A person escaped a trailer fire after suffering minor burns and smoke inhalation after a fire at Sprucewood Park on Monday morning, according to Capital City Fire/ Rescue. The person, who was the trailer's lone occupant, was taken to Bartlett Regional Hospital for medical evaluation. Capital City Fire/Rescue was dispatched to the 9900 block of Stephen Richards Memorial Drive for a reported residential structure fire at approximately 9:47 a.m. Upon arrival, fire personnel found a mobile home engulfed with heavy fire and smoke. The Fire Marshal's office conducted a fire origin and cause investigation immediately after the fire had been safely extinguished. The room of origin was found to be a space near the front entrance of the home, which was also the only accessible exit for the occupant. While the cause of the fire is still under investigation, the residence has been determined to be a total loss.  

Several residents were forced out of their homes early Wednesday following a fire at a pedicab warehouse, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFD). The blaze was reported just before 4:30 a.m. at an alley on the 1400 block of Market Street. There, flames burned quickly due to lithium batteries in the warehouse and prompted officials to evacuate the neighboring Potiker Senior Residents complex, SDFD Battalion Chief Banker said. The warehouse was closed at the time and no injuries were reported in connection with the blaze. The warehouse appears to have been destroyed and the senior housing complex sustained exterior damage in the fire. Residents have since been given the all-clear to return to their homes. It is unclear what started the blaze.  

A recent nationwide study shows Maryland has an alarming level of "forever chemicals" in its waterways. The study, conducted by the national Waterkeeper Alliance, looks at the level of PFAS contaminants in U.S. surface waters. PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), often referred to as "forever chemicals," are manufactured chemicals that do not break down in the environment. The study says PFAs are "linked to harmful public health and ecosystem impacts" and commonly found in things like non-stick pans, food wrappers, and water or stain-resistant materials. Of the recent water samples taken across 30 states, Maryland's samples detected the highest level of forever chemicals nationwide. According to the study, 25 PFAS compounds were detected across 134 locations in Maryland.  

Today marks the 150th anniversary of the Great Boston Fire of 1872, which is remembered as the largest fire in the city. The fire began on the 80 block of Summer Street, and would go on to burn through 776 buildings, spanning 65 acres of Downtown and the Financial District. A series of unique circumstances came together to create a perfect storm for the fire to happen and get as bad as it did. In the years following the Civil War, the City of Boston had been undergoing major development, but upgrades to infrastructure — such as water mains — had not been done yet. Plus, the city's fire department was dealing with a disease impacting its horses, which negatively impacted the agency's ability to transport the heavy firefighting equipment, according to the Boston Fire Historical Society.  

A weekly report released Friday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention adds numbers to previous predictions of a troubling flu season. The number of hospitalizations reported by Oct. 29 has surpassed every recent year during the same week going back as far as the 2010-2011 season. While not a direct case count, the number of people hospitalized with a virus such as influenza or COVID-19 reflects the health care burden of a disease and shows how many people are being harmed. Experts have warned, though, that this season could produce more flu illnesses, based on how bad it was in Australia -- a country where flu viruses tend to develop first during the opposite winter season before migrating to the Northern Hemisphere . "It's hard to anticipate what trends we will see with each flu season, but we usually look to the Southern Hemisphere for clues," said Dr. Brittany Mueller, an internal medicine physician at Atlantic Medical Group Primary Care.