VIDEO/PHOTOS: Authorities have confirmed the cause of the “significant fire” that erupted at Viva Energy’s Geelong refinery overnight. The fire broke out around 11pm on Wednesday at the crucial facility, which supplies 10 per cent of Australia’s fuel and 50 per cent of the fuel used in Victoria.

Fire Rescue Victoria said it will stay at the facility “until at least tomorrow due to safety concerns,” after firefighters worked quickly to contain the blaze and prevent it spreading. FRV crews were joined by Viva’s own emergency teams, with Incident Controller Anthony Pearce describing the early stages as “very, very dangerous” with explosions occurring.

Authorities later revealed the fire was caused by a gas leak from a mechanical component. “The gas has then appeared to have ignited,” Mr Pearce said, adding the exact ignition source is still under investigation. Despite the incident, much of the refinery remains operational. “The remainder of the plant still is functioning,” Mr Pearce said, though he noted ongoing activity could still affect the damaged area.

Viva Energy representative Bill Patterson said the plant is running at reduced capacity as a precaution, but continues to produce fuel. “We’re still making petrol, diesel and jet fuel at pretty decent rates… It hasn’t been a very large impact at this stage,” he said.

News.com.au

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The custom mobile command center enhances coordination, interoperability and real-time decisionmaking capabilities.

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PHOTOS: Jeremy Renner is sitting in his Lake Tahoe kitchen in a black baseball cap and a somehow even darker tee, somberly recounting the details of the now-famed incident that left him clinging to life. On New Year’s Day in 2023, Renner was nearly killed on his Nevada property when his 14,000-pound snowcat pinned him on an icy mountain.

The “tragic accident,” as the Reno sheriff would then call it at the time, left the two-time Oscar nominee with over 30 broken bones, a collapsed lung, and a pierced liver that left him in critical but stable condition in intensive care following surgery.

The 54-year-old, probably most famous for playing the Marvel superhero Hawkeye in eight different appearances, was frank when discussing the incident: If it weren’t for the people rushing to help him that fateful New Year’s Day morning, he may very well have succumbed to his blunt chest trauma and orthopedic injuries.

All paths to his home were blocked (he was initially trying to dig out a family member), and the cascade of emergency responders had to navigate the brutal terrain to keep him alive, from fire departments to paramedics to a Care Flight helicopter, 150 people in total, by Renner’s own count. He spent months recovering, asking a single question: What could he do for the people who saved him?

Fortune

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John J. Harvey has published an article marking the 95th year of the retired New York City fireboat and describing its continued public trips on New York Harbor.

René Allen Mack wrote that the vessel was built in 1931, was decommissioned by the New York City Fire Department in 1994 and was then bought out of the scrapyard by a group of private marine enthusiasts for ten dollars more bid.

The boat was restored with private funds and donations and began hosting free public trips on the river for donations. In June 2000, it was added to the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places.

The fireboat still sails regularly and recently took passengers on a free 90 minute trip around the Battery, moving near the Staten Island Ferry, the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge.

The article also recounts the fireboat’s role in New York maritime history and in emergency response. It welcomed major ocean liners into New York, fought the 1942 Normandie fire and later took part in the September 11, 2001 response.

After the attacks, the U.S. Coast Guard authorized any boat to assist with evacuations from Manhattan and John J. Harvey joined that flotilla.

Fire & Safety Journal Americas

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Fire damaged a pest control business on the south side of Wenatchee early Tuesday. The Wenatchee Valley Fire Department tells KPQ News crews responded to the blaze at just after 5 a.m. in the 1000 block of Crescent Street and arrived to find flames on the north side of the building. Firefighters soon discovered that the flames had also spread to portions of the structure’s interior and utilized an extant firewall at the rear of the building to halt the fire’s progress.

Fire Chief Brian Brett says it took crews about 30 minutes to knock down the blaze and they remained at the scene until around 6:50 a.m. Brett says the fire caused significant heat damage to the exterior façade of the building, as well as to its frontal interior, along with some structural damage. He added that despite the nature of the business where the fire was located, no volatile chemicals were involved in the blaze nor were any such materials a concern to firefighters at the scene. No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

KPQ – FM 101.7 Wenatchee

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