Two Cleburne firefighters had to be taken to a hospital after a crash involving their ambulance in Fort Worth Thursday afternoon, officials said. The crash happened on Chisholm Trail Parkway near Overton Ridge Boulevard. The Cleburne Fire Department said the firefighters were transporting a patient to a facility in Fort Worth at the time of the crash. The department said the crash involved multiple vehicles and that the firefighters were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The patient in the ambulance was taken to their destination by MedStar, officials said. Officials did not say if there were other injuries reported. According to the fire department, the Texas Department of Public Safety will be looking into the crash as the cause remains under investigation.  

Leonard Mikeska never thought the day would come, but on Wednesday morning, colleagues congregated to celebrate the three decades he has served as head of the Montgomery County Emergency Services District No. 3, making him the longest-serving fire chief in the county. "I never thought I'd be fire chief for 30 years." Mikeska said shortly after walking into a surprise party held at the ESD No. 3 administration building on Honea Egypt Road. Mikeska, 61, was named chief of the Lake Conroe Volunteer Fire Department on Oct. 1, 1991. In his time at the helm, Mikeska has overseen the department grow from a volunteer crew of around 20 or 30 firefighters to a full-time force of 60. The unincorporated north county district encompasses the area that lies between FM 2854 and Texas 105.  

The investigation continues into what caused the horrific deaths and injuries at the Astroworld tragedy, a music festival hosted by Houston's own Travis Scott, where eight people lost their lives and hundreds were injured. Gov. Greg Abbott announced Wednesday, Texas would launch a task force on concert safety to ensure such chaotic events hopefully never repeat. And among those on the task force is Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association President Patrick M. "Marty" Lancton. According to a press release, Lancton will be representing the Texas State Association of Fire Fighters (TSAFF). "I am proud to have been selected to represent all Texas firefighters on this task force," Lancton said in a statement. "I look forward to getting to work on solutions that will help prevent future tragedies and the communication issues Houston firefighters experienced firsthand during the Astroworld festival. The safety of attendees at these large-scale events must always be a top priority."  

A group of Longview first responders were recognized for their work in a life changing situation that was able to help save a patient's life. "These are one of these calls where it's not just your average call of savings someone's life and getting them to the hospital on time, It is actually a life changing moment and that is when these awards come out. When we see a life changing moment and a great outcome for the patient," said Trauma EMS Liaison with Parkland Memorial Hospital Dudley Wilcoxson. The Parkland Lifesaver Recognition award was presented to Longview Fire Department Station 1 A-Shift. Also receiving the award was CHRISTUS Flight for Life. Back in September, a patient received a electric shock. The Longview Fire Department was able to revive them and get them to Good Shepherd Hospital in Longview.  

McKinney Fire Department officials announced on November 10 that they would be partnering with Integrative Emergency Services to implement an emergency response telemedicine program for 911 calls. The Fire Department hopes that the new program, which is among the first in the country to involve fire-based EMS departments, will help save some patients a trip to the hospital by connecting paramedics and other first responders to ER physicians. The physician will then be able to work with paramedics to assist in providing the right diagnosis, treatment, and referral options without the expense or long waiting times of an ER visit. "The healthcare world is evolving, and technology is in the forefront, partly out of necessity due to the pandemic," said McKinney Fire Chief Danny Kistner.  

A man is being treated at a hospital for burns he suffered when his Southwest Side apartment exploded late Wednesday night. San Antonio firefighters say he told them he lit a cigarette while cooking, then noticed a blue flame and felt the explosion. When firefighters arrived in the 1700 block of W. Mayfield, they say there was very little fire, a sign that gas was involved. Neighbors also reported smelling a strong odor of gas. One woman told KSAT 12 News she got out of her bed around 11 p.m. due to the smell. She says moments later, the explosion sent her flying across her room. The woman says she ran outside her home and saw her next door neighbor with burns all over his body. He was rushed to a hospital for treatment.  

A semi trailer hauling bacon and other meat products caught fire on Interstate 80, near where it intersects with State Street, closing an off ramp for cleanup early Thursday morning. The driver of the westbound truck noticed the fire that apparently started with a mechanical issue, according to Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Cameron Roden. The unidentified driver was able to stop driving and get out of the vehicle before flames fully engulfed the trailer. The fire closed the exit ramp to State Street and because of grease from bacon and other meats, it was still closed at 3:30 p.m. while cleanup efforts continued. John Gleason with the Utah Department of Transportation said it appeared the road wasn't damaged while the fire was contained to the truck itself. However the fire did release "a lot of grease."  

Capt. Courtney Kelly has had the firefighting bug since she was a little girl. "Once I became a paramedic, I was, I was sold on fire," Kelly said. Kelly, who has been with the Youngstown Fire Department for 15 years, was the last female hired by the department. It's little wonder that her daughter, Maddie, now wants to take her shot, ever since completing the firefighter academy at Choffin Career and Technical Center. "Once I did that, then it kind of switched my mind, and I knew that I just wanted to do this job," Maddie Kelly said. Last month, Maddie became only the second woman to pass the department's tough agility test since her mother did it in 2006. Now, she's on a waiting list, along with other potential recruits. Of the 28 who took the written exam, only 20 of them took the agility test for the department, and four of them failed it.  

The St. Lucie County Firefighter Combat Challenge team took top honors in a competition last week as world champions in events at the Manatee Observation and Education Center in Fort Pierce. The challenge involves firefighters donning full bunker gear competing on a course with a series of five physically-demanding challenges. The team also won the world championship last year. "Anybody who can do it in under 2 minutes is a pretty special athlete for sure," said team co-captain Matt Coney, in his 21st year with the St. Lucie County Fire District. He said his agency does well because it has three of the overall fastest racers, with Brian Riebe holding a state record. "It's an average of our three fastest runners on our five-person team," he said. Coney, 46, said he started competing in 2012. "We really are more about the team, the team awards," Coney said.  

Jason Elmore has walked several paths in life, none of which he ever planned. For some people, Elmore was the face of the Chesterfield Fire Department. with whom he served for 20 years. He originally wanted to join the police department, but a fateful quirk of the regulations changed his course. "Once I became 18 years old, I realized I couldn't be a police officer until I was 21," Elmore said. "So I started volunteering as a firefighter. It didn't take long after that for me to realize this was going to be a career for me in public safety." As a firefighter, Elmore spent half a century helping his community through some of its worst moments. Many of those moments have stuck with him, including a woman who was severely burned. "We stopped for a moment and made sure we got her husband into the ambulance before we took her to the helicopter to make sure he was able to see her one last time," he recalled.  

Paul Wertheimer has spent four decades trying to help prevent deadly crowd surges since a disaster at a concert by The Who changed his life. Eleven young people, ages 15 to 27, died in a crowd crush at Cincinnati's Riverfront Coliseum in 1979. "There were piles of shoes and clothing," said Wertheimer, who responded to the scene as the city's public information officer. "I couldn't shake the feeling after studying this incident and being there." At the time, there were no federal regulations about crowd safety. Fast-forward to 2021, and that hasn't changed. But the recent tragedy at Houston's Astroworld Festival, which killed nine people ages 14 to 27, has renewed questions about whether national regulations are needed — and what can be done now to prevent another deadly crowd surge. There is no federal law on crowd safety. But the National Fire Protection Association's 101 Life Safety Code is considered the gold standard, said Wertheimer.