Mayor Sylvester Turner signed off on an $8,000 raise for Houston firefighter cadets earlier this month, breaking a nearly two-decade spell of stagnant wages for the trainees. The pay bump, which took effect Feb. 8, lifts cadets' annual compensation from $28,023 to $36,000. It has no impact on firefighters' pay, which is subject to collective bargaining negotiations. Turner granted the cadets' pay increase at the request of Houston Fire Chief Sam Peña, according to a Houston Fire Department spokesperson. "Here in Houston, we are up against strong competition not only from surrounding fire departments who are moving from volunteer to paid firefighters, but from an overall strong labor market, a robust economy and more Houstonians with jobs today," Peña said in a statement.  

The head of Houston's firefighter union says the City is "hemorrhaging" first responders at a rate the department has never seen. Houston Professional Firefighter Association President Marty Lancton says between 80-85 of his members have resigned since January 1 – most to accept jobs with higher-paying departments. The union has been locked in a contract stalemate with Mayor Sylvester Turner and hasn't received a pay raise in six years. With the city unwilling to arbitrate, Lancton says many of his firefighters are taking their training and experience elsewhere. "The amount of firefighters that are leaving the Houston Fire Department to go to other departments is staggering. We are hemorrhaging firefighters and it is about time that somebody down at City Hall pays attention because you have already put public safety at risk," said Lancton.  

For the first time in Klein Fire Department's 69-year history, the department hired a paid female firefighter, Shari Sanchez, in January. "I was just raised to work hard and [with the idea that] you can do anything you want to do and you can achieve whatever you want to achieve," Sanchez said. "I'm not much different than anybody else. I feel like anybody could do it, but you definitely can't go in expecting anything to be handed to you; you have to work just as hard as the next guy." Like many professional firefighters, Sanchez began as a volunteer with the KFD in 2018. After completing her State Firefighters' & Fire Marshals' Association of Texas classes, becoming EMT-licensed and passing the Texas Commission on Fire Protection test, Sanchez took and passed the KFD's entrance exam and physical abilities test before becoming a paid, part-time KFD firefighter on Jan. 16. Although the KFD is home to 15 female volunteer firefighters, Sanchez is the first to turn professional.  

A husband and wife who were found dead from carbon monoxide poisoning at a southeast Houston residence Wednesday night have been identified. The Houston Fire Department said they responded to a call at the residence located in the 3000 block of Burkett Street at around 9:30 p.m. When fire officials arrived at the scene, they said they found the man and woman, who have been identified as Louis McDonald and Mary Helen Williams, dead inside the home. Firefighters said they requested police officers to respond due to what they considered to be "unnatural circumstances." Police said the couple had recently moved into the home and were using a generator for power. According to officers, they believe the man and woman died from carbon monoxide poisoning from the generator.  

It is a dirty word in the fire service—the dreaded "R" word—that most firefighters don't like to talk about, and most homeowners don't know about. Until it happens to them. It's known as a rekindle, a term homeowner Amy Buck had never heard of until a massive fire burned down her home. "It's a huge danger," Buck said. Last November, the Cy-Fair Volunteer Fire Department came to the Buck family home in the 17500 block of Cypress Hollow Street after a small fire ignited in the fireplace. Firefighters doused the chimney and surrounding areas with water, cut holes in the ceiling and removed some of the roof decking. Chief Amy Ramon said there was "no evidence of any fire or abnormal heat source present" when the department left the house.  

For 33 days Rey Navarro battled some of the worst bushfires in Australia's history, across the globe from his hometown of Mission. Thursday night the city of Mission and the Boys & Girls Club of Mission recognized the firefighter, whose first job was working with the Mission Boys & Girls Club. Navarro, 39, was presented with an award and helped pass out trophies to Boys & Girls Club athletes at the ceremony. "It's a true testament of a sacrifice that he did, for not only the city but for everyone that he was out there to help, so thank you Rey for doing that," Mission City Manager Randy Perez said Thursday. "It really means a lot that you are from our city, and we appreciate that." Navarro, a U.S. Fish & Wildlife Assistant Fire Management Officer, joined firefighters from across the nation who traveled to help fight Australian bushfires that have been described as unprecedented. Navarro was the only firefighter from Texas to go.  

An overpass was set aflame after a semitrailer hauling thousands of gallons of fuel overturned in Indianapolis on Wednesday. The tanker hit a guardrail on an on-ramp from Interstate 465 to I-70, which split the tank and overturned the semi, according to the Indianapolis Fire Department. Witnesses told the fire department that the driver of the truck exited the tanker on his own with his clothes on fire. The driver, identified as Jeffrey Denman, 59, was in critical condition at a hospital. At least two witnesses, identified as Holly McNally and Mitch Navarre, stopped to help the driver get away from the fiery wreckage. The semi was carrying 4,000 gallons of jet fuel when it overturned, triggering two explosions that caused a much larger fire, the fire department said. "Holly told firefighters that the jet fuel was literally pouring down the embankment as they retreated," the fire department's statement said. Investigators believe unsafe speed contributed to the rollover.  

For FDNY Firefighter Robert Thomas and his three sons, fighting fires and saving lives has become a family affair. All four are city firefighters stationed throughout Brooklyn, joining a growing number of the department's black "legacy" families, where children follow their mothers and fathers into the FDNY. "It's an incredible feeling knowing that they're following in my footsteps," Robert Thomas, 61, told the Daily News Wednesday. "Being in the FDNY is truly a family experience anyway. Over the years it meant more to me than I originally thought it would and I know it would be the same for them too." Thomas took the test for the FDNY in 1982. When he got accepted, he first turned it down, deciding instead to take a job with an insurance company, the Brownsville native remembered.  

The Milwaukee Fire Department is already in training for a building that hasn't broken ground yet. Ascent, an apartment building near downtown Milwaukee expected to break ground in a few months, has a tall timber frame. At 25-stories, it is expected to be the tallest building of it's kind in the world. The word "timber" might suggest big trees, but UL Manager of Industry Relations Sean DeCrane says tall timber frames are made of smaller pieces of wood. "We're using small dimensional lumber, putting it in layers perpendicular to each other to engineer a larger size wood product." Since wood burns, you might think that a tall timber frame is susceptible to a fire, but DeCrane says in a fire the frame will stay intact. "That wood chars. It acts as a protective mechanism… think of like an armadillo," he said. How does UL know a tall timber frame can withstand fire? They built a small version of a building, and lit it up.  

On February 20, 2003, in West Warwick, Rhode Island, the fourth deadliest nightclub fire in United States history occurred in The Station nightclub. More than two-thirds of the 462 people in attendance were either killed or injured (100 dead, 230 injured). A live band that was using fireworks as part of its act ignited foam insulation that had been installed around and over the stage. The fire department was notified about 40 seconds after the fire was ignited and arrived on scene in less than five minutes. In that short time frame, fire had engulfed the club, and fire was showing through the roof. The damage was done. Before the fire had cooled, the investigations began. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) as well as state and local agencies conducted in-depth analyses of the fire, the evacuation, and the processes that may have failed to protect the concertgoers that night.  

VIDEO: In its three years, the Skyway 10K has seen thousands of participants. A few have traveled the bridge each year, like friends and firefighters Tom "Bull" Hill and Mike Junge. Hill walks the Skyway to honor firefighters who lost their lives to cancer and PTSD. Hill walked the Skyway in 2018 with a pack covered in the names, shields and objects from firefighters who had died from cancer or suicides related to PTSD. His goal was to bring awareness and change. Now, with laws covering PTSD and cancer for firefighters, Hill walks a little lighter, despite having even more packs. "It's great sharing it with other people, you know. You can actually smile a little bit and say, ya we've made a couple changes," said Hill. He set out on a mission after he lost a friend, a firefighter brother, to cancer.