How these nibblers could stop fies

Blast’s wannabe firefighter tries his hand at the only fire title out there in video game land.

No, Boston is not in the grips of a mad scientist with anthrax. Nor is it under siege from a series of terrorist briefcase bombs.
It was pot, marijuana, Mary Jane, grass, weed and a whole lot of it that tied up half the emergency services in the city Thursday afternoon.
Mailroom workers at One Financial Center [...]

Brush fires burned throughout New England Friday, including three Eastern Massachusetts communities — Cambridge, Gloucester, and a very large fire in Lexington that required dozens of fire units from across the state for mutual aid.
The Boston Globe reported that a fire broke out along the banks of the Charles River in Cambridge and that 35 [...]

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Boston Field Division, announced Wednesday that they are offering $5,000 added to the existing $5,000 reward set up by an insurance organization for the arrest of a suspect or suspects responsible for three suspicious Jamaica Plain fires.
According to the ATF, a Feb. 7 fire at 22 [...]

The death toll continues to rise in Australia, thanks to raging wildfires that have burned entire towns off the map. Currently at 108, officials say the toll could rise even further as they battle flames and search through wreckage, according to Reuters.

The Boston Fire Department announced it has determined an electrical short circuit was to blame for a four-alarm fire in a commercial block on Peterborough Street in Boston’s Fenway neighborhood that destroyed several restaurants and businesses. [...]

A Boston firefighter was killed and others, including three other firefighters were injured Friday afternoon when a fire department ladder truck crashed into an apartment building on Huntington Avenue.
Three children are also being treated at Children’s Hospital Boston, according to Boston’s Channel 7.
According to The Boston Globe, the truck may have lost its brakes coming [...]

Dear EarthTalk: I’ve noticed that bamboo is very trendy right now, apparently-in part-for environmental reasons. Can you enlighten? – Eric M., via e-mail
Bamboo has a long history of economic and cultural significance, primarily in East Asia and South East Asia where it has been used for centuries for everything from [...]

Dear EarthTalk: Is using nitrogen to inflate my car’s tires really better for the environment than using air? And if so, how? – Roger Mawdsley, Abbotsville, BC 
Whether or not it makes environmental sense to inflate car tires with nitrogen instead of air is a matter of much debate. Proponents of nitrogen say the element is a [...]

Dear EarthTalk: How safe are the fire retardants that are used to quell forest fires across the American West? – Barbara, Minneapolis, MN
So-called long-term fire retardants-those usually dropped from airplanes over forest fires-are comprised of water mixed with a slurry of chemicals, thickeners and corrosion inhibitors designed to prevent plants [...]

Sections of the Monte Carlo hotel and casino in Las Vegas caught fire around 11 a.m. Friday, forcing guests and employees to flee the fire and falling flaming debris.
Firefighters could be seen battling the blaze from the roof of the hotel, with flames coming from the southern section on the top floors.
Las Vegas ABC affiliate [...]