[Update, more videos below] A van burst into flames in front of Foley Square earlier this afternoon, directly in front of the courthouse at 1 Federal Plaza. According to the FDNY the van caught fire at 1:52 p.m. and was put out quickly with no injuries reported. more ›

Not to be all Smokey the Bear about it, but since deadly fires happen most often in the winter months, now is a good time to brush up on some fire safety. We talked to FDNY spokesperson Frank Dwyer recently, and got tips on dealing with fires in different types of city dwellings. After all, how you deal with a fire in your home all depends on what type of home you live in. more ›

Since your homemade raft probably won't fit in the bathtub, the next best option has to be the East River, right? The Fire Department's Marine Unit 6 rescued an 18-year-old from the river near 87th Street around 6 p.m. Firefighter Michael Krochak told NBC New York, "We witnessed a person in the water struggling, hanging on to a life ring supported by a rope over a sea wall 40 feet in the air off the East River Drive. That was the only thing he had for support at that point." more ›

A 34-year-old woman has jumped off the Williamsburg Bridge, landing on the street below. According to the FDNY, a call came in around 2:34 this afternoon detailing that the woman had landed on Pitt Street, and suffered "multiple trauma" before being transported to Bellevue Hospital. We'll update as more information becomes available. more ›

What is it about day care centers that seems to bring out the worst in New Yorkers? 54-year-old supervising FDNY safety inspector Carlos Montoya was arrested on Friday for accepting tens of thousands of dollars worth of bribes from day care centers. According to Manhattan's U.S. attorney Preet Bharara [pdf], Montoya, who has been a safety inspector since 1993, "was responsible for certifying that day care centers throughout the city complied with fire safety standards," but "allegedly solicited bribes to look the other way, potentially compromising the safety of the children who attended these centers.” According to the Times, Montoya has been released on $100,000 bond. more ›

An off-duty Staten Island firefighter saved an elderly couple—and their cat—on Christmas night from a blaze that started after their Christmas tree caught on fire. "My instinct just kicked in,"37-year-old Ladder Company 81 member Steven Carl told the Daily News. "I just did what I was trained to do." more ›

Alfredo Allen, a 15-year-old student at Erasmus High School in Brooklyn, was taken to Kings County Hospital today in critical condition after being stabbed multiple times in the head with a pair of scissors. The attack reportedly began because the victim had stolen the ball from his attacker during a lunchtime pickup basketball game at the Prospect Park South school. more ›

The firefighter who was severely burned fighting a fire in Crown Heights yesterday morning nearly lost his life while searching for people in a brownstone that was unoccupied. The firefighter, Robert Wiedmann, 38, was with others searching for victims on the top floor when flames suddenly exploded into the front room. Video obtained by a bystander shows him on fire and leaping onto an aerial ladder just as it reaches him. “The firefighter was about to jump," witness Victor Vargas tells the Post. "He was screaming like crazy." more ›

A firefighter is hospitalized in critical but stable condition after sustaining burns over 42 percent of his body while battling a two alarm blaze in Crown Heights this morning. FDNY units responded to the scene around 9 a.m. at 1102 Prospect Place, where a three-story brownstone was engulfed in flames. Here's video of the fire, via Firefighter Nation. (Be warned, the video shows a firefighter engulfed in flames): more ›

Cyclists are used to dealing with hostility from sociopath drivers, but last night a biker turned on one of his own. The FDNY and the NYPD tell us they have no information about the incident, but the NYPD tells NY1 that a cyclist in his 30s was stabbed in his chest and back. The stabbing happened around 7 p.m. on the corner of Ninth Avenue and 49th Street. more ›

An FDNY EMT who's been on the job since 2004 was arrested yesterday after getting caught in a NYC Department of Investigation sting. Officials say Donald Vasquez of Brooklyn was caught on surveillance camera stealing $280 from a man whom he believed was injured. But the "patient" was actually an undercover investigator participating in an "integrity test," which was arranged after someone made a theft complaint against Vasquez. SPOILER: He scored a big fat F on this test (allegedly!). more ›

How does the Police Commissioner show his appreciation for the Staten Island firefighters who used a water cannon to stop a rioting group who were beating up cops? By sending over "cold cuts, side salads and beverages" to Fire Engine Co. 158. Of course, lawyers for the arrested individuals aren't really impressed by the use of the water cannons: D. Andrew Marshall told the Staten Island Advance, "The last time I heard water cannons being used on unarmed citizens was the civil rights movement in the ’60s. That needs to be investigated post haste, starting with who authorized the use of a water cannon on unarmed citizens, kids." more ›

Members of the family who were trapped in a Brooklyn row house fire on Thanksgiving are in critical condition in NYC hospitals. According to the Post, 8-month-old Josiah Alexis, his mother Justine Alexis, uncle Jonathan Alexis and his aunt's husband George DeJesus are all at New York Presbyterian Cornell Weill Medical Center with ventilators; the baby's aunt, Jasmine Alexis (twin sister to Justine, wife of DeJesus) is at Jacobi Medical Center. This news comes as fire official described how the fire, started by someone smoking in bed, spread across the President Street home in Park Slope. more ›

Don't panic! A little after 10 a.m. Battery Park City residents got a touch worried when they heard what sounded like an explosion. Multiple people called 911 in concern. But while there was a loud noise this morning, it wasn't anything to worry about: The explosion was actually a cannon being fired as part of the Castle Clinton bicentennial celebration! more ›

When does prank calling stop being funny? The Jerky Boys might say when the royalties stop, and their fans might say "at age 12." But for one Inwood couple, the thrill has been gone for almost two years. Mamadou and Assetou Sy have had 155 visits from the NYPD and the FDNY on fake calls, sometimes twice a day. "We cannot understand how this could be happening," Mamadou tells the Daily News, "How can people play around with the Fire Department and the police like this?" Moe is one thing, but continually calling emergencies services is just wrong. more ›

Yet another generator was seized from Zuccotti Park by the FDNY last night, just four days after the department returned the generators that had been confiscated on October 28. According to a video posted by OccupyWallStNYC, a man in plainclothes entered the park around 9 p.m. and said he was "coming for his [exhaust] tube." He then demanded that a protester unplug the generator, and "tugged it away." The first of two NYPD officers confirming the action in the video says, "The generator was seized by the Fire Department." more ›

The Bloomberg administration has spent millions of dollars installing custom-designed GPS tracking units in fire and sanitation trucks over the past several years, but the system is rife with malfunctions, according to audits by city Comptroller John Liu. The GPS system has repeatedly shown fire trucks and sanitation trucks to be in the middle of New York Harbor or sinking in Long Island Sound, when in fact they were still safely on land. The city has spent as much as $56,000 for a single unit in a sanitation truck, and will continue to spend money on what Liu calls "wasted on technology that falls short of what’s promised, raising questions about the oversight of expensive outside consultants." more ›

A man was struck and killed by a northbound 6 train this morning at 8:46 a.m. in the Bleecker Street station. The FDNY and the MTA had no other information regarding the victim, and service has been suspended on the 4/5/6 trains between Grand Central and Wall Street pending an investigation. more ›

A second alarm fire broke out in Williamsburg on Metropolitan Avenue near Lorimer Street earlier this afternoon. The FDNY tells us that there weren't any injuries, and that the fire is currently under control. It appears the blaze originated from the top floor of the Cheers Thai Restaurant. more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] The battle for power at Occupy Wall Street continues! Yesterday firefighters seized a generator belonging to a licensed food vendor who operates a cart on the sidewalk outside Zuccotti Park. The vendor, who has only been identified as Ali, was reportedly running a power cord from his cart to the protesters' media tent. In seizing the generator, the FDNY cited "failure to provide a permit for the storage of gasoline and failure to have a permit to change out propane tanks." Regarding the first violation, Ali tells A Great Big City the gasoline canister was empty. Here's the first video: more ›

Last night, just before 8 p.m., a young woman jumped from the platform onto the tracks as a Brooklyn-bound F train pulled into the Delancey/Essex Street station. Passengers were quickly removed from the train (though some were stuck in the dark for up to 30 minutes) as the FDNY pulled the woman from the tracks. But on the plus side, it appears the woman will be okay? more ›

A former chief fire marshal for the FDNY has allegedly been granted a generous plea agreement for a DWI charge he incurred in December. Louis Garcia, who the Daily News calls a "legendary FDNY figure" before his retirement in 2008, allegedly ran a stop sign near his home in Whitestone and crashed his Mercedes into an unmarked police car. more ›

The below video, posted on British Pathe, claims to be "quite possibly the first ever footage of the New York Fire Brigade. The film is very grainy but it clearly shows firemen rushing through New York on horse drawn engines. Behind them, you can see some sort of electric powered streetcar or trolley system with 'Clinton Avenue' on the back." After taking a look, we went straight to the experts, specifically, Frank Dwyer at the FDNY, who told us, "As this video shows, the FDNY has been protecting New Yorkers for well over a century. Our equipment and response times have clearly improved since this video was made, but our mission and the dedication of our members remains the same." more ›