PHOTOS: In the cloudiness of Thursday morning, the crack of breaking glass and gnawing sound of the Jaws of Life cutting through the doors of a sports utility vehicle emanated from the open space of the bus lot of the McAllen Achieve Early College High School as a team of firemen performed an emergency extraction. Students of the McAllen ISD emergency technician (EMT) program stood eagerly watching from afar as the firemen removed each door from the vehicle followed by the roof. The McAllen Fire Department arrived at the school's bus lot early Thursday morning to perform a simulated extraction demonstration for the EMT students. Charles Myles, the instructor of the EMT program, said the purpose of the demonstration is to give students the opportunity to witness and participate in an emergency scenario to offer first-hand experience on what to expect when out in the field.  

Bulverde-Spring Branch EMS respond to emergency situations at both the Guadalupe River and at the opening of Canyon Lake, but as the population grows exponentially so does the amount of emergency calls. But thanks to a new grant, Bulverde-Spring Branch EMS now has a new tool that can help save lives. "Well, I think they're all, you know, heartbreaking, especially for the family and for the guys who have to do that kind of stuff. You know, I don't want to get into specifics, but you know, kids are always tough on all of us because we're all fathers, grandparents," Mark Southwell, chief of Bulverde-Spring Branch Emergency Services said. Southwell has been serving the community since 1995 and has seen firsthand the huge growth in the community.  

VIDEO: Lubbock firefighters will begin two days of running on Friday evening to support the Lubbock Professional Firefighters Association's Charitable Foundation and raise awareness of its work as well as the issues that firefighters face because of their service. "When we come to the station, and we make these runs, and we help people, it's actually very fulfilling, and it's something that we enjoy doing," LPFA's Jake McCain said. "There is a downside to it, and we try to mitigate that as much as we can." The Lubbock Firefighters' Charitable Foundation makes contributions to mental health resources for firefighters, cancer treatment and prevention, as well as roadside safety organizations. Last year the 48-hour marathon raised around $8,000 for 5-5-5 Safety.  

Fourteen people are hurt but all residents are accounted for after a powerful explosion and fire ripped through an apartment complex in Silver Spring, Maryland, on Thursday, officials said in an update Friday. Three people have serious injuries, Montgomery County Fire Chief Scott Goldstein said at a morning news conference. The others have injuries that range from minor to moderate. Miraculously, no known residents of 2405 Lyttonsville Road — the building where the explosion occurred — died or are missing. Crews, including search dogs, will continue to comb the rubble on Friday in case someone visiting the building, such as a delivery worker, could have been killed, Goldstein said. Goldstein said Thursday there were "possible indications of alerts" by search dogs.  

An explosion and fire at a Silver Spring-area apartment complex on Thursday brought back memories of a fatal explosion in 2016 that killed seven people and displaced nearly 70. Thursday's explosion and fire happened at Friendly Garden Apartments at 2423 Lyttonsville Road. About a dozen people were injured, including 10 who went to area hospitals. In interviews at the scene on Thursday, several county officials — including County Executive Marc Elrich and County Council members Tom Hucker and Hans Riemer — said the explosion was reminiscent of the 2016 Flower Branch Apartments explosion, which happened just 4 miles away in 2016. "Of course, I thought, ‘Not again,'" Riemer said. "I think that's what we were all thinking." As of early Thursday afternoon, there was no indication of what caused the explosion and fire.  

Though the township's firefighters union has lost a court battle, it has won a victory in its fight for new safety measures. A state appeals court has thrown cold water on the union's request to seek arbitration on a grievance about manpower levels in the fire department, that arose after a May 2020 apartment building fire that left more than 30 tenants temporarily homeless. The ruling comes after the township argued the level of staffing in the department is not subject to arbitration and the court agreed. But while the union lost the court ruling, the union president said Edison's new administration has granted what the union sought, including additional safety measures such as now requiring three firefighters on a ladder truck. Robert Yackel, president of International Association of Firefighters Local 1197, said he met with Mayor Sam Joshi who investigated and agreed with the union's request.  

VIDEO: Winston-Salem Fire Chief Trey Mayo calls the Weaver Fertilizer Plant fire his "career fire." Just about everyone can point to that one event: the most stressful, challenging, sleep-preventing, on-the-job happening unlike any other. For me, it was the interview I did with the husband of Sandy Bradshaw about a week after Sept. 11, 2001. Sandy was a flight attendant on United Flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania. For Mayo, it was the fertilizer plant fire on Jan. 31, 2022. Make no mistake, Mayo has worked big fires before. He's a third-generation firefighter who began his career in his hometown of Plymouth, North Carolina in the late 1980s. He'd go on to spend 11 years and rise to the rank of captain in the Raleigh Fire Department. He'd serve as deputy chief in Carrboro and chief in Rocky Mount before arriving in Winston-Salem in early 2015.  

VIDEO: A group of FDNY probationary firefighters carried Ukrainian flags among U.S. flags as they ran across Ward's Island Bridge in New York City on Thursday, March 3, in "a show of solidarity and support for the people and first responders of Ukraine," the FDNY said. Footage shared by the department shows the Ukrainian flag among American flags as the group ran above Harlem River on Thursday. It was the group's final "Spirit Run" before graduation, the FDNY said. They carried out the run in chilly temperatures and blustery winds. They are members of Probationary Firefighter Class 2 of 2021. They have been involved in months of rigorous training at the Fire Academy on Randall's Island known as "The Rock." Ward's Island Bridge connect Randalls Island with the Upper East Side of Manhattan.