VIDEO: Fort Worth Fire Department recruits are undergoing intense training. Man or woman, it comes with a lot of physical demands, and right now, recruiters are trying to recruit more women. Samantha Spaeth is one of the newest people working for the Fort Worth Fire Department. She is assigned to Station 13, where fellow firefighters have become her family. Either way, it's no surprise that Spaeth ended up a firefighter -- her older and younger brothers also work as Fort Worth firefighters. Although not as physically strong as them, Spaeth went through the very same training to do more than just fight fires. "You can't be scared to do this job," Spaeth said. "We also do a bunch of EMS car wrecks. Firefighting is just not about firefighting." Fort Worth Fire ramped up recruiting more women back in 2018, when they only had 12. That number has now tripled to 36 out of more than 900.  

Wednesday night, a massive cloud of smoke filled the Midland County sky. Around 8:00 p.m., a fire was confirmed at Viking Pools, just off of I-20 near FM 1788. Justin Bunch with the Midland County Emergency Management Office said there were units from all across the area that responded to the call. "All the units responded here. We've got units from Ector County, Midland County, Texas DPS, state resources here. We've got obviously the Midland Fire Department, sheriff's office, our office, Odessa Fire Rescue, north east volunteer fore department, greenwood fire department here in midland county, believe west Odessa Fire Department is here as well," confirmed Bunch. While multiple agencies responded to fire at Viking Pools, Midland Fire said knowing other departments are jumping at the chance to help, makes their jobs much safer.  

For the past few months, the heat from blazing fires has been all too familiar for the Refugio Volunteer Fire Department. They've fought the Skidmore, King Ranch and Borrego fires in the past few months. But they've been doing that with a disadvantage: Lacking volunteers for the past few years. Refugio Volunteer Fire Department Chief Ronald Williams said lately, they've been seeing a lack of volunteers applying because a lot of people are having to get multiple jobs due to high inflation. He said that means people aren't volunteering and they need new recruits. He said they currently have 27 volunteers, but need at least 30, especially during the day time. "Fires didn't just happen at night, they happen during the day, too and people have to take off from their job and respond and sometimes that's hard to do," Williams said.  

In 2021, the Austin Fire Department was involved in 50 water rescues. Firefighters know every second matters when they get a call, especially when water is rising and someone is trapped. AFD spent Tuesday going over ladder rescues, where the fire truck's ladder is extended out more than 100 feet to any vehicles or person who might be trapped. "So now the firefighter is getting out of the way so we can perform the lift and perform the rescue," said Josh Anderson, an AFD battalion chief. This training was performed in an open parking lot, with the parking spaces serving as rushing water. This is just one of the many pieces of training firefighters do over the course of a year. "If there is a call for someone trapped, the Austin Fire Department will be one of the lead rescue agencies," Anderson said.  

VIDEO: Police lights and fire trucks crowded the outside of Edison High School Thursday morning, but everything was not as it seemed. This story calls for a disclaimer: the images are dramatic, but everyone is okay. None of these Edison High School students were ever in any danger. "What we've done is set up a mock disaster drill that a school bus had a bomb planted on it," said Edison High School Health Professions Magnet Coordinator Deborah Ramirez. Students in the school's Health Professions Magnet and First Responder Academy spent Thursday morning getting hands-on experience. Student's in Law Enforcement, Fire, and EMT and Life Sciences received coaching and feedback from professionals with the Bexar County Sheriff's Office, San Antonio Fire Department and Acadian Ambulance.  

VIDEO: All mainlanes of US 290 near Fairbanks North Houston were reopened Thursday after emergency crews cleared a car fire. The car caught fire at the end of a police chase that started at about 4:10 p.m. The Houston Police Department said patrol officers attempted to pull the vehicle over for a traffic stop but the vehicle took off. The chase only lasted several minutes before coming to a stop in the westbound lanes of 290. Two people got out of the vehicle and walked toward the police. One was detained.  

VIDEO: A massive fire ripped through a commercial building in east central Fresno early Friday morning. The fire started before 4:30 am on Pine near Maple Avenue in an industrial area of the city. A cloud of heavy smoke could be seen from miles away along Highway 180 and Highway 168. Firefighters used two hoses to attack the flames from above on a tall ladder. The fire burned so quickly that they had to call in extra crews to help. A nearby business owner told Action News the building on fire was a refinding furniture store. He thought he heard gunshots at about 4:20 am, but now he believes it was an explosion due to all the chemicals burning inside the building. No one was hurt. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Authorities closed nearby streets while officials continue their investigation. Drivers are asked to avoid the area.  

VIDEO: Peoria firefighters celebrated the history and memories within the oldest fire station in the River City. It opened in 1952 and is expected to close next month. "If you wanted to prove yourself as a firefighter, you came to Station 4," said Interim Chief Shawn Sollberger. The same message spread through all the firefighters who gathered Thursday night. "This was the place to be if you were a firefighter," said retired Peoria Fire Captain Robert Sollberger. They said their bittersweet goodbyes to the original Station 4. "When I came down here as a young man they told me, ‘That's where the real firefighters are working. That's where the guys that are saving lives and putting out fires are working,'" said retired Peoria Fire Chief Kent Tomblin. Dozens of retirees, current firefighters and community members laughed as they shared stories from the city's oldest station. "I wish I never left," said Tomblin.  

A new report by a task force studying PFAS, or "forever chemicals" commonly found in nonstick cookware, some clothing and firefighter gear, is being praised by the firefighting community. "It was really shocking, both through testimony that we heard and coming to understand that PFAS is in all of the turnout gear that is used by our firefighters, and with the increase of PFAS in gear, we'll also see increases in cancer rates," said state Rep. Kate Hogan, D-Stow, co-chair of the committee. PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are added to products to make them water-, grease- and stain-resistant, but they persist in the environment and humans' bodies, and can cause a myriad of health effects including kidney and liver disease, immune system suppression, birth defects and cancer. PFAS have been detected in water systems throughout the state. After nine public hearings over the past several months, the committee issued 30 recommendations across eight broad strategy areas.  

What started as an activity for one firefighter to do with his kids is now earning him likes, follows, and comments on social media. Chris Maleta and his family moved to Brunswick County nearly two years ago from Kansas where he served as a firefighter for 13 years. He's continued his career in North Carolina and has now been in the fire service for 15 years. "My family has been in the fire service for over 100 years. I have cousins in Saint Joe, Missouri where they started their firefighting careers. My grandfather was then on the Kansas City Fire Department and that's what led my cousin, myself, and my brother to join the Kansas City Fire Department," Maleta said. Before making the move to North Carolina, Maleta was in a bookstore and found a fire safety book and wondered how someone who had never spent a day in turnout gear could share safety tips.  

VIDEO: Two lawmakers are saying the Fern Hollow Bridge collapse in Frick Park in January reaffirmed why western Pennsylvania needs a top-tier urban search and rescue team. Thursday, they introduced legislation with the goal of making that happen. Pittsburgh's assistant fire chief says they called in the state's only urban search and rescue team to help with search efforts when the Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed in Frick Park in January. However, since it's based in Philadelphia, he says his team had to wait hours for them to get there. That's why he says passing this legislation is so important in case a disaster happens again. It's hard to forget the images of the bridge collapse: a Port Authority bus dangling over the edge with passengers on board and vehicles in the ravine below. No one died, but 10 people were hurt.