A retired honorary fire chief in Calvert has died. Joe Jackson served the community for over 50 years, earning the Calvert Volunteer Fire Department's Firefighter of the Year award back in 2018. "He was, and always will be, a staple within our department and community serving in the volunteer fire service for over 50 years," "He will be greatly missed. God speed 155, we've got it from here." the fire department wrote.  

A man was found dead after a fire at a house in Dallas Saturday morning. The fire was reported to fire crews just after 10:30 a.m. Dallas Fire-Rescue units responded to the one-story home in the 1600 block of West Illinois Avenue, west of I-35E. The firefighters found a heavy fire in the bedroom and quickly extinguished the flames. But once the smoke cleared, firefighters found a burned body in the bed. No one else was injured. A dog was found at the home and taken into custody of Dallas Animal Services. Fire crews don't believe the cause of the fire was "suspicious," but the official cause will remain undermined until the medical examiner makes a final ruling on the man's cause of death.  

As the Corpus Christi Fire Department celebrates its 150-year anniversary. One retired captain reflects on the importance of a firefighter's job. "The fire service are the Marines of public safety. They're first in, last out," Retired Fire Capt. Lee Rogers said. Rogers retired from the CCFD in 2017 after 38 years of service. He spent that time at Station 3, and it runs in the family. His father was chief of the fire department from 1980 to 1986. "And as a kid, I had a background in the fire service from my dad," Rogers said. "My dad would bring his gear home to wash it and I remember I'd see his gear out in the garage. And I was forever one of those kids - like a lot of kids now do the very same thing — you'll slip his boots on, you'll do stuff like that." Over the 150 year history of the CCFD, these firefighters have responded to countless calls.  

The City of Bryan's Fire Department began proactively filling vacancies this year with the help of a brand-new on-site training academy. For Cadet Michael Douglas, this was an opportunity of a lifetime. "I decided to make a career change and I wanted to serve my community, the Brazos Valley, as a firefighter," said Douglas. Training to be a firefighter can take weeks, however, this is time people may not have to sacrifice financially while trying to support their families. "They allow us to quit our jobs and focus fully on the academy, while also getting paid," said Douglas. "This allows me to support my family, my three daughters and wife, all while continuing the process of learning." This year the department launched a 14-week on-site academy program to help fill open positions. Bryan fire is ensuring adequate hands-on training while also encouraging new hires to join the department.  

Two people were rescued by Granbury firefighters early today after the canoe they were in capsized. Granbury Volunteer Fire Department. The Granbury VFD posted the following message on its Facebook page early this morning (Monday, Dec. 6) about the incident: "At 2 a.m., while most of Hood County slept, 4 Granbury firefighters successfully rescued a 17- and 22-year-old who had flipped their canoe in Lake Granbury. Someone heard their pleas for help and dialed 911. Neither was wearing a life jacket and clung to the capsized canoe. Thank you to North Hood County VFD, Texas EMS, Hood County Sheriff Office, Brazos River Authority Police and Texas Game Warden for their assistance."  

VIDEO: Emergency crews say they have now contained a fire at an apartment complex near 4th Street and Slide Road. The fire at Branchwater Apartments was reported to LFR at 12:50 p.m., upgraded to a two-alarm fire at 1 p.m. Firefighters told our crew that the fire involved part of a second floor apartment and the attic, leading to a chimney and part of the roof collapsing just before 2 p.m. Some residents of the complex were evacuated.  

VIDEO/PHOTOS: A three-alarm fire raged early Monday (Dec. 6) at the Cypress Run Apartments complex in Algiers. Occupants smelled smoke around 4:40 a.m. and began evacuating the first involved three-story building before New Orleans Fire Department crews arrived on scene, resident Kiesha Williams told WVUE-Fox 8. Firefighters arrived and began calling for reinforcements quickly to contain the blaze, sounding a second alarm at approximately 5:03 a.m. and a third alarm at 5:33 a.m. The Cypress Run Apartments are located at 6101 Tullis Dr. "These buildings are very old," said Williams, who has rented at the complex for about two years. "Things seem to always catch on fire here, because everything is messed up and old."  

VIDEO/PHOTOS: A Hubert Volunteer Firefighter received treatment at Vidant Medical center after an accident involving their fire engine Saturday. Deputy Chief of the Hubert Volunteer Fire Department, Hernan Melendez, said the accident happened when his team was returning from the annual Maysville Christmas Parade. Six of the fire crew members, including the Fire Chief, were traveling along Stella Road in Onslow County when the tire on the engine blew out, which caused the truck to crash into a ditch. A social media post reads: "one of our tires exploded causing the truck to become uncontrollable." Authorities said the fire chief fought to keep the truck upright as it hit a driveway pipe before coming to a stop.  

There's a reason that the death toll of the Winecoff hotel fire in 1946 has never been surpassed. Immediately after the disaster that killed 119 people, cities across the country began to re-examine their fire codes. In their definitive 1993 book, "The Winecoff Fire," co-authors Sam Heys and Allen Goodwin point out that the blaze prompted new laws requiring sprinkler systems, fire escapes and fire doors. "Within six months of the fire there was a national convention in Washington, D.C., on fire safety," said Heys, a former writer for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, now retired from the Southern Company. Though advertised as "fireproof," the Winecoff had neither sprinkler systems, fire escapes nor fire doors. Fire departments had ladders that could only reach to the seventh floor.  

VIDEO/PHOTOS: What if you could control the force of gravity to avoid injury? A couple of Cincinnati inventors have a device that allows people and objects to descend slowly and carefully. Bailout Systems is the brainchild of retired Navy diver Michael Ragsdale, who along with mechanical engineer Ben Krupp, have come up with something the size of a hockey puck. When used with a rope, it allows people and objects to descend in a controlled manner. Ragsdale has a friend on the Covington Fire Department who encouraged him to develop it for firefighters. His friend thought it possibly could have prevented Black Sunday in which members of the New York City Fire Department had to jump out a window after becoming trapped in two separate fires. Three died and four were seriously injured.  

Talk to many firefighters and they'll explain that "suck it up and get on the truck" mentality. "Coming from a law enforcement family, to talk about feelings and emotions is a challenge at times," admitted firefighter Dustin Hawkins. "After my father, being 30 years in law enforcement, I just now coaxed him into the ‘snuggle with the struggle.' I have to tackle the man to hug the man." But as of today, mental health assistance is on the fast track to Florida first responders, to the tune of $12 million. "We need to have resources as people have challenges involving mental health resiliency," said Governor Ron DeSantis. At a roundtable Friday afternoon, Florida's first lady Casey DeSantis announced $12 million in funding to expand peer-to-peer mental health services available for first responders through the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to bolster existing prevention and intervention services for first responders and their families.