FireFighterNation

Executive Fire Commissioner Donald Austin clarified his position on whether the department will allow vacant structures to burn as a cost-saving measure, instead of fighting the fires. Appearing before the Detroit City Council for a budget hearing, Austin said the department will weigh the risk to firefighters when deciding how aggressively to fight a fire on a vacant structure.

A raging five-alarm fire ripped right through three large townhomes under construction in Santa Clara, shooting flames 10 stories into the air as awestruck witnesses snapped photos at the scene and miles way.

Vacant structures are set on fire with no concern for firefighter safety; there have been thousands of firefighter injuries and multiple fatalities at these structures. Here, Deputy Chief John Tippett uses two near-miss reports to show why fires in vacant structures are so dangerous, and offers important considerations for how to approach these operations with a more cautious mindset.

During these difficult economic times, firefighters are called on to respond to an increasing number of fires in vacant, abandoned and derelict buildings. Here, Randy Frassetto offers tips about how to identify which type of building you’re facing, and how truck operations should differ in each.

A North Las Vegas fire official says several witnesses have called with information about a fire that investigators believe was set deliberately at a vacant home to injure firefighters.