Scott County supervisors approved new bright yellow designs for ambulances to enhance visibility and safety, while existing ambulances will retain their current designs.

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PHOTOS: Multiple fire departments worked to put out a massive fire at the closed Georgia-Pacific plant in Emporia. The heat from the blaze on Thursday night could be felt across the city according to residents online. Residents were also encouraged to check on their own properties as embers blow in the wind.

The plywood plant at 634 Davis Street abruptly closed last May. A former employee familiar with the building tells 12 On Your Side the fire started on the side of the building after a leftover pile of materials caught on fire. The Greensville Volunteer Fire Department got to the facility around 6:30 p.m. on Thursday.

Volunteer fire departments from Emporia, Dolphin, Lawrenceville, and more worked overnight to calm the blaze. Fire Chief Jeff Rowlings of the Greensville Volunteer Fire Department said among their biggest concerns were the propane tanks around the facility.

Although several propane tanks did explode, crews did not have to evacuate, according to Rowlings. The blaze also caused brush fires along Highway 58 near the plant’s blaze. Rowlings said there were around 10-12 brush fires crews had to put out, stretching as far as two miles away from the plant.

WWBT-TV NBC 12 Richmond

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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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