PHOTOS: A massive fire broke out at a vacant church in Pittsburgh’s Mount Washington neighborhood on Tuesday evening.

The former Grandview United Presbyterian Church near Grandview Avenue and Kearsarge Street caught fire around 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

Smoke billowing high into the sky from the 3-alarm fire was seen from numerous spots in Downtown Pittsburgh.

Views of the Pittsburgh skyline showed a plume of smoke above buildings in Downtown, as Pittsburgh firefighters worked on the ground on Mount Washington to contain the fire.

The fire drew onlookers who watched as crews battled the smoke and flames. Pittsburgh Public Safety asked people to avoid the area as the fire ripped through the church.

The fire was brought under control just before 9 p.m. However, crews were expected to remain overnight to monitor hotspots.

“One of the big things is the size of this structure and the complexity of this structure,” Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire Assistant Chief Matthew Davis said.

CBS News Pittsburgh

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VIDEO: When firefighters battle a blaze, they count on an important tool to knock down the flames. “The fire doesn’t go out until you have the fire hose spraying water out of it,” Fishers firefighter Scott Carr said. But when those fire hoses get old, they are retired.

“Fire hose has typically been thrown away in the past,” Fishers firefighter Rob Demlow said. “We had it laying around the firehouse back in 2018. It was getting ready to be thrown in the trash. We decided to come up with a different idea for it,” Carr said.

“We had a flag there. We wanted to replace it with something we thought was pretty cool,” Demlow said. So, they got old fire hoses and went to work. Their creative juices started flowing. The guys found a patriotic purpose for something that would have been thrown away and created a flag out of retired fire hoses.

When people caught wind of the flag art, orders came pouring in. The guys kept creating. “The couplings, those are pretty obvious. That shows that it’s actually the fire hose,” Demlow said as he works on a flag.

Flag after flag after flag — 160 so far and counting. The flags are now in businesses, bars and fire departments across the country. All of them are made of retired fire hoses. The two firefighters have created a nonprofit called Brotherhood Designs.

WTHR-TV NBC 13 Indianapolis

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Sacramento fire officials are taking a new approach to cracking down on illegal fireworks, using drones to identify violators and issue hefty fines in an effort to improve public safety.

This Fourth of July marked the first time the Sacramento Fire Department deployed its own drones and certified operators to monitor illegal fireworks activity across the city. Officials say the aircraft provided a bird’s-eye view, allowing crews to trace fireworks back to the exact property where they were launched.

The drones captured high-resolution video that investigators can use as evidence when issuing citations.

“We can record in very high quality with our drones. They’re very sophisticated drones,” said Sacramento Fire Captain Justin Sylvia. “We can record all that evidence and we can place on a Google map exactly what house it was.”

One of the department’s most significant enforcement actions involved a home in Del Paso Heights, where drone footage helped identify the source of illegal fireworks. Fire officials later issued a $100,000 citation tied to that location.

On the Fourth of July alone, Sacramento Fire issued 70 citations totaling approximately $300,000 in fines, according to the department.

Officials say this is a significant change from last year, when the department relied on drone operators provided by TNT Fireworks. By operating its own drone program, Sacramento Fire says it has greater flexibility during one of the busiest nights of the year while strengthening its ability to document violations.

CBS News Sacramento

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Engine 74 is a 2022 Pierce WUI pumper. This rig was a first for the department, addressing the department's needs in the wildland interface resulting from significant growth.

The post Rig Review: Howell Township (NJ) WUI Pumper appeared first on Fire Apparatus: Fire trucks, fire engines, emergency vehicles, and firefighting equipment.

As wildfires continue to threaten parts of the Yakima Valley, the Roza Irrigation District is taking steps to ensure its water system can withstand potential fire-related damage and support firefighting efforts. Officials with the district say wildfires pose a real threat to critical electrical and water infrastructure that serves the region’s agricultural community. To address this risk, the Roza Irrigation District has developed emergency plans designed to help the system respond if it becomes impacted by fire.

Beyond protecting its own operations, the district plays an active role in supporting firefighting efforts across the valley. The district works closely with fire crews during wildfires, allowing firefighting helicopters to fill their buckets from the Roza main canal and ponds on Roza Farms. Water tanker trucks can also quickly refill from district canals to help battle fast-moving fires.

“We spend a fair amount of time doing emergency contingency planning. We have been preparing for a variety of contingencies over many, many years. We’re able to operate the system manually if we have to,” said Scott Revell, district manager for the Roza Irrigation District.

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