Fire Department

A woman suffered serious burn injuries after an explosion leveled a home in Downs. It happened overnight in the small town of Downs in Osborne county. The family is thanking a neighbor's quick-thinking--- he pulled the woman to safety. "It could have been a lot worse than what it is ," said the woman's daughter, Corrine Hoard. She's emotional as she thinks about what her mother went through. Early Friday morning, Nyla Powell's house exploded, catching fire.  Hoard says neighbors told her the house was engulfed within minutes.

By Dave Roberts (WICHITA, Kan.) If you passed K-96 and Rock Thursday morning, you probably wondered what was going on. Fire crews surrounded a building and Wichita Police blocked off a parking lot. The Fire Department says chemical substances inside one of the laboratories of Integra Technologies somehow exploded. Lt. Michael North described what he saw inside the lab, "We just had a couple of broken bottles on the ground, and we were just checking to see to make sure there was no other further hazards.

An explosion at a fertilizer plant in Coffeyville rattled nerves and more than a few windows Thursday night. CBS-affiliate KOTV in Tulsa reports an anhydrous ammonia tank ruptured at CVR Energy around seven o'clock. Emergency crews originally evacuated the plant, but let everyone inside about an hour later. The Coffeyville fire department said no one was hurt. They also said plant is handling the clean-up.

Thanksgiving is a holiday of tradition going back hundreds of years. It's also appreciated by those who have just been around a few years. For 25 years, Andale teachers have helped kindergarten and first grade students create Thanksgiving magic. That magic comes in the form of a meal, made from scratch. This year, the children and teachers had some extra help, from fire department. A first graders' Thanksgiving.

Here's an Eyewitness News update....remember that huge icicle in Canada we showed you last week? It's came down on Tuesday. The icicle formed on the side of a Saskatoon, Saskatchewan apartment building. It was three stories tall. It even had fans through a "Giant Icicle" twitter account! The local fire department was concerned about it falling on pedestrians or the building, so they removed it Tuesday...very carefully. It's missed already.

By Eyewitness News (SALINA, Kan.) The Salina fire department responded to a call of an apartment fire on the 200 block of S. 8th Street on Tuesday. Firefighters found the apartment's resident unconscious on the kitchen floor, and carried him out. He was treated by medics on the scene. Investigators say a burner on the electric stove was left on, causing fire damage to the stove, range hood, cabinets, and caused smoke damage throughout the apartment. They say the fire was an accident.

Officials at the Hutchinson Correctional Facility are trying to figure out what caused a fire Sunday evening. According to the prison, the fire was reported in the center way of D Cell House shortly after 5:00 Sunday.  The Hutchinson Fire Department was called in to put it out. Damage is minimal and no one was hurt. This is the second fire at the facility in the past month. An inmate was treated for smoke inhalation after a fire in his cell in October. Prison staff put out that fire.

The owner of the popular Spice Merchant store in Wichita hopes to reopen tomorrow morning. The fire broke out at the store on East Douglas Wednesday afternoon. Firefighters on the scene say a flue attached to a coffee roaster ignited because of build-up. The fire was contained to the chimney but smoke filled the store. "No real major damage, other to our pride," owner Bob Boewe told Eyewitness news.  He's already doing a little mopping and employees will be at work first thing in the morning to help clean up. Air conditioning and heating crews will also come out to check the vent pipes, and then work on repairing the coffee roaster will begin.

A Wichita firefighter who died in the line of duty has been named the 2010 Firefighter of the Year. Wichita fire officials awarded Capt. Urban Eck with the award posthumously during the city council meeting Tuesday. During the meeting, fire officials also announced it's been determined Eck's injuries were a result of a fire he fought in December last year. Eck died from a heart condition a few weeks after responding to the fire. The fire chief says that heart problem was triggered by the fire.

Protestors waved American flags and demonstrated at Florida fire station Sunday. They were protesting a decision by Seminole city officials to ban flying the flag on city fire trucks. The order to remove the flags came after a complaint from a member of the public. The complaing concerned a flag being flown from the back of a ladder truck. Smaller flags were later displayed in the truck's windows, but they, too, were removed after complaints. A spokesperson for the city's fire department says the complainer did not take issue with the flags themselves-- but how they were displayed.

A woman suffered serious burn injuries after an explosion leveled a home in Downs. It happened overnight in the small town of Downs in Osborne county. The family is thanking a neighbor's quick-thinking--- he pulled the woman to safety. "It could have been a lot worse than what it is ," said the woman's daughter, Corrine Hoard. She's emotional as she thinks about what her mother went through. Early Friday morning, Nyla Powell's house exploded, catching fire.  Hoard says neighbors told her the house was engulfed within minutes.

Winfield residents are outraged after a playground in town burned to the ground for the second time.  Fire investigators say the fire at Island Park is suspicious, but they have no suspects at this time. "I hope they catch that feller.  I hope they catch him.  And see, the last time this happened, they only gave the guy like a fine and a slap on the wrist.  I really hope they throw the book at the guy this time," said resident Eric Blakeley. Click here for photos of the fire Residents of Winfield are calling it a crime against their children.  Twenty-five fire crews and nine apparatus from Winfield, Atlanta, Arkansas City, Burden and Udall had the fire under control nearly three hours later.

Here's an Eyewitness News update....remember that huge icicle in Canada we showed you last week? It's came down on Tuesday. The icicle formed on the side of a Saskatoon, Saskatchewan apartment building. It was three stories tall. It even had fans through a "Giant Icicle" twitter account! The local fire department was concerned about it falling on pedestrians or the building, so they removed it Tuesday...very carefully. It's missed already.

A lot of snow means a lot of work for A&A Towing. "It's exhausting," owner Buzz Livengood. "First your wearing a huge amount of clothes, twice as many as you'd normally wear, so all movements are restrictive. Then there's a lot normally wear. " Owner Buzz Livengood says they've towed dozen of cars since the snow started. "We're a lot like a fire department you sit around, you tow this, a little bit of this, a little bit of that and all of a sudden the bell rings and it's all hands on deck," Livengood said.

The lack of rain has firefighters in Hutchinson quite worried.  They say the fire season has begun and they're concerned a major wildfire could threaten homes and lives. "We're just entering in our season, right now," said Deputy Fire Chief Michael L. Miller. Seven years ago it took every firefighter in Reno County, and then some, to put out a large brush fire in the Sand Hills.  Residents lost dozens of homes. "I do believe it's going to happen again," said Miller.

"Yeah, it's Christmas," said Lonnie Tormey, the Valley Center Fire Chief.  "Bad deal.  Bad deal. " A garage fire stunned a Valley Center community Christmas Day, leaving one family without a home this holiday.  But this is one family, and a neighborhood, that's used to dealing with life's struggles. "Kind of a sad story," said neighbor Jack George. The Sanderson family left home Christmas morning to celebrate.  They came back in the afternoon to pick up the pieces.  But sad stories are something the Sandersons have survived before.

Firefighters say this is the time of year they see an increase in fires---more specifically---chimney fires. Experts  say that just a little bit of maintenance can protect you home and your family. Bart Ogden, president of Home Safe Hearth & Chimney , has been busy making homes safe by cleaning out the chimneys. "Our company has probably done in the neighborhood of 200 this month," he says. The specialist says it's peak time---when families are relying upon fireplaces to warm the hearth and heat their home.

Thanksgiving is a holiday of tradition going back hundreds of years. It's also appreciated by those who have just been around a few years. For 25 years, Andale teachers have helped kindergarten and first grade students create Thanksgiving magic. That magic comes in the form of a meal, made from scratch. This year, the children and teachers had some extra help, from fire department. A first graders' Thanksgiving.

Officials at the Hutchinson Correctional Facility are trying to figure out what caused a fire Sunday evening. According to the prison, the fire was reported in the center way of D Cell House shortly after 5:00 Sunday.  The Hutchinson Fire Department was called in to put it out. Damage is minimal and no one was hurt. This is the second fire at the facility in the past month. An inmate was treated for smoke inhalation after a fire in his cell in October. Prison staff put out that fire.

The Wichita Fire Department will unveil a new fire safety initiative called “Project Apartment Safety” which is in response to an alarming number of apartment fires cause by careless smoking and inattentive cooking. The WFD will launch this door to door campaign at nine o'clock on Friday morning, Oct. 12, at the Silver Springs Apartments located at 777 North Silver Springs. The WFD will also visit three other apartment complexes during this fire safety initiative.