News Archive

2023

Screenshot from the ABC News video about the hearings around the East Palestine Derailment.

Large HazMat training need identified for volunteer fire departments - It took nearly one hour to i...

On June 22-23, two days of hearings were held by the US National Transportation Safety Board on what...

Large HazMat training need identified for volunteer fire departments - It took nearly one hour to identify chemicals in East Palestine derailment

U.S. Air Force firefighters rush into extreme heat temperatures to extinguish live fire during training at 165th Airlift Wing, Garden City, Ga., Oct. 3, 2015. The 165th AW firefighters train to meet both local, global protection needs, provide timely fire prevention education and protection to the wing, the Air Dominance Center and the airport tenants. (Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Noel Velez/Released)

Mobile rehab centers bring freezers full of ice and frozen towels to help firefighters recover in th...

- We have frozen towels and cooling caps that can wrap around your head and vests which can be fill...

Mobile rehab centers bring freezers full of ice and frozen towels to help firefighters recover in the 2023 heatwave

More than 30 million hectares of land may have burned in Canada 2023: France sends 120 more firefigh...

- It is amazing: These fires are huge and numerous, said the French commander David Durupt after cov...

More than 30 million hectares of land may have burned in Canada 2023: France sends 120 more firefighters to Quebec

A Royal Air Force firefighter takes part in an exercise at RAF Leuchars in Scotland. Organization: RAF Object Name: is-3464-hr Supplemental Categories: People, Royal Air Force Keywords: Royal Air Force, RAF, Personnel, Non-Identifiable, Man, Smoke, Fire and Rescue, Fire, Rescue, Hose, Firefighter, Fireman Country: UK Photo Permission details: Images are downloadable at high resolution, made available at http://www.defenceimagery.mod.uk for reuse under the OGL (Open Government License). When reusing, cre

New 2023 law will come into effect to establish framework for Canadian firefighters and occupational...

Canada has paved the way for many other countries in the world to start recognizing cancer as an occ...

New 2023 law will come into effect to establish framework for Canadian firefighters and occupational cancer

Screenshot from the DARS road company surveillance footage of the early stages of the fire.

Tunnel fire in Slovenia - transport truck collided with several vehicles and caused massive fire

A multi-vehicle collision caused a fire in a tunnel on the A1 motorway near Maribor on Monday, leadi...

Tunnel fire in Slovenia - transport truck collided with several vehicles and caused massive fire

In May 2023 wildfires in northern Alberta, Canada caused significant impact on air quality as thick smoke engulfed areas across Canada and the United States. On May, 17th, 2023, the day this photograph was taken, the Air Quality Health Index from the Government of Canada measured 10+, the highest rating possible. Photo by Dwayne Reilander - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=132070486

Summer of 2023 Quebec wildfires may continue to burn - and pollute the air - until autumn

The air quality health index for Ottawa reached 10+ on Sunday morning, indicating a very high risk t...

Summer of 2023 Quebec wildfires may continue to burn - and pollute the air - until autumn

A Waymo self-driving car on the road in Mountain View. Wikipedia Commons License. Author: Grendelkhan

Self driving AI powered taxis keep interfering with fire scenes in California

Robotaxis keep interfering with firefighters on the streets of San Francisco, and the fire chief is ...

Self driving AI powered taxis keep interfering with fire scenes in California

An explosives contractor prepares for the vent and burn of vinyl chloride in this image included in NTSB documents released Thursday. (NTSB)

Railroad company gave fire chief 13 minutes to decide on vent and burn in Ohio vinyl chloride incid...

The decision to vent and burn off the hazardous materials was the best decision Fire Chief Keith Dra...

Railroad company gave fire chief 13 minutes to decide on vent and burn in Ohio vinyl chloride incident

Aerial view of Ängelholm, Sweden. By Pär-Martin Hedberg - Riksantikvarieämbetet på denna plats (Bjäre Ängelholm_HIO4533.JPG), CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=77844480

Hydrogen Sulphide: Criminal investigation into case of six firefighters injured and two workers dea...

On Thursday, HazMat personnel wearing chemical suits and respirators began the cleanup of the Omni P...

Hydrogen Sulphide: Criminal investigation into case of six firefighters injured and two workers dead in industrial accident

The ceremonial handover of books at the CTIF Firefighting Museum in Pribyslav on June 13, 2023.

The CTIF Center for Fire Statistics donated large collection of books to the Fire Brigade Museum in ...

Among the new books are extensive reference works from Germany, as well as books from Japan, the Uni...

The CTIF Center for Fire Statistics donated large collection of books to the Fire Brigade Museum in Pribyslav

Central Paris. Photo by Roman Boed, PXhere-license: https://pxhere.com/en/photo/236538?utm_content=shareClip&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pxhere

Large gas explosion in central Paris - many people injured - 30 dead in gas explosion in China

Several fires broke out in connection to the explosion and more than 200 firefighters were initially...

Large gas explosion in central Paris - many people injured - 30 dead in gas explosion in China

Village of Sankt Augustine, Germany. Map by: Wikipedia Commons

Two firefighters died and 11 were injured in a fire in a motorcycle shop in Germany

The two firefighters, one male and one female, were from the local volunteer fire brigade which was ...

Two firefighters died and 11 were injured in a fire in a motorcycle shop in Germany

Juan Carlos Field (vice president of OBA) Milan Dubravac (President CTIF). Photo: CTIF Austria.

CTIF signed MOU with Organización de Bomberos Americanos

The OBA and CTIF agree to mutually collaborate and support each other as described in this MOU.

CTIF signed MOU with Organización de Bomberos Americanos

The Executive Committee of CTIF with our four new vice presidents voted in as of DA 2023 in Vienna. Photo: CTIF Austria From the left: Otto Drozd (USA - New), Luc Faes (Belgium - New), Marc Mamer (Luxembourg, Treasurer), Zdenek Nytra (Czech Republic - leaving the EC), Tom Van Esbroeck (Belgium - Special Advisor), Milan Dubravac (Slovenia - Pres), Taina Hanhihoski (Finland), Dennis Davis (UK - Senior Advisor), Yvonne Näsman (Sweden), Ole Hansen (Norway - leaving the EC), Neza Strmole (Slovenia - CTIF Secr

CTIF has a new Executive Committee - four new vice presidents voted in at DA 2023

The four new Vice Presidents in the CTIF EC are: Otto Drozd (USA), Luc Faes (Belgium), Martin Neku...

CTIF has a new Executive Committee - four new vice presidents voted in at DA 2023

Vienna City Hall filled with CTIF delegates for AD 2023

Report from Delegates Assembly 2023 in Vienna

22 countries were present physically for Delegates Assembly on Thursday, and another 5 countries joi...

Report from Delegates Assembly 2023 in Vienna

Screenshot from the CTIF Fire Statistics Report no 28

The CTIF Fire Statistics magazine no 28 is published!

The 2021 statistics include information from 38 states and 26 major cities. In the second part of th...

The CTIF Fire Statistics magazine no 28 is published!

Ivana Kruijff-Korbayová speaking about robot assisted rescue at the CTIF seminar in Ostrava, 2019

Speakers list for the seminar part of Delegates Assembly in Vienna

A total of 9 interesting presentations are lined up and will take up most of the extended afternoon.

Speakers list for the seminar part of Delegates Assembly in Vienna

The new Board of Directors for the CTIF Commission for WFR

CTIF Women in Fire & Rescue Services met at CERN - New Chair and board elected

Congratulations to Nicola Lown, UK, to the Chair position! Thank you Mira Leinonen for your 8 years ...

CTIF Women in Fire & Rescue Services met at CERN - New Chair and board elected

Delegates Assembly 2023 start page for registration - screenshot

Program for Delegates Assembly in Vienna 2023: June 14-15

Online stream available: Those national representatives who cannot participate physically will be gi...

Program for Delegates Assembly in Vienna 2023: June 14-15

A photo of a burned out van on the train that caught fire in a tunnel near Fritzens, Austria, on June 7. Photo by FF Fritzens.

150 train passengers evacuated from fire in railway tunnel in Austria: 400 firefighters involved in ...

151 passengers were evacuated from the tunnel. The large-scale operation by the emergency services i...

150 train passengers evacuated from fire in railway tunnel in Austria: 400 firefighters involved in the rescue

Loy Setter, President of Metro Fire Chiefs, and Milan Dubravac, President of CTIF signing the MoU between the two organizations on Thursday June 8, 2023.

CTIF signed a new Memorandum of Understanding with Metro Fire Chiefs

At the conference President Dubravac also met USA Fire administrator dr Lori Moore-Merell and the CE...

CTIF signed a new Memorandum of Understanding with Metro Fire Chiefs

Smoky sky from forest fire. The free high-resolution photo of forest, fire, hell, smoke, wildfire, atmospheric phenomenon, sky, natural environment, tree, atmosphere, event, geological phenomenon, haze, cloud, landscape, hill @Nikolay Kondev, taken with an DMC-FZ1000 09/06 2019 The picture taken with 31.0mm, f/3.8s, 1/500s, ISO 125 The image is released free of copyrights under Creative Commons CC0. You may download, modify, distribute, and use them royalty free for anything you like, even in commercial

Millions of people encouraged to mask up due to intense Canadian wildfire smoke 2023 - New York giv...

Several million people are advised to mask up due to intense smoke in large parts of North America.

Millions of people encouraged to mask up due to intense Canadian wildfire smoke 2023 - New York giving out 1 million free N95s

Waldbrand (Bodenfeuer) im Bundesland Brandenburg, Sommer 2003. Wikipedia Commons License

2023 Wildfire near ammunition depot in Germany: Several explosions heard

The situation with the forest fire near Jüterbog south of Berlin is still tense. The head of the mun...

2023 Wildfire near ammunition depot in Germany: Several explosions heard

CTIF General Secretary Roman Sykora speaking at the General Assembly of the Confederation of Fire Protection Associations Europe (CFPA-E).

CTIF General Secretary spoke at the General Assembly of the Confederation of Fire Protection Associa...

Mr Sykora made a presentation about CTIF and opened for more future cooperation.

CTIF General Secretary spoke at the General Assembly of the Confederation of Fire Protection Associations Europe

Photo from MSB´s full scale test of using cutting extinguishers on EVs in 2022.

Lessons Learned from the world’s first known case of using a cutting extinguisher on an EV-fire

Håvard Hauge from Norway had to make a quick risk analysis before deciding he felt ok with venturing...

Lessons Learned from the world’s first known case of using a cutting extinguisher on an EV-fire

CTIF President Milan Dubravac opens the meeting with a welcome speech.

25 participants from 10 countries present at CTIF Forest Fire Commission spring 2023 meeting in Croa...

Presentations were made from all countries regarding the lessons learned and the good techniques fro...

25 participants from 10 countries present at CTIF Forest Fire Commission spring 2023 meeting in Croatia

Photo of Dr. Ulrich Cimolino by Dr. Michael Rüffer/Feuerwehr-Magazin.

DFV forest fire expert Dr. Ulrich Cimolino gives advice for June and the wildfire season 2023

Recommendations on behavior for the population - Recommendations for fire brigades - Basic dangers w...

DFV forest fire expert Dr. Ulrich Cimolino gives advice for June and the wildfire season 2023

A wildfire about one kilometre north from the Saulteux First Nation's community hall. (Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs/ Facebook)

Dangerous firefighting conditions expected in Nova Scotia wildfires 2023 - 16,000 Eastern Canadians ...

More than 200 fire crews from agencies across the province have been sent to help. Officials say the...

Dangerous firefighting conditions expected in Nova Scotia wildfires 2023 - 16,000 Eastern Canadians evacuated

Screenshot of CNN´s news clip from the Iowa building collapse on May 28, 2023

Flooding may have caused structural instability - 8 people rescued from Iowa mid rise collapse

Part of the building’s back section collapsed and detached from the rest of the structure just befor...

Flooding may have caused structural instability - 8 people rescued from Iowa mid rise collapse

Michael Rimmer, who became a firefighter at age 56. Photo by SFRS

Scottish air force engineer becomes firefighter at age 56

- Age is not barrier, says the former air force engineer to BBC.

Scottish air force engineer becomes firefighter at age 56

The remains of the exploding biogas bus. Photo provided by the owner, Vikbolands Taxi

Biogas bus exploded in southern Sweden: "It looks like it has been through a war"

All the windows are blown out and there are large holes that have shot through nearby cars. It looks...

Biogas bus exploded in southern Sweden: "It looks like it has been through a war"

A Canadair CL-215 water bomber plane dropping a load pf water on a forest fire. Photo: Wikipedia Commons

Europe is preparing for a 2023 with extremely hot weather, droughts and record forest fires

Spain bans all outdoor work when temperatures are dangerously high, and pays 2 billion Euros to supp...

Europe is preparing for a 2023 with extremely hot weather, droughts and record forest fires

Per-Ola Malmquist in a screen shot from his video about extinguishing EV fires.

See Swedish lithium-ion battery expert Per-Ola Malmqvist explain how to safely extinguish EV-fires w...

Extinguishing fires in electric vehicles (EVs) and lithium-ion batteries is a debated topic and is m...

See Swedish lithium-ion battery expert Per-Ola Malmqvist explain how to safely extinguish EV-fires with minimal water

Emergency crews rescue several people in a boat on a flooded street after heavy rains hit the east coast of the Marche region in Senigallia, Italy. Photo by VIGILI DEL FUOCO

40,000 people evacuated from Italian flooding in the wake of Storm Minerva 2023

14 people have died and more than 5,000 rescue workers and volunteers have been working in the affec...

40,000 people evacuated from Italian flooding in the wake of Storm Minerva 2023

Forest fires in France 2022. Photo by Christophe Marchal, CTIF

Forest fires out of control in Extremadura in Western Spain 2023

Last Tuesday the resolution which approves the Special Civil Protection Plan against Forest Fires in...

Forest fires out of control in Extremadura in Western Spain 2023

A wildfire burns near Edson. More than 100 active fires were spread across the province as of Saturday morning. Photo provided by Alberta Wildfire.

Smoke from Western Canada 2023 wildfires affecting visibility in US states as far south as New York

Wildfire smoke from Canada was impacting states in the northern tier of the U.S. during the second w...

Smoke from Western Canada 2023 wildfires affecting visibility in US states as far south as New York

A block of flats with lots of possessions piled outside the window. Photo by London Fire Brigade

London Fire Brigade offers support to hoarders to mitigate fire risks among rising cost of living

Last year, London Fire Brigade attended almost 1,040 hoarding-related fires, with around 186 injurie...

London Fire Brigade offers support to hoarders to mitigate fire risks among rising cost of living

Photo of wildfires in Russia from the Russian Emergency Ministry.

The 2023 Russia wildfires claimed at least 21 lives in the Ural mountains

The deaths and injuries occured in the Kurgan region, on the border between the Urals and Siberia. I...

The 2023 Russia wildfires claimed at least 21 lives in the Ural mountains

Ten firefighters and two police officers injured in high-rise apartment explosion in Germany

A police spokeswoman told reporters that some of those hurt were in a potentially life-threatening c...

Ten firefighters and two police officers injured in high-rise apartment explosion in Germany

Milan city skyline. Wikipedia Commons License.

Fire in oxygen tanks on a transport truck caused huge explosions in Milan

A dozen explosions reportedly erupted and the fire likely started in the engine compartment of the t...

Fire in oxygen tanks on a transport truck caused huge explosions in Milan