A series of live burns will not only help firefighters, they will help the city.

The Roanoke Rapids Fire Department is not expected to ask American LaFrance for another extension for a new ladder truck the company is building, Chief Gary Corbet said today.

A new ladder truck for the Roanoke Rapids Fire Department could be on the horizon pending the outcome of Lafayette Gatling's proposal to buy the theater.

A family of six was spared injury this morning when their 11-year-old daughter woke up to smoke and flames apparently caused by a space heater placed 2 inches from the bed she was sleeping in.

The Roanoke Rapids Fire Department has become a virtual Santa's workshop to help Angel's Closet make Christmas brighter for needy children.

Four juveniles will be petitioned to court for allegedly setting four fires, including one which destroyed a clothing donation box and its contents on Jackson Street near McDonald's Thursday night.

Roanoke Rapids police are investigating an arson that occurred at a vacant house at 106 Duke Street this afternoon, one apparently set by metal thieves trying to burn the covers off copper wires.

It's a situation no firefighter wants to find themselves in — a room with no visibility when, under the already heavy weight of turnout gear and air packs, the floor caves in or wires or fencing causes entrapment.

When the Roanoke Rapids Fire Department did its hydrant flushing earlier this year, 15 were found to have unacceptable flows for firefighting and were bagged.

The Roanoke Rapids Fire Department is trying to determine the cause of a Friday afternoon fire which damaged the front of a house at 1402 West Chaloner Drive.