VIDEO: A Dallas firefighter was hurt after part of a building collapsed on him as he was fighting a fire. A Dallas police officer first spotted the heavy smoke coming from a vacant commercial building off Walnut Hill Lane near Interstate 35E around 1:45 a.m. When firefighters arrived, they spotted heavy flames coming from the back of the building. The roof collapsed soon after. Since the building was unstable, firefighters decided to battle the flames from the outside, spraying water from above. One firefighter was hit by falling debris and taken to the hospital. A FOX 4 viewer captured the moment the debris fell outside the building. The injured firefighter can be seen crawling away. Dallas Fire-Rescue said he has burns and back injuries but is expected to be okay.  

After more than five years of failed negotiations, lawsuits, appeals, and an election that changed the city's charter, the City of San Antonio and its firefighters union finally have a labor contract, effective immediately. City and union officials praised the deal, but some firefighters – who spoke on the condition of anonymity – were dissatisfied. Under the terms of the five-year contract, firefighters will have two health care plan options, with one requiring members pay premiums for the first time; a one-time 7 percent lump sum payment; incremental pay increases ranging from 2 to 3 percent; and a five-year evergreen clause that keeps most of the terms of the previous contract in place – without base pay increases – after it expires. The previous contract expired in September 2014.  

The Dallas City Council approved $9 million for firefighter safety. Every firefighter in the department will get a second set of gear that could help limit their exposure to potentially cancer-causing chemicals. The CDC came out a decade ago and said carcinogens from burning buildings were seeping into firefighters' gear through soot and smoke, and causing cancer. Firefighters here in Dallas have been asking the city council for a second set of gear for years, and they're finally getting it. Each Dallas firefighter will get a second set of bunker gear that could save their lives. "An extra set of bunker gear is actually the single most important component of all of our efforts to reduce exposure to cancer-causing agents," said Jason Evans, with Dallas-Fire Rescue. Cancer is now the leading cause of death among firefighters, according to the International Association of Firefighters in the United States.  

The Bastrop Fire Department is firming up its plan to transform its downtown fire station into an overnight lodge for its new cast of around-the-clock firefighters. Beginning on Feb. 1, the Bastrop Fire Department became a 24-hour operation after this fiscal year's budget funded an overnight shift for part-time firefighters at the downtown station. "It's a huge step for us," said Bastrop Fire Chief Andres Rosales. However, both of the department's stations — located downtown and near Tahitian Village — lack the accommodations for overnight stays, such as showers and sleeping rooms. Upgrades to accommodate overnight stays at the downtown station were estimated to cost $65,000. But because Fire Department staff and volunteers will be putting in most of the labor, the total cost was reduced significantly, officials said.  

The Tyler Fire Department is forming an explosive ordnance disposal team, also called an EOD team. At Wednesday's Tyler city council meeting, approval was given for the department to apply for a grant that would go towards getting the equipment the team needs to operate. "We've been approved by the FBI to have a team, and this would help us to get some equipment we need in order to be certified in December," Tyler Fire Chief David Coble said. Coble says having a local EOD team will decrease response times across east Texas. "Whenever we did have something here, a suspicious package if you will, we had to call people up either from an Army base two or three hours from here, or from Garland which is still almost a two hour drive to get to Tyler," Coble said. As the population in Tyler grows, Chief Coble says so does the demand for an EOD team.  

The El Paso Police Department is offering a cash reward for information on the driver who struck a firefighter on Transmountain. On Wednesday morning (February 12, 2020), emergency responders were on the scene of an accident on Transmountain when a firefighter was struck by a vehicle on the westbound lane in a hit-and-run. Heavy snow covered the roads up on Transmountain and visibility was limited at the time the firefighter was struck. The firefighter sustained serious injuries and was in critical condition and was soon rushed to the hospital, he is now in stable condition and was being moved to the ICU. El Paso police officials are now offering a cash reward for any information that could lead to finding the person responsible for the hit-and-run.  

VIDEO: The North Richland Hills Police and Fire Departments showed off new technology Thursday they say will allow them to do their jobs more effectively and in less time. Jennie Espy, a North Richland Hills Police Department Crime Scene Investigator said, "This is absolutely fantastic technology." The state-of-the-art device scans everything in its site — 360 degrees — and provides 3D photographs of a crime scene, major crash or an arson fire. It's so accurate, even if there's a missed measurement, investigators can take another measurement by going back into the 3D scene. "If we needed to take this to court, we could really walk you around the crime scene as if you were there," said Espy. The technology also helps crash and traffic investigators save time because they no longer have to manually measure everything at a scene.  

It's been more than two months since Summit Fire & EMS firefighter Ken Jones fell to his death while fighting a blaze in Copper Mountain, though the feelings of grief are still fresh for his second family at the fire department. Jones' picture still stands on a table in the entranceway of Summit Fire's administration building in Frisco — the first thing visitors see on their way into the building each morning. Inside, firefighters and staff go about their business as usual, though many now bear a special "KJ" button pinned to their jackets or shirts as a reminder of his sacrifice. And while there has been a subtle shift back to relative normalcy, at least as far as the job is concerned, the memories of Jones still seem to permeate daily conversations among those who knew him.  

When you think of fire fighters, what comes to mind? You should think nothing short of heroes. Dedication. Bravery. Saving others' lives while risking their own. The list is endless. For the Lancaster Fire Department, there are two words you probably don't think. And, it's such a big deal, the department has five pages on policy about it. "Right," Assistant Chief K. J. Watts said. "We never really had one up until about six years ago." Those two words: bed bugs. "We engage with the public, we go in their house, we sit on their furniture to try to talk to them to find out what's going on and, sometimes, the bed bugs jump on us," he said. Between three stations, the fire department goes on 9,000 calls a year. In the last few years, Watts says the exposure to bed bugs has increased up to 10 percent every year. But with the increase in bed bug numbers, how do they decrease the potential spread? "This machine has two different heaters that have fans in them," he said.  

It was on a trip to Britain and Ireland that Norfolk County Sheriff Jerry McDermott first saw seat belt covers that notify first responders that the wearer has autism, the Patriot Ledger reported. Half a world away, a light bulb went off, McDermott said that he thought that covers could be helpful at home too. Now the covers, created by McDermott's office, will be available at a number of police departments including Weymouth, Stoughton, Norwood, Needham, Millis, Holbrook, Dedham, Avon and Sharon. Families can pick the covers up at police stations and slide them on top of seat belts. Advertisement Want news like this sent straight to your inbox? Head over to PatriotLedger.com to sign up for alerts and make sure you never miss a thing. You pick the news you want, we deliver. "People we talked to thought it was a good idea," McDermott said. "In the case of an emergency, if the parent is incapacitated, this helps first responders know the situation ... it's a public safety issue."  

VIDEO: Today marks 25 years since the East Hills fire. Three firefighters died that heartbreaking Valentine's Day in 1995. Capt. Thomas Brooks arrived on the scene with Engine 17 and Patricia Conroy and Marc Kolenda responded with Engine 8 just after midnight to the home on Bricelyn Street. They became separated from their other crew members while inside the burning home. A stairwell collapsed and they became trapped. The six-member family that lived in the rented home escaped without any injuries. Investigators determined that the windows of the home were covered in plastic, which held the smoke inside and made it difficult for the firefighters to see and find a way to escape. The firefighters were found with a ruptured hose and overcome by carbon monoxide, possibly due to malfunctioning air masks. The fire department changed training procedures and upgraded equipment as a direct result.