Fire

The volunteer firefighters allegedly set abandoned buildings and woods ablaze over an 18 month period.

Last year in North Carolina, there were 83 fire-related deaths. So far this year, there have already been 91, many of them in homes that lacked working smoke alarms.

Seventy-two lives were lost in the fire. The incident has come to symbolize poor living conditions in public housing and what is perceived as a slow and distant government response.

Firefighters discovered a trove of 200 antiquities stashed in plastic bags. Authorities suspected smugglers.

An apartment fire in Greensboro over the weekend killed five children and injured one adult. It's the most fatal fire in the city since 2002.  

The fire broke out early Friday, reportedly engulfing the kennel by the time firefighters arrived, leaving them unable to make a rescue.

About 50 people were aboard the casino shuttle boat that was reduced to its hull, and officials initially believed that everybody was OK. In all, officials said 15 people were hospitalized.

Lexington City Manager Alan Carson says he didn't think much of the small plumes of smoke coming from the former Lexington Home Brands plant one night during the week before Christmas.

One aardvark died and several meerkats were missing after the blaze broke out Saturday. Several members of the zoo staff were treated for smoke inhalation after coming to the rescue of the animals.

"The fire engulfed an eight-story building and trapped dozens inside," NPR's Elise Hu reports from Seoul. "At least 15 of the dead were trapped in a second floor sauna."