Three homes were evacuated and one resident was hospitalized as a fire tore through multiple homes on Hope Road early Friday morning. Crews battled flames and heavy smoke as the fire spread, prompting commanding officers to escalate the blaze to three alarms. Firefighters from several towns, including Garfield, Clifton, Rutherford, Paterson and Carlstadt, responded to assist the Passaic Fire Department.

Passaic Mayor Hector Lora told News 12 that residents from 158, 160 and 164 Hope Ave. were evacuated, and one resident was transported to a hospital for smoke inhalation. A total of nine people from four apartments were displaced as a result of the fire, the mayor said. Lora added that a 7-month-old baby who also resided in the home was evacuated and is doing fine.

The Red Cross is assisting the displaced residents with emergency housing and other necessities, Lora said. Ladders stretched to the top of the main building on fire, and firefighters could be seen on the roof trying to bring the blaze under control. Police closed multiple roads in the area near the fire, routing traffic away from the scene.

News 12 New Jersey

The post VIDEOS: Residents evacuated as fire rips through homes in New Jersey appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

VIDEO/PHOTOS: Several Spokane County, Washington, firefighters went above and beyond to help an elderly couple after several inches of snow fell overnight. When firefighters responded to a medical emergency at the elderly couple’s home, they could have up and left once the job was finished, but that’s not what happened.

Local first responders were called in just after 4 a.m. on Thursday after several inches of snow fell in the Spokane area overnight. After first responders treated the patient and brought her to the hospital, the husband tried to leave the house to meet his wife, but was quickly met with an obstacle — their snow-covered driveway. In an instant, several firefighters from Spokane Fire District 8 dropped what they were doing to shovel.

KAYU-TV FOX 28 Spokane

The post Firefighters shovel snow-covered driveway to help elderly couple in Spokane County appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

VIDEO: After more than 170 grueling hours of training and tests, Emily Gindele graduated from the entry-level firefighter program as a West Whiteland Fire Company volunteer firefighter on Wednesday night. “I never thought I would see this day,” said the 26-year-old from Exton, Pa.

“I’m so excited I can finally do it. After the accident, I was definitely kind of hopeless and thought that I would never get to this point, but I’m here. I did it, and I worked really hard to get here.” It’s a miraculous dream come true for Gindele after a car crash left her critically injured and killed her boyfriend, 25-year-old Colin Reedy, two years ago.

Both of the volunteer firefighters were responding to a call at the time. “It was hard. I went through a lot. My body went through a lot. I still feel pain every day. I still have cognitive issues,” said Gindele. Despite her brain injury, broken bones, stroke and heartache, Gindele wanted to prove to herself she could accomplish her original goal. “I did everything that I could to be like everybody else,” said Gindele.

WPVI-TV ABC 6 Philadelphia

The post Pennsylvania firefighter fulfills dream after crash that killed boyfriend appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

VIDEO: Fire departments across Central Texas are preparing to implement mandatory annual cancer screenings for firefighters under a new state law aimed at detecting health issues early. The Wade Cannon Act requires all paid fire departments in Texas to provide annual cancer screenings for employees. Departments have until June 1 to implement the screenings.

“Cancer has always been an issue for firefighters,” said District 54 Representative Pat Curry. “And on top of that, if they’re not getting the annual physicals and they’re not available to them, that can be a real problem.” Hewitt Fire Chief Jonathan Christian said firefighters face constant exposure to carcinogens during emergency calls. “Every time we go into a fire, we come out with all the carcinogens and smoke. It penetrates everything,” Christian said. “We get exposed to a lot.”

Curry said firefighters often encounter unknown hazards during structure fires. “They go out into the middle of these fires, and they don’t know that this house happens to have a bunch of paint or different chemicals in it,” Curry said. “And all of a sudden the garage catches on fire and things start exploding, and they’re breathing in something that could easily give them cancer or kill them.”

KWTX-TV CBS 10 Waco

The post Texas firefighters to receive mandatory cancer screenings under new law appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

A fire at Green Mountain Elementary School Wednesday morning cancelled school for the day. Central Kitsap Fire & Rescue announced in a statement Jan. 7 they received a call for a commercial structure fire at the school around 7 a.m., when an HVAC unit caught fire and caused smoke to spread throughout the building. The fire activated the sprinkler system, which contained the flames to one room. According to CKF&R, firefighters at the scene ensured the fire was extinguished and worked to clear the smoke from the building.

Kitsap Sun-Metered source

The post HVAC unit catches fire, cancels classes at Green Mountain Elementary, Kitsap County appeared first on Daily Dispatch.