Free Republic

 A raging forest fire in central Portugal sent flames sweeping over roads, killing at least 61 people, many of them trapped in their cars as they tried to flee, officials said Sunday. The country's prime minister called it "the biggest tragedy" that Portugal has experienced in decades and declared three days of national mourning.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said empty properties in the surrounding area of the Grenfell Tower should be requisitioned for victims of the fire. • A third of 5,321 adults said that they strongly support the proposal. • 26% said they tend to support Corbyn's proposal, bringing the total to 59% in agreement. • Corbyn's approach to the fire, which has so far killed 30 people and injured dozens of others, has been heralded by the public....

A total of 58 people are dead or missing, presumed dead following the devastating fire at Grenfell Tower in west London, police have said. Commander Stuart Cundy said that number "may increase". The BBC understands it could be around 70 people in total. The recovery operation at the burnt-out block of flats has resumed and could take weeks, he said. Meanwhile, PM Theresa May admitted support for families in the "initial hours" was "not good enough". The statement came after Mrs May met some of the people made homeless by the fire and volunteer helpers in Downing Street.

The police cordon surrounding a huge tower block fire in Notting Hill has been pushed back amid concerns the whole building could collapse. An exclusion zone was set up overnight as flames raged through the 27-storey Grenfell Tower near Ladbroke Grove causing debris to crash down the side of the building. As firefighters continued to battle the flames on Wednesday morning the cordon has reportedly been widened over concerns about the stability of the building, which contains 120 flats and is located in a densely populated area of west London. A Met Police spokeswoman confirmed there were “significant cordons” in...

A massive residential fire in Ladbroke Grove suburb of London England has many people worried about trapped residents.   According to most media reports the 24 floor building, Greenfell Tower, houses 120 units and is almost completely engulfed.The fire began in the middle of the night.  There are over 40 fire squads and 200 firefighters attempting to control the blaze.(The Sun) […]  FIREFIGHTERS are battling an inferno which has engulfed a block of flats in Ladbroke Grove, West London.Some residents are trapped inside the 24-storey tower, with children among residents desperately shouting for help from windows on upper floors with neighbouring...

Watch live: A huge fire has engulfed a 24-story apartment block in West London.

Blaze has engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road in White City on Wednesday morning Horrifying pictures emerged on social media showing massive flames licking up the side of the block Desperate residents trapped high in the enormous residential tower were heard 'screaming' for help Police are evacuating people and two residents are already being treated for smoke inhalation Desperate residents are building ropes from sheets in an attempt to escape from their windows as a huge inferno is engulfing a tower block in west London. The 'horrendous' blaze has struck the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, White...

Should President Trump fire Special Counsel Mueller? No. Mueller will conduct a fair investigation. Yes. Mueller is a partisan hack.

Thirty-four bodies have been found inside Resorts World Manila, which was attacked by a lone gunman in the early hours of Friday morning, according to a local official. The victims did not appear to have been shot, but indications were that they had suffocated, Bureau of Fire Protection, Southern Police District Director P/Supt. Tomas Apolinario said in an interview ....

The hashtag #FireKushner became the top trending topic on Twitter Friday night, thanks to outraged Donald Trump supporters who blamed Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and top adviser, for the decision to strike Syria. According to the outraged Trump supporters, the Syrian strike was a betrayal of Trump’s “America First” platform. They blame that policy change on Kushner. Irate Trump supporters also tweeted out #KeepBannon Friday night in addition to #FireKushner, in reference to reports that White House chief strategist Steve Bannon may be dismissed soon. Bannon is considered to be the Trump adviser who represents populist-nationalism in the West...

The Georgia Department of Transportation said it will take at least several months to repair Interstate 85, where an intense fire caused a section of the elevated northbound lanes to collapse during the Thursday evening rush hour.

With its own cult following, Solar Roadways still captures the imaginations of people who live in an alternative universe where these “roads” will power the world’s future. But first, they will have to stop the infernal thing from catching on fire.

A group of Wellesley College professors recently sent a campus-wide email arguing that bringing controversial speakers to campus can cause grave harm to students. The full letter, which was obtained and published by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), was written by six professors who stand on the Wellesley Commission for Race, Ethnicity, and Equity.

Maine's state fire marshal says a man burned down his parents' house and killed three pets while trying to exterminate ants in his basement with matches. Investigators say 21-year-old Devon Doucette was trying to incinerate the ants with wooden matches when one of them ignited combustible materials. The fire quickly spread to the rest of the house. ...the house is owned by his parents, who were not home at the time... the fire killed two cats and one dog. They say charges are not likely.

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — A huge fire at an apartment building under construction in suburban Kansas City has sparked fires at several homes blocks away. The eight-alarm fire broke out about 3:30 p.m. Monday at the multimillion-dollar CityPlace development in Overland Park, Kansas, sending plumes of smoke and embers toward homes in the suburban neighborhood nearby, The Kansas City Star reported (http://bit.ly/2nLM3Hg ). Once one roof caught fire, embers jumped from roof to roof, spreading the blaze, said Overland Park Fire Department spokesman Jason Rhodes. "It's a bit of a war zone down there frankly," Rhodes said. No serious...

<p>Andrew Engelking doesn't know exactly how he was able to catch his kids and break the fall of his pregnant wife as they leapt from their third-floor Spenard apartment to escape a deadly fire that destroyed the building a month ago.</p>

Reuters: Massive fire destroys Raleigh apartment block - only one injury from glass - non life threatening

Big fire in downtown Raleigh, NC!

"As I went to turn around I felt burning on my face," the woman said "I grabbed them off and threw them on the floor. They were sparking and had small amounts of fire." (AFP Photo/Handout) Sydney (AFP) - A woman whose headphones caught fire on a plane suffered burns to her face and hands, Australian officials said Wednesday as they warned about the dangers of battery-operated devices in-flight. The passenger was listening to music on her own battery-operated headphones as she dozed about two hours into the trip from Beijing to Melbourne on February 19 when there was a...

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - Legislators are debating whether to fire the director of South Carolina’s Department of Public Safety through the state budget. A budget amendment proposed Tuesday would eliminate the director’s position and reduce the agency’s funding, effectively firing Leroy Smith. Democratic Rep. Russell Ott says that’s a decision for the governor.