Harris County ESD No. 48 will be implementing major changes to its staff's scheduling beginning in July of 2020. The new schedule will allow firefighters to have a more productive recovery time in between shifts, improving mental health and overall efficiency in the department. Currently, fire crews and EMS crews have alternating schedules. Fire crews work 24 hours on duty, then 24 off duty for five days followed by four consecutive days off. This schedule, which ESD No. 48 calls the "48/96" split, will be replaced by a "24/72" model. Firefighters will now have their scheduling changed to align with EMS crews who work schedules of 24 hours on duty and then 72 hours off duty. The change is one of convenience, but according to Jason Tharp, Public Information Officer for Harris County ESD No. 48, it's also a major improvement for the mental health of firefighters.  

A hoverboard erupted in flames Wednesday after it was left charging for the majority of the day, officials say. According to the Hurst Fire Department, the incident occurred around 7 p.m. Wednesday near the 2700 block of Mill Haven Drive. Firefighters say when they arrived at the house there were flames coming from an upstairs room. Crews were able to contain the blaze but said there was smoke damage throughout the house and water damage near the area of the fire. Hurst Fire Department officials said the fire started from a hoverboard that had been charging in the bedroom for most of the day. No injuries were reported in the incident, according to authorities.  

A young woman is recovering after falling from a cliff near the Pennybacker Bridge. Both the woman and her dog fell from the cliff and first responders say she and her dog are doing really well, considering the circumstances. According to Austin Fire Department Battalion Chief Travis Walden, the woman, whom they believe is about 18, was walking her dog on the overlook near the bridge around 10 a.m. Thursday when her dog fell off the cliff. The woman chased after it, and that's when she slipped and fell too. "She landed, and then kind of -- it's about a 45-degree slope that she slid down into the trees, about halfway between the mid-section and the water," Walden said. Hamilton Bradshaw and his coworker Reed McKemie work on the lake and were the first to find her. They heard her screams coming from the woods.  

VIDEO: It's training day for a county office this holiday season. Volunteers for the Webb County Fire Department got up bright and early on Thursday morning to train at LIFE Downs. The firefighters took part in different scenarios to understand how to respond during real time situations. The department has eight new volunteers helping respond all throughout the county. There are currently 24 people in the department.  

A 4-year-old is safe after he was brought to a fire station Christmas evening. Someone dropped the boy off just before 8 p.m. Wednesday at Station 46 on Corder Street near Scott in southeast Houston. The child appeared to be in good health. Firefighters tried communicating with the boy, but were unsuccessful because he didn't speak. A woman later arrived at the station, claiming to be the boy's mother. Police were called to interview her. According to the mother, she and her son were at a family party at the boy's father's apartment in the 4000 block of Corder Street. They went home around 6 p.m. and were in bed by 7 p.m., she said. She said the 4-year-old was in bed with her. She woke up around 8:45 p.m. to discover that the boy was no longer next to her and noticed her front door was open.  

Heroes do not always wear capes -- some wear uniforms. That is certainly the case with firefighters in the Corpus Christi Fire Department. Just getting into the uniform tough. Brittany Fowler has what it takes. A seven-year veteran with the CCFD, she has always been one to help others. "Looking back on it, ever since I was little, I ran toward emergency situations, whether it be someone falling down, or a wreck, or whatever," Fowler said. "I always ran and wanted to help." Fowler started out in the U.S. Army and then attended Del Mar College's fire training academy to learn how to do her job; but for her, it really doesn't feel like work. "There are a lot of people, when I tell them, they're 'Oh, how do you do that? Aren't you scared? Are you nervous? Is it hard?' But when you have a passion for helping people, it's not like a job," Fowler said.  

Municipal officials have agreed to set up what's called a 401(a) plan, tax-differed retirement saving accounts, for retiring public safety employees. Members of the City Council approved a measure on Monday allowing mayor Andre Sayegh's administration to set up the plan at the request of the police and fire unions. Under the proposal, the city will deposit the accumulated leave time payouts for police and fire employees into the tax-differed retirement savings accounts. Before the new year, the city is paying $1.2 million to 19 firefighters and police officers. The sum is a partial severance payout for the employees. Municipal official disclosed the city has to pay approximately $5 million in accumulated leave time payouts to firefighters and police officers. The lot includes approximately 30 employees, said officials.  

Major changes are coming to the Owen Valley Fire Department. Lt. Joe Frye said the department will lose a majority of its firefighters at the end of the year because the Owen Valley Volunteer Firefighter Incorporated Group could not reach a contract agreement with the Owen Valley Fire Territory Board. "You're talking guys that are career firemen," Lt. Frye said. "We have a lot of guys that work on career department part-time, you've got college graduates from fire science and public safety. There were some things in the contract that made it almost impossible to sign." Lt. Frye said they never had a chance to negotiate the terms in that contract. He said the department will lose about 20 volunteers, which could have a major impact on safety in the area.  

The city's firefighters union is pushing for more emphasis on mental health after losing an officer to suicide. "One of our brothers passed away of this disease," said Shawn Weeks, president of Local 1891, the union that represents Boynton's paramedics and firefighters. "Nobody thought this was gonna happen." Noting Boynton's fallen officer will "guide us into changing this profession," Weeks rolled out an early-stage proposal calling for a joint venture with the city to make a doctor available to help when firefighters experience trauma or suffer symptoms of mental illness. The union would cover treatment and travel costs. Suicide in 2017 claimed the lives of at least 103 firefighters, according to a white paper commissioned by the Ruderman Family Foundation. The Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance estimates that number was underreported and actually exceeded 250.  

Knowing how to properly handle all the equipment that's used to fight fires is a crucial part of a firefighter's job. Joseph Cross looks like he's adept and ready to go to battle, but he is actually not a firefighter – yet. He is training to become one after fighting some personal demons and ending up in prison. "It was a series of mistakes, decisions I made," Cross said. "I had some issues with alcoholism, and I ended up making some mistakes like drinking and driving, and a hit-and-run." While in prison, Cross was given the opportunity to become an inmate firefighter. He was also told that doing that work would take two years off of his four-year sentence. "That was an incentive, but at the same time you're going to be able to give back to your community, fight fires, and it makes you feel good when you go out there and give back, so it made me feel good," he said.  

Looking a the numbers at the end of the first year of the Racine Fire Department's home visit program, department Division Chief Brian Wolf said he's seen how the program "is greatly needed." For its first year, the program has been focused on cardiac patients. Fire Chief Steve Hansen said the department's partners in the program at Advocate Aurora and Ascension All Saints would like to see the program expanded, but the department's plan is to grow the program incrementally. The Mobile Integrated Health program sends specially trained paramedics to check in on patients who were recently discharged from the hospital. During those visits, the paramedics ensure the patients are following their discharge instructions, check their vital signs, provide long-term health guidance (regarding diet, exercise, quitting smoking, etc.), and check the home for potential health risks, such as tripping hazards.