VIDEO/PHOTOS: Multiple couches, hay bales and other furniture met an early demise as students lit more than 40 fires across Ann Arbor after Michigan basketball’s national championship win Monday night.

Hundreds of students took over South University Avenue and nearby streets shortly after 11 p.m., April 6 to set off fireworks and climb anything they could find: light poles, shoulders, trees and fences, included.

The Wolverines‘ title, clinched in a 69-63 win over Connecticut in Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium, is the second in program history and their first since 1989.

Celebrating throngs quickly moved outward into surrounding neighborhoods, dispersing into groups of students darting across darkened streets to the next party. And it didn’t take long for a soundtrack of cheering coeds and jovial car honking to have a new instrument join the medley – the wail of fire trucks.

One of the first fires came roughly 20 minutes after the Wolverine win. By 12:30 a.m., students showed no signs of slowing down, per Mike Kennedy, chief of the Ann Arbor Fire Department.

Firefighters blared their horns at cars and pedestrians alike as they rushed from one intersection to the next. Most of the fire appeared to be pieces of furniture.

Mlive.com

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Crews battled a massive fire at an abandoned chemical factory for several hours overnight in Paterson, New Jersey. Smoke continued to pour out of the rubble throughout the day Saturday.

The flames, which began around 11:30 p.m., burned through the old facility on Piercy St. near Presidential Blvd. and the Passaic River, also damaging power lines that caused some people nearby to lose electricity.

“I was about to go to bed and looked out the window, saw the flames, felt the heat,” neighbor Ramon Pacheco told NBC New York, about the fire that also threatened nearby homes. “Just woke the wife up and the kids, and you just got out (of) the house before anything happened.”

Paterson Deputy Fire Chief Michael Cleenput says the factory has likely been abandoned for about two decades. “We had one operational hydrant and severe low water pressure. So, that took a while to really overcome and get an effective firefight here,” he said.

Other fire departments were called in to help battle the 5-alarm fire. “We were surprised to find out that after all the years of this building being vacant, that there was a live gas feed,” said Cleenput. Crews were eventually able to shut down the gas feed.

WNBC-TV NBC 4 New York City

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VIDEO/PHOTOS: Two fire chiefs who were searching for a missing Berks County woman while riding on a UTV were struck and killed by a man who was driving under the influence, police said.

Fire Chief Jeffory L. Buck and Assistant Fire Chief Robert R. Shick, Jr., of the Walnuttown Fire Company, were driving in the UTV northbound on the shoulder of Kutztown Road in Richmond Township, Pennsylvania, shortly before 6 p.m. on Saturday when a Toyota Camry was seen by witnesses swerving while going southbound, police said.

Officials said the Camry swerved off of the road and hit the UTV head-on. The two firefighters died from their injuries, according to police. “You don’t really prepare yourself for an incident like this,” Walnuttown Fire and Rescue Lieutenant Ryan Tyson said. “Let alone two at the same time.”

NBC10 crews at the scene saw a red-colored off-roading vehicle on its side in the middle of the roadway and a gray-colored sedan with extensive damage off the side of the road.

WCAU-TV NBC 10 Philadelphia

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A truck driver was critically injured overnight after the 18-wheeler he was driving crashed, knocking down power lines before catching fire, police said.

Officers responded to a crash around 1 a.m. on Sunday, April 5, at a Valero gas station located at 13900 Trinity Boulevard, the Fort Worth Police Department said in a press release. The crash involved a car and an 18-wheeler carrying 9,000 gallons of gasoline, the release states.

Powerlines were knocked over in the crash, causing the 18-wheeler to catch fire, police said. The driver of the 18-wheeler attempted to stop gasoline from leaking and draining in the gas station parking lot, but the fire spread to the gasoline, causing it to ignite, police said. The driver was taken to a hospital in critical condition, according to the press release.

The fire burned for hours overnight as fire crews worked to spray the tanker with water to keep it cool, the release states. Firefighters also used foam to fight the fire, and sand trucks were used to prevent the foam from running off, police say. Crews fought the fire for six hours, leaving the scene at 7 a.m., according to the release.

WFAA-TV ABC 8 Dallas

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There’s heavy equipment across every corner of the Fire Engine and Motorcoach Museum in East Windsor. “We have a collection of 15 antique firetrucks and eight vintage buses,” said museum president John Gasper. As the country is recognizing its 250th birthday, Gasper is quick to point out that the collection at the museum plays a vital role in firefighting history and, additionally, Connecticut history.

“The engines are like apple pie, it’s Americana. A lot of people relate to the stuff here,” said Gasper, who then laughed, “Who doesn’t love a firetruck?” Gasper noted that the museum collection dates back 100 years, to one engine from 1926 to the most “recent”: a firetruck from 1975.

“We want to preserve the state of Connecticut firefighting and bus service, and also fire safety for kids, and bring these vehicles to kids in the community so they can get exposed to the history,” he said. Aside from visitors seeing the engines and vintage buses, the volunteers at the nonprofit museum also bring their treasured keepsakes to events like parades and public events.

WTIC-TV FOX 61 Hartford

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