In Australia, wildfires have been raging out of control since September during the continent's hottest year on record. The flames have claimed 30 lives so far and destroyed more than 2,500 homes. Here's what you should know about the deployment of U.S. firefighters: 1. Three U.S. firefighters have lost their lives. On Jan. 23, an aerial tanker crashed in the mountains near the Australian capital of Canberra, killing all on board, including three U.S. firefighters. 2. Australia has helped the U.S. in the past. In 2018, the Australian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council sent 139 firefighters to help with wildfires in California. The two countries have been trading fire service assistance for the last 15 years. 3. Only federal employees can be mobilized by the U.S. Under the terms of the plan, "Wildfire Arrangement Between the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture of the United States of America and the Australian and New Zealand Participating Agencies," only federal employees are eligible to be mobilized by the U.S. government.  

VIDEOS: Broken windows, busted garage doors, and plumes of smoke could be seen from a northwest Houston neighborhood rattled by a large building explosion. According to area residents, the explosion happened around 4:20 a.m. Friday at Watson Valve Services, which is about half a mile away from their homes on Rockcrest road and Stanford Court. Nearly every house in the area had extensive damage, including blown-out windows, damaged garage doors and more. "(The explosion) knocked us all out of our bed, it was so strong," said resident Mark Brady. "It busted out every window in our house. It busted everybody's garage door in around here … and closer toward the explosion over here, it busted people's roofs in and walls in, and we don't know what it is … It's a warzone over here."  

An official with the Detroit Fire Department said 13 firefighters are facing department charges for a photo that surfaced on New Year's Day that featured them posing in front of a burning house in Detroit. The Detroit Fire Department official was not authorized to go on the record about the 13 firefighters but told FOX 2 they are charged with exhibiting ignorance of the rules or orders. Additionally, 4 sergeants who were involved have also been charged with failure to supervise or take the appropriate action. Detroit Fire Commissioner Eric Jones released a statement saying that the appropriate discipline would be doled out. The picture was posted on social media on New Year's Eve and featured the firefighters posing in front of a burning home on South Green Street in Detroit with a caption that says, "Crews take a moment to take a selfie on New Years!"  

The Cleveland Fire Department is taking steps to better protect your neighborhood while possibly saving you money, improving how it responds to suspicious fires. "It's very unusual for somebody to have more than one fire in their life," said Chief Chris Posante, Cleveland Fire Investigation Unit. However, in Cleveland, serial arsonists are keeping the city's recently revamped investigation unit busy. In 2019, the department investigated 349 fires. "For the city of Cleveland, arson's a problem. Some of these people we've identified had four and five fires," Posante said. One of the biggest factors fanning those flames is insurance fraud. "It's an arson for profit scheme," Posante said. In their ongoing effort to crack down on those criminals, the firefighters—turned police officers—are adding new equipment to better execute their investigations.  

Mayor Bill de Blasio will meet with health officials on Friday to discuss the city's response to any potential cases of the deadly coronavirus, which has shut down parts of China and led to fears of an epidemic. The mayor will meet with members from the Department of Health, NYC Emergency Management, the FDNY and the NYPD on Friday morning to talk about how the city will respond if the virus makes its way to the city. New York City is home to some 8.6 million people and health officials are taking a proactive approach to responding to the disease. Many people are traveling this week for the Chinese Lunar New Year, which begins Saturday. A case has already been reported in a man in Washington State; officials said they're monitoring 43 people he had contact with.  

Just think that over a hundred years ago there was no cellphones, no 911 emergency system, no fire department as we know it today! If your home caught on fire, you had to rely on whoever happened to be nearby to help you extinguish the fire, then hopefully you were within reach of a pump, or a water resource. Nowadays the village of Newcomerstown is in the very capable hands of the Newcomerstown Emergency Rescue Squad & Division of Fire when it comes to the need for fire control and rescue. Early records indicate that the village had a volunteer fire department well before 1870. The very early fire-fighting process consisted of a bucket brigade which was comprised of volunteers and whichever citizens were nearby, and available to assist. The brigade would use water from the Tuscarawas River, Ohio-Erie Canal, or Buckhorn Creek.