firefighters | Common News Update

Sep82020 by adminNo Comments

Firefighters overtaken by flames in California mountains

Technology

SHAVER LAKE, Calif. -- The U.S. Forest Service says 14 firefighters and bulldozer operators were injured Tuesday while battling a blaze in central California. One is in critical condition.The Forest Service says the crew has injuries that include burns and smoke inhalation. Three were airlifted to a hospital, including one in critical condition.Officials say they were fighting the Dolan Fire in Los Padres National Forest in Monterey County and the firefighters had to deploy their fire protection shelters.The three injured were flown to a hospital in Fresno.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.SHAVER LAKE, Calif. (AP) — Helicopters flew through dense smoke Tuesday to rescue scores more people from wildfires as wind-fanned flames kept chewing through bone-dry Cali...

Notre-Dame cathedral: Firefighters tackle blaze in Paris

World

Media playback is unsupported on your device A major fire has engulfed one of France's most famous landmarks - the medieval Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris. Firefighters are battling to save the 850-year-old Gothic building, but its spire and roof have collapsed.The cause is not yet clear, but officials say that it could be linked to renovation work.A Paris fire official said the main structure had now been "saved and preserved". The Paris prosecutor's office said it has opened an inquiry into "accidental destruction by fire." Loud bangs could be heard as flames burst through the cathedral's roof, also destroying its stained-glass windows.All efforts are now being put into saving the cathedral's artwork and preventing the collapse of its northern tower. ...

Study shows health, reaction-time declines in firefighters

Health

Randy Brooks' son had a request three years ago: What could his dad do to make wildland firefighting safer? To Brooks, a professor at the University of Idaho's College of Natural Resources who deals with wildland firefighting, it was more of a command. His son, Bo Brooks, is a wildland firefighter who a few days earlier during that 2015 fire season fled a wall of flames that killed three of his fellow firefighters in eastern Washington. The result of the conversation was an online survey that drew some 400 firefighters who mostly identified mental and physical fatigue as the primary cause of injuries to firefighters who are often confronted with a changing, dangerous environment. But a self-selecting online survey is not necessarily representative of what's happening in the field. So Ran...