The ceiling of the sleeping quarters in Topeka (KS) Fire Department’s Fire Station 7 partially collapsed Tuesday, according to a report in cjonline.com, though no injuries were reported and the station remains able to respond to calls.

The report said that the hole was originally about five feet by eight feet when first noticed on Monday, but has grown since a crew began repairs. A contractor will be hired to fix the ceiling, the report said.

Officials noted that a water leak may be the culprit and it’s possible other issues are at hand at Station 7, which was built in 1937.

Bluefield (WV) Fire Department’s Station 3 has received a $100,000 renovation that officials say will make it safer and reduce response time, according to a report in WVNSTV.com.

Built in the 1970s, Station 3 had fallen into such bad shape that it was on the verge of being shut down by the city, according to the report. Following two years of planning, it is now “a safe and clean place for Bluefield firefighters”—no more black mold or leaking.

Officials said the revamping would cut down response time “from six or seven minutes to two or three minutes.”

Crews responded to a 3-alarm brush fire around 4:00 pm Thursday that began near the 1200 block of Little Butte Ranch Road west of Chelan. Firefighters arrived to find a 1-2 acre fire burning in grass and light brush being driven uphill by the wind. Chelan Fire and Rescue Chief Mark Donnell said the cause of the blaze was a property owner trying to do the right thing by burning brush and vegetation to clear a defensible space.
- PUB DATE: 4/9/2021 3:47:33 AM - SOURCE: KPQ-AM 560 Wenatchee

One person was killed and eight people were hurt in an explosion and second-alarm fire at an Ohio paint plant early Thursday. About 40 employees were working just after midnight when the blast occurred in one of five buildings on Yenkin-Majestic Paint's campus in Columbus, officials said. While most of the employees came out of the building as firefighters arrived on the scene, authorities learned two were trapped, according to Columbus Division of Fire Battalion Chief Steve Martin.
- PUB DATE: 4/9/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NBC News

PHOTOS: An 18-wheeler pulled up in front of Coker Volunteer Fire Department on Thursday laden with a mountain of firefighting gear donated by departments in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. The gear represents a windfall of equipment that many of the volunteer departments in West Alabama never would have been able to afford to purchase.
- PUB DATE: 4/9/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Tuscaloosa News