,” says Grow. Their work is important to the museum’s overall mission. “We are not only giving positive fire prevention messages, but we’re telling the history of the fire service,” says Brian Anderson, firefighter and curator at the Fireman’s Hall Museum. “We tell the story of firefighting in Philadelphia.”

WPVI-TV ABC 6 Philadelphia

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The flames die down. The sirens fade. Firefighters peel off their gear, thinking the danger has passed. But in the quiet aftermath, another enemy lingers, an invisible film of “forever chemicals” clinging to jackets, pants and masks.

Researchers at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, have developed a way to see what the eye cannot. A simple wipe test reveals per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) on protective gear without damaging it.

Published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials, the study, completed in partnership with senior co-author Natalia Soares Quinete, Ph.D., a researcher at Florida International University, offers a practical tool to help firefighters reduce exposure to chemicals linked to cancer.

“Think of it as turning on a blacklight in a dark room,” said Alberto Caban-Martinez, Ph.D., D.O., M.P.H., deputy director and investigator at Sylvester’s Firefighter Cancer Initiative (FCI). “Suddenly, you see what’s been hiding all along.”

University of Miami – Miller School of Medicine

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The Seattle Fire Department (SFD) evacuated buildings near Lumen Field after receiving reports of a natural gas leak. SFD posted about the incident in the 500 block of Occidental Avenue South on X at 7:14 a.m. Thursday. Firefighters started evacuating affected buildings on Occidental and limited access to the area as a safety precaution. Less than 15 minutes later, SFD said Puget Sound Energy personnel had secured the gas line. As of the time of this story’s posting, firefighters were ventilating the impacted buildings.

KOMO-TV ABC 4 Seattle

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The Everett Fire Department says that firefighters were called to a trailer in South Everett. Crews were called to a property on Nels Peters Rd. near 118th PL SE. where they found the trailer on fire around 11:30 p.m. Firefighters worked quickly to put out the fire. Thankfully, no one was inside the trailer when it caught fire. No one was injured in the fire. The trailer was completely destroyed, and one person was displaced. The Everett Fire Department says it is investigating the cause of the fire.

KIRO-TV CBS 7 Seattle

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Spokane firefighters battled a house fire that started Wednesday night after a car crashed into a home. The Spokane Fire Department says crews were dispatched just after 10 p.m. to East Courtland Avenue for a report of a car that crashed into a home. Crews were told the driver was out of the car, but one person may be inside the home. When crews arrived on scene, they found flames on the outside of the home and searched the house for people. Firefighters did not find anyone inside, and found the homeowner had safely escaped to a neighbor’s house.

During fire suppression operations, firefighters discovered the car had damaged the home’s natural gas meter. Fortunately, the system was equipped with an Excess Flow Valve that automatically shut off the gas supply, helping prevent further escalation. SFD says firefighters, along with paramedics from American Medical Response Spokane, evaluated both the driver and the homeowner and determined neither required hospital transport.

KREM-TV CBS 2 Spokane

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