Firefighters in Ohio were startled when thick smoke and fire at a Dillards department store in Mentor did not stop holiday shoppers from continuing with their shopping. The holiday shopping rush was so intense that firefighters had to block the doors to keep customers from coming in. However, no one was injured in the blaze that occurred on Wednesday, but fire burned circuits of a high-voltage electrical panel near women's dressing. It took fire officials eight minutes to put it out.

A squirrel managed to escape burns after falling down a chimney and into a lit fireplace at a Two Rivers home, but died later of smoke inhalation. According to Two Rivers Assistant Fire Chief Gary Shavlik, the incident happened Monday night, when the squirrel apparently got curious about the chimney and landed directly in fire burning in the fireplace. The squirrel escaped the fire and ran around the house, Shavlik told the Herald Times.

Hindu devotees in the western state of India on Friday began burning woods and herbs in a three-day ceremony which they say would cleanse the environment and help heal the ozone layer. The move has drawn anger from activists who warn of the detrimental effects of the ceremony. The organizers of the ceremony say that smoke from the sacred fire will kill mosquitoes and other harmful insects preventing diseases like dengue and malaria.

A professor of philosophy and a professor of criminology, enacting Canadian human rights and medical marijuana legislation, were granted the right to smoke the green plant in specially ventilated rooms near their offices this week. According to a report by Reuters, both professors suffer from chronic medical conditions and their doctors say smoking pot can alleviate some of the physical symptoms of pain. Each professor was able to convince their academic employers that they must have the right to smoke on campus as opposed to their previous arrangements to make trips just off university grounds to partake.

The fire chief in West Sussex, England admits being embarrassed when a fire station in his district without a smoke alarm was engulfed in flames. The Arundel Fire Station in West Sussex, east of England, caught fire. The building and a fire engine was destroyed in the blaze which lasted for several hours.