Multiple Fires Strike U.S., Canada and U.K. Communities

A series of separate fires affected communities across the U.S., Canada and the U.K. this weekend, prompting multi-unit responses and mutual aid. In Brooklyn Park, Minn., a second-floor apartment fire on the 6400 block of 67th Avenue North injured one person and was quickly extinguished; in Winnipeg crews fought three separate blazes since Saturday evening with no injuries reported. DeKalb County firefighters battled a large warehouse fire on Paul Edwin Drive that produced heavy black smoke and drew more than a dozen apparatus to protect nearby apartments, while in Bournemouth, U.K., firefighters from over 10 stations extinguished a flat fire above a town-centre shop with no injuries. Across the U.S., multiple house and structure fires were brought under control: in Whately responders credited working smoke alarms and mutual aid for protecting residents and rescuing a cat; in Topeka a fire at Southwest 6th and Frazier was extinguished with no injuries; in Julian, Calif., a structure fire on Pheasant Drive spread into about a quarter-acre of vegetation before air resources halted its forward progress; and in Arkwright, N.Y., a 5:45 a.m. house fire required eight fire companies and water tankers after a dry hydrant failed. Crews in Ashford, Conn., extinguished a garage fire with minimal damage, Dayton, Ohio, saw firefighters on scene at a developing house fire near E Parkwood Drive and Newport Avenue, and many incidents remain under investigation.