--

Sept. 08--Allentown firefighters Tuesday afternoon safely caught a pet iguana that had slipped out of its owner's third-floor apartment and jumped from a balcony into a tree.

The Allentown 911 Communications Center asked if the Fire Department might snag the escaped lizard at the 11 N. Ninth St. apartment house at 5:50 p.m., fire Capt. Joseph Donmoyer said.

"When Com Center called, I thought they were joking," he said. "It's usually a cat."

Sept. 08--A leaking underground water pipe in downtown St. Paul caused a sidewalk to collapse about 9:15 Tuesday morning, sending David Wayne Clark, 55, of St. Paul about 15 down into the sinkhole, authorities said.

The hole, about 5 feet by 5 feet wide, is on the northeast corner of 6th Street and Wabasha Street.

The leak also has halted water service to nearby Ecolab Inc., which makes cleaning, sanitizing, food safety and infection control products. An alternate water source is being pursued for the company.

Sept. 08--A fire captain has been suspended 36 hours for failing to respond to a call, Fire Chief Pete Kelly informed the Fort Wayne Fire Merit Commission on Tuesday.

Sept. 07--MILLEDGEVILLE -- A fire that broke out around 2 p.m. Thursday at the Milledgeville Farmers Elevator turned into a weekend project.

Apparently, about 475,000 bushels of corn, which had been stored in the elevator for 4 to 7 years, had been smoldering for months before the grain finally overheated, Tom Korte said Monday evening.

Sept. 08--MONTVILLE -- For the second time in about three weeks, a fire has devastated buildings in an area of town where although hydrants were within reach of the scene, they were not equipped to suppress a blaze.

This is because the hydrants -- traditional in appearance and seemingly waiting for a firefighter to connect a hose to its nozzle in an emergency -- were not built for that purpose, according to an official with the Southeastern Connecticut Water Authority, the private entity that now owns the hydrants.

ADAMS COUNTY, Colo. --

An explosion leveled an Adams County home, critically injuring the homeowner and rattling houses blocks away, Wednesday morning, witnesses said.

The explosion just after 9 a.m. reduced the home to rubble and blew out windows in neighboring houses, neighbors said.

"It looks like a bomb hit," 7NEWS photographer Mike LeClaire reported.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.

--

A lawsuit has been filed on behalf of several off-duty police and firefighters who work city events against SMG, a private company that runs city events.

The suit claims the officers and firefighters who work sports games and concerts, for instance, aren't getting paid the money they deserve. It says those employees have not been paid the correct hourly rates since or before 2005.

BALTIMORE

--

City firefighters are currently battling a four-alarm fire that's engulfed several dwellings on two sides of a street in west Baltimore.

Firefighters were called to the 1300 block of North Calhoun Street shortly after 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Sky Team 11 Capt. Roy Taylor reported at about 5:45 p.m. that the fire had spread to the other side of the street due to windy conditions. He said flames were shooting 20 to 30 feet in the air.

The 2008 response would change the lives of three Columbus firefighters forever.

PHOENIX, Ariz. --

Phoenix arson investigators arrested Harold Kelley, 56, on arson charges Saturday after a fire broke out at his apartment.

Investigators said Kelley admitted to taking his lighter and torching his blankets and sheets because he was angry about bed bugs crawling all over him as he slept.