As volunteer firefighter Mark Zawidzki battled eye-stinging smoke and flying embers to save homes from the Halifax wildfire, he realized its flames were headed to a neighbouring subdivision—and his own residence. But he kept working. “It was important to stay with my crew and work on the assignments we were given,” the 50-year-old said. “The…

Five firefighters were injured in a four-alarm fire Tuesday morning at a lumber yard in Brooklyn, New York City. The fire started at a lumber storage warehouse at 304 Hewes Street, in Williamsburg, a neighborhood in Brooklyn, according to the New York City Fire Department (FDNY). The FDNY said a call came in about the fire…

Planned strikes by UK firefighters have been postponed after employers put forward an increased pay offer. The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) had planned to announce dates for strike action after more than 80 percent of its members who voted in a ballot in December backed industrial action. But the union said on Thursday that it…

SANTIAGO—Dozens of wildfires blazing though Chile caused the government to extend an emergency order to another region on Saturday, as a scorching summer heat wave complicates efforts to control fires that have claimed at least 23 lives so far. More than 1,100 people have sought refuge in shelters while at least 979 people have been…

WEST PENN TOWNSHIP, Pa.—Pennsylvania State Police say two firefighters died responding to a house fire where a body was found, while two people who lived in the home got out safely. The firefighters who died were identified as members of the New Tripoli Fire Company, Assistant Fire Chief Zachary Paris, 36, and Marvin Gruber, 59,…

Firefighters in Regina are combing through the splintered remains of a multi-unit house checking for survivors after an explosion Sunday that was so loud, people in other parts of the city reported hearing it. “We believe that everybody right now that lived in the property has been accounted for but … we’re searching the property…

LINCOLN, Neb.—Prairie fires pushed by tinder-dry conditions and winds topping 60 mph (96 kph) led to evacuations in eastern Nebraska and western Iowa and destroyed homes and injured two firefighters south of Nebraska’s capital city of Lincoln, officials said. At least two grassland fires were first reported Sunday afternoon south of Lincoln and spread quickly…

Across the country, it is not the mayors, municipal judges, city attorneys or city managers who are often the highest-paid municipal employees. Firefighters have become the top-paid employees due to a staffing model that triggers an enormous amount of overtime by mandating any absences must be filled regardless of need. And for those willing to…

FORESTHILL, Calif.—Firefighters made progress against a huge Northern California wildfire that was still growing and threatening thousands of mountain homes on Sunday, while crews also battled major blazes that blanketed large swaths of Oregon and Washington in smoke. The Mosquito Fire in foothills east of Sacramento spread to nearly 65 square miles with 10 percent…

Residents of the British Columbia community of Olalla are now allowed to return home after being forced out by a threatening wildfire last week. But a fierce lightning storm that swept across the southern part of the province on Wednesday has sparked numerous new fires, with Environment Canada warning more storms were on the way….