VIDEO: The St. Louis Fire Department will test drone technology to see how it could be incorporated into its operations. According to officials, the department will conduct a 30-day evaluation to determine how the technology can support emergency response efforts.

Officials hope to gain a better understanding of the technology’s capabilities, limitations and potential impact on decision-making. During the trial, the department will evaluate how aerial data could assist firefighters at various incidents, including fires, hazardous materials incidents and rescue operations.

St. Louis Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson said the aerial imagery provides vital real-time information to responding fire companies before they arrive at a scene. “Watch the drone go to the scene. Most of the times, the drone beats the firetrucks there,” Jenkerson said.

The department currently operates four drones, which are controlled by four pilots. Two drones are stationed at firehouse number 4, and two are located at Kennerly Avenue and Whittier Street.

Jenkerson said the heated and cooled automated units deploy across the city depending on the incident, including structure fires and responses along the river. “The information we have gotten from these drones prior to the companies arriving on the scene, it’s been more than we thought it would be,” Jenkerson said.

KTVI-TV FOX 2 St. Louis

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A massive fire in the south suburbs ended with no reported deaths or injuries on Saturday. The fire broke out at a business and residential building near 127th Street and Western Avenue in Blue Island.

“All of a sudden, you just seen the fire and you just seen a whoosh, and [then] big flames just start shooting out of the top,” neighbor Sidney Brown said.

Brown and others said the brick building at the corner of Western Avenue and Union Street housed several businesses, including a locksmith and a pet groomer, with four apartments above. Much of the building is now destroyed.

“By the time the fire department came, that’s when it got really bad, and they couldn’t get to the dog,” neighbor Catrina Robinson said.Robinson said her friends were some of the residents. They were not inside, but their dog was in its cage.

WLS-TV ABC 7 Chicago

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VIDEO: A fire that displaced 15 residents from an apartment complex near Everett late Saturday night is now under criminal investigation, according to a member of the Snohomish County Fire Marshal’s Office. South County Fire teams responded to HighGrove Apartments on Admiralty Way around 10:45 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31. The complex is located north of Stickney Lake in Snohomish County.

When firefighters arrived, they found a mother and her infant trapped on a fourth-floor balcony, officials said. Crews quickly extinguished the flames and safely led the mother and child out of the building, according to South County Fire spokesperson Brian Clark. Firefighters reported no injuries.

Fire teams were able to contain the flames to an exterior hallway, preventing the fire from spreading inside any apartments, but the building itself sustained significant damage. Smoke and water damage displaced tenants from six units.

KING-TV NBC 5 Seattle

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PHOTOS: A recreational vehicle (RV) caught fire late Tuesday morning under a car wash bay in Tacoma, spreading into the building’s roof before crews quickly knocked it down.

Tacoma Fire Department crews responded at 11:46 a.m. to the 1200 block of South Sprague Avenue, where an RV was burning under a self-serve car wash bay.

The department said the fire spread to the building’s roof, but crews extinguished it in about 15 minutes. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, though Tacoma police reported it was accidental.

KOMO-TV ABC 4 Seattle

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A semi-truck hauling bananas caught fire along northbound Interstate 5 in Tacoma Friday morning, snarling traffic for hours as crews dealt with the aftermath.

The fire broke out in the rear of the trailer around 5:20 a.m. in the northbound lanes of I-5, not far from the Puyallup River Bridge.

The driver was able to quickly disconnect the cab and pull away from the burning trailer, according to the Washington State Patrol. No one was hurt.

KOMO-TV ABC 4 Seattle

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