Fires and Firefighters

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      3 Men Die in Fire in Overcrowded House in Queens

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      The house in the Jamaica Estates neighborhood had no working smoke detectors and was crammed with tenants, fire officials said.In a house on an affluent street in Queens, a tenant woke up early on Easter Sunday choking on black smoke.A fire had broken out on the first floor, where he lived in a cramped single room. “There were people screaming, jumping out the windows,” the tenant, Tony Rock, 40, said hours later. He described the scene in one word: “Hell.”Three men died in the fire, which started just after 1:30 a.m. on Chevy Chase Street in the Jamaica Estates neighborhood, a three-minute drive from the mansion where President Trump grew up.Firefighters arrived at the scene in less than four minutes, but the blaze ascended to the attic very quickly, fire officials said at a news conference on Sunday. The victims, men who were 45, 52 and 67 years old, died at the home, the police said. Eight other people were taken to area hospitals and were stable, the police said.The exact cause of the fire is still under investigation. But officials said that the house was overcrowded with people, with makeshift partition walls creating small rooms.Possessions also blocked the stairways, and there were too many extension cords, the fire commissioner, Robert S. Tucker, said at the news conference. There were no working smoke detectors, he added.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      More Than 400,000 Wireless Phone Chargers Are Recalled Over Fire Hazard

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      Casely, a company in Brooklyn, received 51 reports of lithium-ion batteries overheating, expanding or catching fire, resulting in six minor burn injuries.More than 400,000 Casely wireless phone chargers were recalled on Thursday over concerns that they could pose a fire hazard, officials said.Casely, a company based in Brooklyn, received 51 reports of lithium-ion batteries inside the power banks overheating, expanding or catching fire while consumers were charging their phones, causing at least six minor burn injuries, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said in a notice.Consumers who purchased Casely Power Pods 5000mAh portable MagSafe wireless phone chargers with model number E33A are urged to stop using them immediately and contact the company for a free replacement.The roughly 429,200 affected phone chargers have “Casely” engraved on the front and the model number on the back.The pocket-size power banks were sold at getcasely.com, Amazon and other e-commerce websites from March 2022 to September 2024, the commission said.The phone chargers should not be thrown in the trash or recycled in either the general recycling stream or the used-battery boxes commonly found at retail and home improvement stores, the commission said.That’s because the recalled lithium-ion batteries, which pose a greater fire risk than other batteries, must be discarded differently.Consumers can contact their local household hazardous waste collection center to see if it accepts recalled lithium-ion batteries. If it does not, the commission recommends contacting local municipal officials for more guidance.Lithium-ion batteries are rechargeable, last a long time and store a lot of energy in a small space. These features have made them a staple in common devices, including phones, laptops, toothbrushes, power tools and electric vehicles. However, the batteries require safe handling because of their potential to start fires.The U.S. Fire Administration advises consumers to stop using lithium-ion batteries if they emit an odor, put off too much heat, leak, make odd noises or if there is a change in color or shape.Before purchasing products, consumers should look for a “Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory” stamp, according to the administration. More

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      Suspect Arrested in Arson Attacks on New Mexico G.O.P. Office and a Tesla Dealer

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      Jamison Wagner, 40, of Albuquerque, faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted, the authorities said.An Albuquerque man was arrested on Monday in connection with the fire bombings of the Republican Party of New Mexico’s headquarters in March and a Tesla dealership in February, attacks that the federal authorities have designated as “domestic terrorism.”The suspect, Jamison Wagner, 40, had parked his white Hyundai sedan at both locations before the arson attacks and then drove away, according to security and traffic camera images released by the Justice Department.Federal prosecutors said that surveillance footage from the Tesla showroom near Albuquerque on Feb. 9 showed him carrying a box of supplies that he used to spray-paint graffiti on the building and several vehicles. Investigators said that he had scrawled the phrases “Die Elon,” “Tesla Nazi Inc” and “Die Tesla Nazi,” references to the company’s billionaire founder, Elon Musk, who is leading the Trump administration’s cost-cutting program. Mr. Wagner was then observed breaking some car windows and throwing an incendiary device inside one of them, destroying it, a criminal complaint said.Several weeks after that arson attack, the authorities said, Mr. Wagner struck again, torching the lobby of the Republican Party of New Mexico’s headquarters during the early morning hours of March 30.Damage from a fire at the Republican Party of New Mexico’s headquarters in Albuquerque in March.New Mexico G.O.P.Investigators say that he left behind critical evidence each time, connecting him to both crimes: lids from a jar of Smucker’s jelly and a container of olives that they said he had filled with gasoline. Both lids had the letter “H” or “I” written on them with what appeared to be a marker, photographs showed.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      After L.A. Fires, Edison Wants to Bury Power Lines in Altadena and Malibu

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      Southern California Edison is echoing calls from homeowners to move spark-prone electrical equipment underground. Company officials estimated the cost at more than $650 million.Southern California Edison, the electric utility whose equipment has been the focus of investigations into the deadly Eaton fire in Los Angeles County in January, said on Friday that it planned to bury more than 150 miles of power lines in fire-prone areas near Altadena and Malibu, Calif.The project would require approval from state regulators, would take years to complete and would cover only a fraction of the utility’s vast service area. Still, underground lines have been among the top requests from fire-ravaged communities as Los Angeles looks to rebuild.In a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, company officials estimated the cost of the project at more than $650 million. That amounts to about two-thirds of the nearly $1 billion that the utility estimated it would cost to rebuild the infrastructure that was damaged or destroyed in the wildfires that began on Jan. 7. Much of that cost is expected to be passed on to customers.But, officials said, the project will address a significant risk in two of Southern California’s most fire-prone areas. Officials said at least 90 miles of power lines would be buried in Malibu, and more than 60 miles in and around high-risk fire zones in Altadena, where the Eaton fire burned.“SCE will build back a resilient, reliable grid for our customers,” Steven Powell, the president and chief executive of the utility, said in a statement.Officials said on Friday that any distribution circuits not buried underground would be “hardened with covered conductor.” Company officials said in the letter that the investigation into the cause of the fire was still in progress, but they “acknowledged the possibility of SCE’s equipment being involved in the cause of the Eaton fire.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Long-Running Storm Drenches Central U.S. but Starts to Shift East

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      The heaviest rains so far this weekend have hit Arkansas, Missouri and Kentucky. More rain is expected on Sunday, but the risk of flooding will be less severe.The huge storm system that has caused widespread damage across the central United States is bringing more heavy rain and high winds on Sunday, continuing its dayslong stretch of soaking communities from Texas to Ohio as it begins to move east.The heaviest rains over the weekend so far have fallen in Arkansas, Missouri and Kentucky, and rising water levels and flooding have prompted water rescues, road closures and evacuation orders. The storm has killed at least 16 people, including a 5-year-old boy in Arkansas, a 9-year-old boy in Kentucky and a firefighter in Missouri, since it began on Wednesday.

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      Source: National Weather Service
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      By Bea Malsky and Martín González Gómez

      The threat of storms and rainfall will shift eastward but diminish on Sunday, which will be a welcome reprieve for residents in the South and the Midwest. In some areas — including northern Arkansas and southern Missouri — rivers are expected to crest on Sunday, and possibly as late as Wednesday, but the risk of dangerous flooding will not be as high as it was on Friday and Saturday.While the worst of the rain is over in northern Kentucky, parts of the region are still expected to receive up to five inches of rain before the long stretch of bad weather finally clears, according to the National Weather Service. “Moderate to major” flooding was forecast on many of the region’s rivers.“Given the fact that everything is so saturated, everything is just running right off the ground and into area creeks and streams,” said Nate McGinnis, a meteorologist with the agency in Wilmington, Ohio.

      Forecast risk of severe storms for Sunday

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      L.A. Fires Death Toll Rises to 30 After Remains Are Found

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      The discovery makes the Palisades and Eaton fires, combined, the second-deadliest wildfires in California’s history.Nearly three months after the January wildfires in Los Angeles, investigators discovered human remains in a burned lot on Wednesday in Altadena, Calif., raising the total death toll from the fires to 30.The Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office said a six-person team was sent to Altadena to investigate a report of possible remains. The team later confirmed the remains were human. The discovery came 12 weeks after the Eaton fire broke out on the evening of Jan. 7, burning more than 14,000 acres and destroying more than 9,000 structures.The remains found on Wednesday raised the death toll of the Eaton fire to 18 people. To the west in Pacific Palisades, 12 people died in the Palisades fire, which burned more than 23,000 acres and destroyed more than 6,000 structures.With their combined death toll at 30, the two fires make up the second-deadliest wildfire in California history. The Camp fire, which killed 85 people in Northern California in 2018, has the largest death toll in state wildfire history, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.Even separately, the Eaton and Palisades fires rank among the deadliest in California. The Palisades fire is the ninth deadliest and the Eaton fire is the fifth deadliest, according to state records.The death toll from the Eaton and Palisades fires could continue to grow. It was unclear how many people who were reported missing at the time of the fires were still missing. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department did not immediately provide an updated figure on Thursday.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Silver Fire in California Prompts Evacuations

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      Efforts to battle the 1,250-acre fire in eastern California were complicated by strong winds, which were expected to continue through Monday.A wildfire in eastern California that ignited on Sunday has spread to 1,250 acres and has prompted evacuations, state fire officials said.The wildfire, named the Silver fire, began around 2:11 p.m. north of Bishop, a city about halfway between Yosemite National Park and Death Valley National Park, according to Cal Fire, the state fire agency.The agency shared photos on social media that showed bright flames and clouds of smoke burning a grassy, rural area below towering mountain ranges.Timelapse video from an ALERTCalifornia camera showed plumes of smoke rising from the Silver fire on Sunday afternoon.ALERTCalifornia/UC San Diego via StoryfulStrong winds helped intensify the fire overnight, Cal Fire said on social media Monday morning, adding that it had “significantly increased” resources to stifle the blaze. “The fire is actively threatening structures, critical infrastructure, endangered species habitats, watersheds, and cultural and heritage resources,” the agency said.Officials ordered evacuations in parts of Inyo County and Mono County and closed a 30-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 6. The fire was zero percent contained, and there were no known injuries from the fire as of late Sunday night, according to Cal Fire.On Sunday, efforts to fight the fast-moving fire were complicated by strong winds that grounded some aircraft, Cal Fire said.The National Weather Service said a high wind warning was still in place in the region on Monday morning and would remain through the evening. The Weather Service warned that gusts could reach up to 65 miles per hour and that strong winds could blow down power lines and trees. More

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      Small Plane Crashes in a Minneapolis Suburb, Killing at Least One, Officials Say

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      No one in the house was injured after the plane crashed in Brooklyn Park, Minn., a suburb of Minneapolis, officials said.A small plane crashed in a residential area in Brooklyn Park, Minn., on Saturday, leaving a house in flames.ABC NewsAt least one person was killed after a small plane crashed into a house in a Minneapolis suburb on Saturday afternoon, engulfing the home in flames, according to the Federal Aviation Administration and local officials.No one in the house was injured after the plane crashed in Brooklyn Park, Minn., Risikat Adesaogun, the city’s communications manager, said. Shawn Conway, the city’s fire chief, said no one aboard the plane survived, though it was not immediately known how many people were aboard.The plane, which the F.A.A. identified as a SOCATA TBM7, seats a maximum of seven people, according to GlobalAir.com.The home that was hit was a “complete loss” and there was minor damage to nearby homes, Ms. Adesaogun said. The F.A.A. and the National Transportation Safety Board were traveling to Brooklyn Park to investigate the crash.The plane took off from Des Moines International Airport in Iowa and was headed to Anoka County-Blaine Airport in Minnesota, the F.A.A. said, when it crashed at 12:20 p.m. in Brooklyn Park, a city of about 82,000 people that is 11 miles north of Minneapolis.Footage from a Ring security camera appeared to show the plane nose-diving a short distance away. Videos from the scene also showed a large home engulfed in flames.Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota said on social media that his team was “monitoring the situation closely.” More