Fire Rescue - News

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) has reported nine attacks during an eight-hour period. The attacks happened in Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Blantyre in South Lanarkshire and Blackburn in West Lothian. There were no injuries reported to the crews involved however a fire appliance in West Lothian had a windscreen smashed by a brick and had to be removed from operational service. These attacks have followed four previously reported attacks on crews in Ayrshire and Edinburgh in the week...

The National Security Inspectorate (NSI), the UK and Eire’s most widely recognized certification body for fire and security providers, is delighted to announce the appointment of Jon Webster as its new Head of Marketing. Jon will be heading NSI’s marketing strategy and communications, helping to strengthen the organization’s brand and support its continued growth across the security and fire safety sectors. Global growth and launch of new services Jon brings extensive experi...

Firefighters can find themselves in challenging situations on the job every day, and they expect their equipment to be working and to help keep them safe on each call.  MSA Safety, Inc., and Bristol Uniforms, Ltd., understand this expectation, and this week, at the Emergency Services Show (ESS) in Birmingham, United Kingdom, both are showcasing how their expertise in fire safety solutions and in fire equipment care can help firefighters and fire brigades enhance efficiency and safety. Fi...

Andy Mathes has joined Oshkosh Airport Products as Business Unit Director, leading the strategic direction of the company’s airport firefighting vehicle business. Mathes brings extensive experience in revenue growth, product management, business development, and cross-functional leadership. He joins from Plexus Corporation, where he most recently served as Global Customer Director, and previously held progressive operational leadership roles at Amcor, a global Fortune 500 company headqua...

Leicestershire Fire & Rescue Service (FRS) has selected Motorola Solutions’ command center technology, including Control Room Solution (CRS), to strengthen the service’s call handling and emergency dispatch. The solution will help to increase the speed, effectiveness, and resilience of Leicestershire FRS’s incident response to support frontline and community safety. Ongoing software maintenance will help ensure the critical system remains current. Serving a population of...

INTERSCHUTZ 2026, taking place from 1 to 6 June in Hanover, will be shaped by what many are calling a “turning point”. With eleven months to go before the event starts, strong exhibitor interest is already evident for the world’s pioneering trade fair for firefighting, rescue, and civil protection. “Nearly three-quarters of the nine exhibition halls are already booked, and only a few spaces remain available on the open-air-site,” says Bernd Heinold, Head of INTERS...

New Government data of fire and rescue service incidents analyzed by HETAS for Chimney Fire Safety Week (CFSW), reveals that Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service responded to 181 chimney fires over the last year, the most out of all counties in England.  Dorset and Wiltshire follow in close second with a combined 113 chimney fires; Hereford and Worcester are third with a combined 95; North Yorkshire follows in fourth with 90; and Norfolk fifth with 86 chimney fires reported between...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) investigators are now at the scene of a house fire, which has claimed the lives of two people in Sydney's south-west. Neighbors phoned Triple-Zero (000) around 6:45 am as the property in Lily Street, Wetherill Park became engulfed in flames and their own attempts to rescue the occupants proved unsuccessful. FRNSW immediately deployed 24 firefighters and six fire trucks. Fire crews When fire crews arrived on-scene, they used tools to force their way into the home&...

A South Yorkshire recruitment campaign aims to change perceptions of women in the fire service. South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue’s ‘A Firefighter Is A Firefighter’ campaign includes a new hard-hitting video, which highlights the fact that all firefighters meet the same standards and do the same job regardless of their gender. At the same time, the service will be publishing a fresh episode of its official podcast, Shout, featuring women from across the service. The service h...

Dräger, an international pioneer in the fields of medical and safety technology, will showcase a range of systems designed to protect fire and rescue and police personnel during a wide variety of emergency situations. Taking center stage will be Dräger’s new FPS-COM Voice mask integrated unit that enhances firefighter communication when using breathing apparatus. The easy-to-use unit features enhanced voice capture and output, with a Click & Go interface that enables quick m...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) crews have rescued a Pomeranian precariously perched on the side of an apartment building at Wentworth Point, in Sydney's west. Firefighters were called around 9:45 last night to the complex on Burroway Road, where the dog, named 'Cash', was stuck on a ledge on the 7th floor. Among the FRNSW resources deployed to the scene was a ladder truck, which allowed trained personnel to safely reach the higher floors to retrieve 'Cash'. Fire crews The balance of the mission...

The bravery and dedication of 80 firefighters from Newcastle and Lake Macquarie will be formally recognized tonight at a special Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) awards ceremony. Firefighters, from a range of the 20 fire stations across the Metropolitan North 1 region, have been awarded National Emergency Medals during the function at Wallsend. There were 11,774 fires fought across 5.5 million hectares during the Black Summer crisis. That represents around seven per cent of the state. Strike Teams...

A Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) canine unit is at the scene of a fatal house fire at Johns River, on the state's mid-coast. A man, aged in his 70s, was killed in the blaze which engulfed the property on Riddles Brush Road just after 10:30 pm last night. Eight FRNSW firefighters assisted four NSW Rural Fire Service (NSW RFS) crews in the almost five-hour-long battle to contain and extinguish the flames. Residential fire The fire was so intense that the entire roof collapsed, limiting firefighte...

Pierce Manufacturing Inc., an Oshkosh Corporation business, in partnership with the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), is proud to announce the 2025 IAFC Fire Chief of the Year honorees. Volunteer Fire Chief Daniel Krushinski of the East Franklin Fire Department in Somerset, New Jersey, and Career Fire Chief Jeremy Craft of the Lehi Fire Department in Lehi, Utah, have been named this year’s recipients. Since 1996, the IAFC has annually recognized one volunteer and one car...

Pierce Manufacturing Inc., an Oshkosh Corporation business, is pleased to announce Pierce's authorized dealer, Atlantic Emergency Solutions, has completed a significant expansion of its Charlotte, North Carolina, service center to better support the needs of the Charlotte Fire Department and other fire agencies across the region. The upgraded facility, located in a convenient and accessible area on Statesville Road in Charlotte, will provide enhanced service offerings, expanded capacity, and i...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) veteran Inspector Craig Davies today has handed over his firefighting duties to son James, calling time on his 40-year career of protecting and educating communities against emergencies. Despite completing an apprenticeship as a fitter and turner in his younger years, Inspector Davies knew all along he was destined to become a firefighter. After all, his father, two uncles, and a cousin had all worked as firemen, giving him an early taste of what brigade life was li...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) investigators have determined a tobacco pipe sparked a fire at Seven Hills, in Sydney's north-west, which injured two people last night. The blaze broke out at the back of a Seven Hills Road home around 10:30 pm. The occupants - a pregnant 30-year-old woman and a 45-year-old man - were asleep and only alerted to the danger when their dog began barking. NSW Ambulance paramedics They escaped moments before the timber property was destroyed by flames, fueled by mater...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) investigators will examine the scene of a major gas fire at a service station last night at Fairfield, in Sydney's south-west. Around 50 firefighters responded to numerous 200kg LPG cylinders alight at the service station in Sackville Street, at about 6.30 pm. They were confronted by a huge, intense fire, threatening to spread to adjacent homes. HAZMAT firefighters 15 residents rushed to safety as fire crews cooled the venting gas cylinders. Fire crews gained con...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) crews have extinguished a major factory fire in Sydney's south-west. Just before 4 am this morning, a Triple Zero (000) emergency call alerted firefighters to a plastic pipe manufacturing business, engulfed by flames on Woodpark Rd, Smithfield. FRNSW rushed 25 trucks and more than 100 firefighters to the scene to deal with the fire that was raging through part of the factory, with flames bursting through the roof. Extremely significant fire It was declared a '10 a...

His younger colleagues lovingly call him “the dinosaur,” and after five decades of serving the public, Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) Station Officer Fred Parkhouse, has called ‘time’ on his career. 68-year-old Fred joined NSW Fire Brigades, as it was known then, as a teenager and progressed through the ranks, learning all aspects of firefighting and rescue work. Fire and Rescue NSW Duty Commander, Chris Bishop, says Fred is still as keen to protect the community as the da...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) crews are at the scene of a helicopter crash in Sydney's south-west. Two people were aboard the single-engine aircraft when it plummeted to the ground at the Bankstown Aerodrome in Airport Avenue, near Marion Street, just before 2 pm. The propeller and part of the fuselage sustained significant damage as the chopper came to rest on its side. Hazardous materials response FRNSW deployed 10 firefighters and three fire trucks to the scene. Both occupants, believed to...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) crews are working to clear a major spill of combustible liquid at Mascot, in Sydney's inner south. The operation began around 4:30 am when two semi-trailers collided at the intersection of O'Riordan Street and Joyce Drive, near the Domestic Airport. NSW Ambulance paramedics treated both drivers on-site for minor injuries. Combustible hydrocarbon liquid Both roads were closed to maintain community safety and enable effective emergency response One of the trucks was...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) investigators are working to determine the cause of a fire which has engulfed a factory at Jamisontown, in Sydney's west. More than 40 firefighters and 14 fire trucks were deployed to the Regentville Street complex, where the blaze broke out just after 10 pm. It had started in a unit used to manufacture perfumes and colognes. Structural damage Flames quickly reached high above the building, causing the roof to collapse and leaving behind significant structural dam...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) crews are battling a large warehouse fire at Five Dock, in Sydney's inner west. Shortly after 3 pm, FRNSW received multiple Triple-Zero (000) calls reporting large volumes of smoke issuing from the warehouse on Parramatta Road. On arrival, 18 FRNSW trucks and more than 60 firefighters began controlling the fire, which was rapidly moving through a warehouse containing multiple businesses, amid concerns the fire would spread to adjoining properties. Thermal imaging c...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) has determined there was a 12 percent increase in house fires during winter this year, sparking calls for more working smoke alarms in NSW homes. The latest statistics gathered by FRNSW indicate there were 1063 residential fires during winter this year, an increase of 119 on the same season last year. It’s the largest number of winter residential fires in NSW since 2019, when 1092 such blazes were recorded. Winter residential fires Eight people were killed...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) crews have saved a home from a large Lithium-Ion battery fire at Warrawee, on Sydney’s upper north shore. A resident was charging the battery used to power a leaf blower in the carport of the home on Finlay Road, just before 5 pm, when the cells went into ‘thermal runaway’ and caught fire. The flames destroyed the carport which collapsed. Neighbors used garden hoses in an attempt to extinguish the fire on the battle-axe property. FRNSW Reminder F...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) crews have successfully completed a strategic hazard reduction burn to protect the headland at North Mona Vale, on Sydney's northern beaches. FRNSW deployed firefighters from Mona Vale, Mount Druitt, Silverwater, Campsie, Fairfield, and Lidcombe around the half-hectare coastal site. FRNSW Bushfire Officer, Kyle Macorig, said the controlled burn took four hours to complete. Containment lines "We were faced with vegetation known as 'coastal heath’ which can be...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) firefighters have saved a historic boat shed from fire on the Parramatta River at Putney, in Sydney's north-west. More than 30 firefighters and eight fire trucks were deployed to Waterview Street as flames engulfed a small building just after 4 am. The blaze then threatened to spread to a nearby complex, which has significance to Australia's early colonial history and has been used as a boat-building, servicing, and repair facility since the 1930s. FRNSW crews FRN...

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) firefighter, Gavin Clifton, is just days away from his latest fund-raising venture for charity, climbing 18 hours non-stop up and down the Furber Steps at Katoomba in the Blue Mountains. Gavin, an On-call (Retained) firefighter based at Wentworth Falls Fire Station, is aiming to raise $50,000 to aid research into Motor Neurone Disease, as part of the annual ‘Firies Climb for MND’ program. Originating from his initial Sydney Tower climb, Gavin is “u...

A firefighting couple has relied on their on-the-job experience to deliver their own baby in the car park of a Hunter Valley fast food restaurant. Pregnant Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) Communication Centre Operator, Samantha Paul, was four days overdue when she started going into labor at her Nelson Bay home. Her partner, FRNSW Senior Firefighter, Elizabeth Paul, immediately placed her into their car and began the hour-long journey to Belmont Midwifery Group Practice. NSW Ambulance The couple...