DELAND FIRE DEPARTMENT

DELAND, Fla. — A little dog that crashed the grand opening of the DeLand Fire Department’s new fire station can now call the building his forever home. DeLand firefighters said the pup showed up during the ceremony on Jan. 15, running around the station and apparatus bay. After 30 days in the shelter, firefighters said no one came forward to claim him, so firefighters decided to give him a home themselves. Henry “Hank” DeLand is now a permanent resident of Station 81. READ: ‘He’s just special’: Meet Hunter, a therapy dog helping local first responders manage stressFirefighters said the goal of getting a station dog is to provide the firefighters with some comfort and love during their long and often emotionally strenuous 24-hour shifts.

A structure fire that burned through the garage of a home in DeLand early Friday morning was extinguished by firefighters without injuries, according to the DeLand Fire Department.

DeLand, Fla. – Three cats were rescued after a fire broke out at a DeLand home on Saturday, according to the DeLand Fire Department. The fire occurred at 1402 Sharon Drive. Crews extinguished the fire and took three cats outside of the home after they were located inside. The cause of the fire is undermined and there were no reported injuries, authorities said.

DELAND, Fla. – Three people were injured in a house fire that broke out Sunday morning in DeLand, according to the DeLand Fire Department. According to authorities, there were heavy fire conditions throughout most of the home by the time rescue crews arrived at the scene. All of the occupants were able to exit the house, according to firefighters, but a majority of the contents inside the house were destroyed from the fire. Two people from the house were treated for injuries at the scene of the fire, and one other person was taken to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries, according to authorities. The American Red Cross is now working to assist four displaces adults, three minors and eight dogs.

DeLAND, Fla. Two men suffered severe hand injuries when a firework exploded before they could release it, according to the DeLand Fire Department. The victims were on South Adelle Avenue around 2 p.m. Wednesday when the accident happened. One victim was airlifted to Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach while the second man was transported in an ambulance to a nearby hospital for treatment for injuries to his hands and an eye, firefighters said. Both men are in stable condition.

DaVita Labs, a diagnostic laboratory in DeLands Northwest Industrial Business Park, donated two sets of industrial-grade washers and dryers to the DeLand Fire Department to help with thoroughly cleaning firefighters gear of cancer-causing contaminants. DELAND Cleaning firefighters gear isnt your typical load of laundry. DeLand firefighters will now be able to clean their gear more efficiently after DaVita Labs donated two sets of barely-used industrial-grade washers and dryers. Laura Chorost, the environmental, health and safety administrator for DaVita Labs, knows all too well what firefighters face she previously served as a lieutenant with Volusia County fire. The donation is also a cost savings to the city, as these industrial-grade machines usually cost between $5,000 to $10,000 each.

The DeLand Fire Department will bring a new fire engine into service with a traditional push-in ceremony. The DeLand Fire Department invites the public to participate in a special ceremony that hearkens back to the days of horse-drawn water pumps. At 9 a.m. Friday, firefighters will bring a new engine into service with a push-in ceremony at Station 83, 1655 E. Taylor Road, city spokesman Chris Graham said in a release. During the ceremony, a crew will manually push the new unit, which will serve southeast DeLand, into the bay. When horses were still used to pull the pumps from place to place, firefighters had to manually push the apparatus back into the station after each call.

DeLAND, Fla. - A dryer is to blame for a fire that caused thousands of dollars in damage to Stetson University's campus, according to the DeLand Fire Department. Firefighters said the fire was reported Tuesday afternoon in the lower west portion of Edmund Hall after a commercial clothing dryer overheated. Dryer sparks fire at Stetson University's Edmund Hall. (Image: DeLand Fire Department)Once the flames were extinguished, the fire marshal investigated and found that the dryer had malfunctioned, sparking the fire, according to firefighters. Edmund Hall was expected to remained closed through the night Tuesday, officials said.