VIDEO: It's considered one of the toughest firefighter training programs in the country, with a waitlist stretching three years and filled with the names of firefighters from as far away as California and Washington State. The North Carolina Breathing Equipment School, which is held twice a year at Gaston College's Dallas campus, even held the distinction of being named the "Top Gun" of firefighter schools.
- PUB DATE: 12/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WCNC-TV NBC 36 Charlotte

Nashville residents were jolted awake by a loud explosion in the city’s historic downtown district on Christmas morning. The bomb, hidden inside a recreational vehicle, devastated businesses in the area and disrupted AT&T communication networks throughout the state. Officials described the event as an “intentional act” and a “deliberate bomb.
- PUB DATE: 12/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Washington Post - Metered Site

VIDEO: A homeowner said she is glad to be alive after her house exploded into a fireball that damaged multiple homes in southeast Houston. The explosion happened around 11 a.m. Sunday at a home in the 6000 block of Doulton Drive near Bellfort Avenue. Mildred Whitfield captured the fire on her phone across the street.
- PUB DATE: 12/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KPRC-TV NBC 2 Houston

A Muhlenberg boy is finishing up a year-long journey. Seven-year-old Ayden Robbins does good deeds year-round, but he’s most proud of the thousands of cards he’s written to first responders. In all, he’s written cards to 68 departments across the country, from California to Alaska to Florida to Maine.
- PUB DATE: 12/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WYMT-TV CBS 15 Hazard

VIDEO: On Sunday 37 years ago, five Buffalo firefighters and two civilians died in one of the worst disasters the city has ever seen. A propane explosion leveled a portion of North Division Street downtown. Every year, the Buffalo Fire Department marks the exact time of the blast, 8:23 p.m., with a moment of silence.
- PUB DATE: 12/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WGRZ-TV ABC 2 Buffalo