HUNTINGTON BEACH – An apartment fire left four families and three pets without homes on Wednesday night and caused about $75,000 in damages.  The fire occurred in an apartment on the 7900 block of Stark Drive at about 5:50 p.m.  A plumber was repairing pipes in the wall and the torch he was using started a fire.  The flames spread to a bedroom and a bathroom.  When the fire spread through a skylight, more firefighters were brought in to keep it from moving to units on the third floor.  …

Brooklyn, New York –A seven-year-old boy was killed and seven others were injured in an apartment fire early Sunday morning.  The fire started in a rear bedroom on the first floor of an apartment building on Decatur Street in Bushwick.  The fire spread to the the second and third stories and then to the two adjacent buildings. It took firefighters about two hours to put the fire out.  Joel Smith, the seven-year-old boy, was found in his bedroom where the fire started and was pronounced dead at the scene.  The …

San Diego, CA – For the third time in two weeks someone has tried to set fire to the the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the 2000 block of Adams Avenue in University Heights.  The previous incidents occurred on Dec. 20 and Dec. 30.  In the first occurrence, intruders broke in and stole audio equipment and set a fire that did not do much damage.  In the second occurrence the fire severely damaged the building and 666 was spray painted near the entrance.  Although gasoline was poured inside the …

Los Angeles, CA –More than 35 fires have been set over the last two days and police think they may be the work of more than one arsonist.  Early Friday, 21 fires were started in the Hollywood and West Hollywood area.  16 more fires were set on Friday night and Saturday morning.  Most of the fires started when a car was set on fire, and then the flames spread to an apartment building or a house.  The authorities are looking for a male who is driving a white mid-1990s Lexus …

San Francisco, CA — Over sixty people were left without homes early Friday when a fire swept through a San Francisco apartment building.  It took 150 firefighters almost three hours to put out the five-alarm blaze.  Fortunately, only one firefighter suffered a burn to his neck and one civilian was treated for smoke inhalation.  The fire started in a three-story Victorian home and spread to the apartment building.  Winds made the fire spread more quickly and the buildings were made of wood and were attached to each other.  Fire officials …

Carson, CA –A fire swept through an apartment complex that is under construction in the city of Carson, causing dozens of people to evacuate.  More than 100 firefighters battled the fire which was located at the 21000 block of South Avalon Boulevard on Thursday.  The buildings under construction were a 150-unit luxury apartment complex set to be finished in 2012.  The fire spread through the all-wood frames quickly and the heat was so intense that it blew out windows of cars and melted some paint off the fire trucks.  A …

Two University of Maryland students were burned after an explosion sparked a small fire in a chemistry lab on Monday. An experiment was in progress in a laboratory in Wing 3 of the Chemistry Building involving nitric acid and sulfuric acid, when a violent chemical reaction occurred.
Firefighters had to extinguish a small blaze.  Two female students suffered first and second-degree chemical burns and lacerations and were take to a nearby hospital.  Two facility management employees that were in the lab at the time had to be decontaminated.

Hazmat personnel are …

A fire at the Jackie Child Home Care in Houston killed three children and left two children in critical but stable condition and one child in critical condition.  The fire occurred on February 24, 2011 and at this time they are not blaming the woman who was in care of the children at the time of the fire until further evidence is found.
The three children who died in the accident were Elizabeth Kojah, 20 months, of Cypress, Kendyll Stradford, 20 months, of Katy, and Shomari Dickerson, 3.  All three died …

A woman’s body was found by the San Diego police department inside a burning SUV on the campus of UC San Diego on Friday, October 29, 2010.
San Diego police Lt. Kevin Rooney said the police received several 911 calls around 9:20 p.m. reporting the burning vehicle.  Fireman arrived to the scene and put out the fire, finding a woman’s body inside the vehicle.
Helicopters equipped with infrared cameras investigated the surrounding areas looking for any possible suspects and additional evidence.  University police also searched on foot through the walkways leading to …

A lawsuit was filed Tuesday against Farmers Group Inc.  The lawsuit accuses Farmers of refusing to pay claims to policyholders whose homes were damaged by last summer’s massive Station Fire near Los Angeles.  The suit claims breach of contract and unfair business practices.  It seeks unspecified damages for more than 1,000 homeowners who reported smoke, ash and other damages from the blaze that killed two firefighters, destroyed 89 homes and scorched 250 square miles of Angeles National Forest.
Brian Kabateck, an attorney for the plaintiffs, stated that Farmers denied claims to …