In briefs
Published: 01 September, 2008
Firefighters called to a barn fire in Pine Plains, New York, found themselves having to dodge bullets as a result of stored ammunition. For 20 minutes the firefighters had to sit tight and watch helplessly as the barn burned.
Three firefighters have died during a fire at a plastic packaging factory in Shanghai. The three died when an overhead beam fell in a storehouse of Rexam Plastic Packaging (Shanghai) in the Fengxian distict. The 50 meter-long beam also injured nine other firefighters.
A fire in Crows News, Queensland, Australia, destroyed the town’s fire station including two fire appliances, tools and equipment. The town’s firefighters did, however, manage to save the communications shed and also refused to stand down for a week in spite of the disaster.
44 Australian and New Zealand firefighters have been called to help the wildland fires currently ravaging through California. The firefighters expect to be on duty for up to five weeks at a time in remote alpine areas.
Second-hand firefighting gear donated to Afghanistan firefighters has been held in a Kandahar airport for over a year due to safety worries. Donated by Canadian firefighters, the $400,000 shipment included 45 breathing apparatus with oxygen bottles, helmets, a compressor, ladders and clothing. However, officials are not releasing oxygen cylinders on the breathing apparatus for fear that they could be turned into explosive devices.
