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The woman accused of killing two of her lover’s children in April by setting fire to their South Boston rowhouse was ordered held yesterday on $1 million bail. Nicole Chuminski, 26, of South Boston wept in Suffolk Superior Court as she pleaded not guilty to torching Anna Reisopoulos’ West Sixth Street home April 6, killing her two daughters, 14-year-old Acia and 3-year-old Sophia Johnson.

Students stabbed and set alight Two French research students found stabbed to death following a flat fire had been tied up and suffered horrific, excessive injuries, police have said. The bodies of Laurent Bonomo and Gabriel Ferez, both 23, were found in a ground-floor flat in New Cross, south-east London, on Sunday night. They had suffered a total of 243 stab wounds to the head, neck and chest before being set alight. The biochemistry students had been studying at Imperial College, London. Det Ch Insp Mick Duthie said he had no idea why the students were killed. Fiancee's tribute Speaking...

DUBAI (AFP) - The UN atomic watchdog chief warned on Saturday that an attack on Iran over its controversial nuclear programme would turn the region into a fireball, as Tehran rejected any Israeli strike as "impossible." Mohamed ElBaradei also warned that he would not be able to continue in his role as International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director general if the Islamic republic were attacked. His stark comments came as Iran stressed yet again that it will not negotiate with world powers over its nuclear programme if it is required to suspend its controversial uranium enrichment. "A military strike (against...

Police were appealing for witnesses today following the attempted murder of a man who was doused in petrol and set on fire in east London. The 20-year-old, who is fighting for his life in hospital, was torched as he sat in his car in Forest Gate. It is believed the Hindi victim, who suffered 65 per cent burns in the attack, was targeted because he was dating a Muslim girlfriend. He had just parked his car, a green Honda Prelude, in St George’s Road when he was approached by the suspect or suspects and had petrol poured over him before...

Vast Peat Fire May Burn for Months in North CarolinaWillie Drye for National Geographic NewsJune 13, 2008 About 450 firefighters are battling a 40,000-acre (16,000-hectare) blaze in northeastern North Carolina that could burn for months unless the drought-stricken region gets a downpour. The fire, which was sparked by a lightning strike on June 1, is currently the largest active wildfire in the United States. Containing and extinguishing the fire is posing a unique challenge, because it is burning in highly flammable peatland. Peat is partially decomposed plant matter formed in wetlands that can be harvested as fuel. It can be...

Fire at Heritage Foundation building in Washington DC... Developing...

AUSTIN, Texas -- Arson is suspected in the fire that struck the historic Texas Governor's Mansion early today, causing damage that state officials described as "bordering on catastrophic," the state fire marshal said. No one was inside the 152-year-old mansion at the time, said Robert Black, a spokesman for Gov. Rick Perry. The mansion had been undergoing a $10 million renovation, and Perry and his wife, Anita, had moved out last fall. "We have some evidence that indicates that we do have an intentionally set fire," said state Fire Marshal Paul Maldonado. "So we believe that we may be looking...

Black day of 1780 caused by distant wildfires, MU experts sayCOLUMBIA, Mo. – At noon, it was black as night. It was May 19, 1780 and some people in New England thought judgment day was at hand. Accounts of that day, which became known as 'New England's Dark Day,' include mentions of midday meals by candlelight, night birds coming out to sing, flowers folding their petals,and strange behavior from animals. The mystery of this day has been solved by researchers at the University of Missouri who say evidence from tree rings reveals massive wildfires as the likely cause, one of...

A cloud-to-ground ligtning strike from a severe thunderstom hit a large gasoline storage tank at the Magellan Petroleum tank farm in Kansas City, igniting 2 million plus gallons of unleaded gasoline, rapidly growing into a huge inferno of flame belching over 200 feet in the air. Local authorities have elected to let the fire burn itself out, which is anticipated to take a day or more. The fire is presently contained to the burning tank. Authorites and company officials feel confident the fire poses no danger to other large storage tanks nearby. Video from local news helicopters shows tank walls...

Lithium-ion batteries are both a blessing and a curse when it comes to mobile electronics The topic of exploding lithium-ion batteries has been debated to death in the wake of massive battery recalls over the last couple of years. Amidst the deft public relations maneuvering and finger-pointing, however, the question as to why they explode in the first place is still shrouded in mystery for many. The most important thing to understand here is that lithium-ion technology is considerably more volatile compared to other forms of rechargeable battery technologies. Defects in the insulating membrane can result in a mini-explosion that...

Terry Lynn Barton has been released from prison after serving a six-year term for starting the worst wildfire in Colorado's recorded history. Barton, 44, pleaded guilty to arson charges stemming from the 2002 Hayman Fire, which blackened 138,000 acres, destroyed 133 homes and forced more than 8,000 people to evacuate. She was a fire spotter for the U.S. Forest Service at the time

Low water pressure hampered efforts today to fight a fire that raged through the Universal Studios backlot in Universal City, destroying a soundstage, the theme park's King Kong attraction, a video vault and sets such as the Courthouse Square seen in "Back to the Future" and the New York street scape from "Bruce Almighty." As the equivalent of two city blocks burned -- firefighters were still dousing hot spots 10 hours after the blaze began in predawn darkness -- a mushroom-like cloud of smoke drifted over surrounding neighborhoods, raising some health concerns. A large explosion near the video storage building...

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. (AP) — A massive fire raged on a back lot at Universal Studios early Sunday, devouring several movie sets, including mock New York and New England streets. There were no immediate reports of injuries. Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Daryl Jacobs said at least one building had burned and as many as three blocks of movie facades were destroyed. Though the fire was contained, it was still raging, Jacobs said. "The facades are constructed of heavy timber and they tend to burn quite freely," he said. The blaze broke out just before dawn on a sound stage,...

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. — Firefighters are fighting a massive blaze that broke out on a lot at Universal Studios Sunday morning, that has left at least one firefighter injured. Los Angeles fire Capt. Frank Reynoso told FOXNews that over 100 city and county firefighters have been called to battle the fire, which was reported just before dawn Sunday on a sound stage on a back lot. "We are using a 3rd alarm assignment," said Reynoso, who said at least one explosion was reported during filming, which was going on at the time. Thick columns of smoke have been seen rising...

BOSTON - More than 80 years ago, the Hook brothers started trucking their catch of lobsters from Maine and Canada to Boston's fish piers, selling them directly to the city's top restaurants. Ever since, four generations of Hooks have kept their seafood wholesale business in a squat wooden building with a corrugated steel roof, resisting multiple offers from developers as luxury hotels, gleaming office towers and the Big Dig highway project dwarfed and surrounded them. On Friday, a seven-alarm fire gutted their landmark waterfront location, causing $5 million in damage that included the loss of 60,000 pounds of lobster, but...

A recent fire has led to an outpouring of generosity for a struggling synagogue that lost its Torah in the blaze. A Broward County woman who wants to honor her dead parents, and a couple who commute between Miami and New York, are donating new Torahs to a beleaguered Jewish congregation in Miami Beach whose synagogue was ravaged in a recent fire. ''These show people that we're going to come back stronger after a tragedy,'' said an appreciative Rabbi Zev Katz, the head of Miami Beach's Chabad Shul, part of Judaism's Orthodox Hasidic movement. Miami Beach police and fire officials...

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- One sailor was treated for first-degree burns and 23 others for heat stress after a fire on a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier burned for hours, the Navy said Friday. The U.S. Navy described a fire as "serious" aboard the USS George Washington. There were no fatalities on the ship.

Ryan Boughen was terrified when the Regina-bound Compass Airlines Flight he was on had to make an emergency landing on May 7. Now the Regina resident is angry that one of the plane's flight attendants has been charged with setting a fire in the plane's rear bathroom. "It's pretty upsetting to learn that the people that you put your trust in when you get on that airplane is the guy who (allegedly) caused the fire in the first place -- it makes you look at everybody in a different light," Boughen said Friday.... Late on Wednesday night, FBI agents from...

Arsonists like to pick on Brevard County more than almost any area of Florida. So far this decade, the county ranks second statewide in the amount of brush land and woods intentionally set ablaze by firebugs, state records show. Police suspect that at least one arsonist ignited the south Brevard blazes this week. Authorities were questioning a Palm Bay man Wednesday but did not charge him. They warned that others could have started fires. "It's not uncommon for them to be a firefighter or a police officer," he said. One such case was Henry Schook III, 30, a Brevard County...

Relentless wildfires burned Tuesday morning across Florida's Atlantic coast, taxing firefighters and overwhelming residents trying to save their homes with garden hoses. Firefighters in Brevard County were working for a third day trying to stop flames that have destroyed four homes and damaged about 70. The state's largest blaze has charred about 3,800 acres, or nearly 6 square miles, in the neighboring towns of Palm Bay and Malabar. "Every time I turn around another house is on fire. We don't have enough resources on our own to do a job like this," said Palm Bay spokeswoman Yvonne Martinez. Officials expressed...

Sana Elbaz, the daughter of a Bedouin family from Tel Sheva who lit a celebratory torch at Israel's 60th anniversary ceremony in Jerusalem, saw her car set ablaze by unknown persons outside of her house on Thursday night. A molotov cocktail was also thrown at her door, but her house remained undamaged. Elbaz was watching TV late on Thursday when she heard the sound of glass breaking outside of her home. She alerted her neighbors, who helped to put out her blazing car, and called the police and her husband. "The first thing that had crossed my mind when I...

[Peshawar] Unidentified attackers set fire to a girls’ high school and planted bombs in its science laboratory in the Charbagh area of the conflict-ridden Swat district in North West Pakistan. School watchman, Toti Gul, said that 40-50 men entered the school at midnight and used gasoline to set ablaze nine rooms of the only girls’ high school in the area. “The faces of the armed men were covered and they were chanting slogans. They directed me to take away all the copies of the Holy Quran from the school building. When I did that they set the school on fire...

'It was the most destructive thing I've ever seen' . A day later, the sickly sweet smell of fire hung in the air. Tendrils of smoke rose from smoldering piles as the people of this small town got their first clear picture of the fury wrought by a leapfrogging blaze that consumed or heavily damaged two dozen buildings and left two firefighters dead. Greg Korinek stood in silence Wednesday at the corner of Arkansas Avenue and Second Street, staring at a pile of ash and metal - the remnants of the mobile home where he had lived. He had rushed...

This video was arranged by o7jimmy and the song is, Hallelujah and sung by: The Five Blind Boys of Alabama. The animated video pictures are of a Merlin falcon.

4/15/2008 - ALI BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- Airmen from the Ali Base fire department and provost marshal's office responded to a structure fire in the Romanian coalition force camp here April 11 here. The 407th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron firefighters and military police Airmen from the 407th Provost Marshal's office immediately responded to the scene after a wooden building in the camp caught fire only minutes beforehand. There were no casualties. To combat the fire, the fire department deployed every available truck to "safeguard our Romanian brothers," said Master Sgt. Jay Watts, the 407th ECES assistant fire chief deployed from...

Dozens of homes have been evacuated and a 5-mile stretch of Colorado 82 in western Colorado has been closed due to heavy smoke from a brush fire. The 100-acre brush fire is burning at 1265 County Road 100, and is threatening several homes and a school, said Tanny McGinnis, spokeswoman for the Garfield County Sheriff's Office. She said a horse farm and a private school have been evacuated. Two buildings have been damaged and one person has been transported with injuries... Firefighters from Carbondale, Basalt and Glenwood are at the scene.

Fire officials are investigating an early morning fire that destroyed Senator Hillary Clinton's Terre Haute Campaign Headquarters. The fire broke out just after 12:30 Friday morning at the Westaff office building on 3rd Street. "When they arrived on the scene, flames were shooting out the tops of it, and the vehicle in front was also involved in the fire," Terre Haute Fire Department Public Information Officer John Gardner said. Gardner said two women were inside Clinton's headquarters when the fire started. They got out safely, but one of the women's cars caught fire. "It was really burning. The front part...

YouTube clip of one of the most incredible wrecks, ever. Crash into the wall, flip eight times, fire!

WASHINGTON - The U.S. military says a B-1 bomber has crashed at an American Air Force base in the Middle East. A military official says that details remain sketchy but the bomber crashed in the nation of Qatar at al-Udeid Air Base, the headquarters of all American air operations in the Middle East.

Retired Air Force Gen. Merrill "Tony" McPeak of Lake Oswego was once again in the middle of a campaign flap Wednesday when Hillary Clinton's campaign questioned his role as an adviser to Barack Obama because of his views on Israel. McPeak, known for his sharp tongue, stood by his position that U.S. policy in the Mideast is influenced by pro-Israeli voters, but he did apologize for last week's comment accusing former President Clinton of McCarthyism. An Obama spokesman said the senator disagrees with McPeak's comments on Israel but continues to stand behind him as a military adviser and co-chairman of...

BAGHDAD — Eerily quiet best described the streets in central Baghdad Saturday. The curfew imposed during recent fighting in Baghdad and Basra reduced traffic, but young airmen of the Air Force 732nd Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron, who police the International Zone police, still conduct patrols, even under the heightened security measures. Immediately following an attack, the IZ Police respond and assess the damage. They disseminate information to the control center and take pictures, getting on and off the site as quickly as possible. Since March 23, there have been more than 80 indirect fire attacks in the IZ. Capt. Thomas...

A 19-YEAR-OLD woman set fire to her own paper-wrapped faeces in revenge for having her boyfriend stolen, a court heard. The woman defecated in a piece of newspaper and put it on the front porch of a house belonging to a woman who she found out had a brief affair with her partner. The Supreme Court in Hobart heard the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, ignited the paper but it failed to catch alight. She then lit another piece of paper on fire and slid it through the front door. The blaze caught on to the curtains...

Darvaz: The Door to Hell Category: Funny, History, Photos | This place in Uzbekistan is called by locals “The Door to Hell”. It is situated near the small town of Darvaz. The story of this place lasts already for 35 years. Once the geologists were drilling for gas. Then suddenly during the drilling they have found an underground cavern, it was so big that all the drilling site with all the equipment and camps got deep deep under the ground. None dared to go down there because the cavern was filled with gas. So they ignited it so that no...

Barton Gets 15 Years Probation, Community Service. A woman who admitted to starting the Hayman Fire will not do any time in Colorado for sparking the largest wildfire in the state's history... "I feel good. It's done," Terry Barton said, looking relaxed at the hearing. Barton is currently serving a six-year sentence in a federal prison in Fort Worth, Texas and will be released in June. The state wanted her to also serve time in state prison, but Barton's original state sentence of 12 years in prison was overturned by the Colorado Appeals Court. "Your honor, I'm not asking for...

Wednesday, March 26, 2008 AP March 26: A firefighter inspects the scene where explosions blew the manhole covers off an underground electrical vault in Los Angeles. March 26: A firefighter inspects the scene where explosions blew the manhole covers off an underground electrical vault in Los Angeles. LOS ANGELES — A hospital spokeswoman says a Los Angeles firefighter has died of injuries from a series of explosions that blew the manhole covers off the top of an underground vault. Deborah Ettinger says the firefighter was pronounced dead after being taken to Centinela Freeman Regional Medical Center Wednesday afternoon. Another firefighter...

NEW BEDFORD, Mass.—A New Bedford man who lived a modest life even after winning a $5 million lottery jackpot has died in a fire. Authorities say 85-year-old John Gonsalves Sr. died Thursday after being overcome by smoke in his home. The fire was determined to be accidental, most likely caused by smoking materials. Gonsalves won a $5.1 million Megabucks jackpot in 1994, yet he didn't let the fortune change his life. His son, John Junior, says his father enjoyed the freedom the money gave him, and liked to buy nice clothes and jewelry, yet he wasn't frivolous and remained the...

BOONEVILLE, Ark. - A meat packing plant exploded Sunday afternoon, injuring an unknown number of people and forcing homes to be evacuated because ammonia gas leaked into the air, state officials said. Flames poured out of the Cargill Meat Solutions plant just after 2 p.m., witnesses said. It wasn't immediately known how many homes were evacuated in the western Arkansas town of 4,000, emergency management spokeswoman Renee Preslar said. A hazardous materials team from Sebastian County was heading to Booneville, Preslar said Meredith Voges, 22, of Connecticut, said she heard the explosion while staying at a hotel just behind the...

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A commission created after a Lake Tahoe blaze destroyed more than 250 homes voted unanimously Friday to seek state and federal emergency declarations to combat what it says is an imminent threat of catastrophic wildfire. A commission report said thinning overgrown forests around communities should be completed within five years and within a decade throughout the entire Tahoe basin, which straddles the two states.

OLIVER SPRINGS, TN -- Firefighters at the site of an oil well fire in Oliver Springs expect the fire to burn for a few more days before it is extinguished. They plan to use heavy equipment and water to extinguish the blaze. Three firefighters from Wild Well Control will are figuring out how to get the oil to stop flowing so the fire can be extinguished. "While it's burning, it's really safer for us, working around it, versus if the well was just blowing around a bunch of oil and gas," Wild Well Control, Inc. Executive VP Freddy Gebhardt said....

HAMILTON TOWNSHIP, Ohio -- A father who forgot to kiss his son goodbye ended up saving his family’s lives. Kevin Roy said he was pulling out of his driveway Tuesday morning when he realized he hadn’t kissed his 1-year-old son, Koby, and worried how he might feel if something had happened. “I just wanted to tell him I loved him before I left,” Roy said. “I pulled up to the end of the driveway and thought, ‘I want to go in and tell him bye,’ because I normally do. It's just something I do on a daily basis, so I...

Ethanol fires harder to control than gasoline, require special foam Francine Sawyer February 28, 2008 - 8:52PM The nation’s drive toward alternative fuels carries a danger many communities have been slow to recognize: Ethanol fires are harder to put out than gasoline fires and require a special type of firefighting foam. Many fire departments don’t have the foam, don’t have enough of it, or are not well-trained in how to apply it. The foam is also more expensive than conventional foam. Bobby Aster, New Bern Fire and Rescue chief, said fighting ethanol fires is new to the fire service. “As...

Extinguishers banned as ‘fire risk’   Simon de Bruxelles   Fire extinguishers may be removed from blocks of flats across Britain after they were deemed dangerous by buildings risk assessors at two blocks on the South Coast. Many residents regard the distinctive red extinguishers as the first response to fire, giving vital time until professional firefighters arrive. But a review of two residential blocks in Bournemouth has raised concerns that householders could delay their escape to tackle a blaze. There is also concern that the use of extinguishers by untrained people could add to the danger. The report has...

VIDEO of Street of Dream homes after the arson. Interview with builder, Steve Pack.

GRAND RAPIDS -- An open door and footprints in the snow raised suspicions about the fire that destroyed a vacant three-story warehouse early Thursday morning just south of downtown. Firefighters were called about 2:19 a.m. to 300 Front Ave. SW and found smoke and flames coming from the building. Heavy smoke continued to pour from the building just north of Wealthy Street as crews worked to put the fire out. The building collapsed about an hour later, leaving "a pile of rubble," said Fire Battalion Chief Jerry Salatka. Fire investigators were called in, Salatka said. "When we arrived, we found...

WAUKEGAN, Ill. -- Firefighters from several departments are battling what appeared to be an explosion and fire at a shopping plaza early Thursday afternoon. The fire is burning at 1926 Grand Ave. in the northern suburb, a shopping plaza home to Tuxedo World, Cleopatra's Unisex Hair Salon, Cellular Concepts and a travel agency. Authorities reported there are several injuries. Reports of a structure collapse could not be confirmed. Authorities have closed Grand Avenue between Martin and Lewis avenues, and crews from People's Gas are on the scene because firefighters fear a gas leak.

Subject: Devotional "Genuine Faith" Date: Feb 19, 2008 9:53 AM 1 Peter 1:7 "So that the genuineness of your faith, which is much more precious than gold which perishes though it is tested by fire - nevertheless might be found unto praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ." The Psalmist tells us that the Word is "more to be desired than gold, even much fine gold" and that "he loves the commandments above gold, above fine gold." It is common knowledge that gold is tested by fire in order to bring about the genuine evidence of...

A beverage heater and cooler that a Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) member brought aboard an MSDF destroyer without permission was probably the cause of a major fire that broke out on the vessel in December, it has been announced. The in-house investigation committee of the Maritime Staff Office said on Monday that the fire allegedly started after an electronic heater and cooler that an MSDF member brought onto the destroyer Shirane became overheated while the vessel was moored at the Yokosuka base on Dec. 14 last year. The device, designed to cool or warm beverages, was brought into the combat...

McCOOK, Texas (AP) - An explosion Friday at a gas pipeline in south Texas sent flames rising hundreds of feet into the air, but the fire was quickly contained and no injuries were reported, authorities said. Hidalgo County Emergency Manager Tony Pena said earlier reports that one person had been injured in the explosion were incorrect. After the explosion, black smoke rushed across a cloudy sky in northern Hidalgo County, driven by winds gusting to 40 mph (64 kph). Orange flames reached 400 feet to 500 feet (120 meters to 150 meters) into the air, Pena said. Firefighters shut off...

DES MOINES, Iowa - The cartoonish plastic frog with bulging eyes could be a children's toy — but for the torch-like flame that bursts from the novelty lighter's head. "They look like something you would get in a McDonald's Happy Meal," said John Dean, president of the National Association of State Fire Marshals, who often shows off the device. "They're cute, they're little" — but they can be deadly. Dean's group is backing an effort to ban novelty lighters across the country, and a handful of states are considering it. In California, Washington and Arkansas, local ordinances have been passed...

PORT WENTWORTH, Ga. (Feb. 12) - Specialists arrived Tuesday to help extinguish a five-day-old sugar-refinery fire burning too intensely and deeply for standard firefighting to douse, and officials feared the deadly blaze could once again trigger explosions. Thick masses of molten sugar were smoldering at temperatures as high as 4,000 degrees and three more fires ignited Tuesday, even after a helicopter dumped thousands of gallons on the fire. "We're dealing with a dormant volcano full of lava," said Capt. Matt Stanley from the fire department in nearby Savannah. Six people are confirmed dead in Thursday's fire and two other workers...