fire safety News

Insurer Loses Bid to Recover $340M Payout for Dubai Hotel Fire

An insurance company that was ordered to pay more than a billion Dirhams in damages for a 2015 New Year’s Eve fire in Dubai has lost a civil lawsuit that it filed to try and recover the money. Two years …

Rainbow Gathering Planned in Colorado Sparks Fire Concerns

DENVER (AP) — The Rainbow Gathering of the Tribes plans to return to Colorado this summer to celebrate its 50th anniversary. The weeks-long confab that draws tens of thousands of hippie campers to public lands announced this week that the …

PG&E Judge Says Bankrupt Utility Violated Probation Terms

The federal judge overseeing PG&E Corp.’s criminal probation lashed out at the company for falling “far behind” on fire safety progress as he considers whether to make the bankrupt California utility owner hire more tree trimmers and restrict how it …

PG&E to Fire Safety Critics: We’re Going Beyond Call of Duty

PG&E Corp. sought to assure a judge it’s making progress on fire prevention, saying it’s exceeding regulatory requirements to clear vegetation from power lines. Kevin Orsini, a lawyer for the utility, on Tuesday acknowledged criticism from a court-appointed compliance monitor, …

PG&E Took 8 Months to Prune a Tree at Risk of Catching Fire

It was on July 12 — only after an inspector raised the alarm — that PG&E Corp. finally pruned a tree in a fire-prone area. Its leaves had already been singed as wind gusts blew them into a power line …

A Month Out From Wildfire Season and PG&E Is Behind on Tree Work

California is just one month away from the official start of wildfire season and bankrupt utility giant PG&E Corp. is running behind on inspections, repairs and tree-trimming that was ordered up to reduce the risk of another devastating blaze. PG&E, …

The Folly of Returning to Paradise, California: Viewpoint

Paradise, California, is being rebuilt. Crews are removing millions of tons of debris left by the devastating Camp Fire last fall. The town council is holding public meetings to plan a new community. Developers are designing new homes. And somewhere …

Honolulu Condos Must Move to Comply With New Fire Safety Rules

Honolulu high-rise condominium owners won’t get more time to comply with stricter fire safety rules enacted after an apartment fire in 2017 killed four people. The city council failed this week to get enough votes to override Mayor Kirk Caldewell’s …

Michigan Fire Officials Say They Lack Resources for Safety Inspections

The Michigan fire marshal’s office hasn’t performed annual safety inspections of churches, theaters, restaurants or other places of public assemblage as required by state law, according to a newspaper investigation. The Legislature has never funded the requirement, the Lansing State …

No Sprinklers in Trump Tower Deadly Fire

A raging fire that tore through a 50th-floor apartment at Trump Tower killed a man inside and sent flames and thick, black smoke pouring from windows of the president’s namesake skyscraper. New York Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said the cause …