Denison Fire Rescue finally has a new fire chief and it's a familiar face. After two months of being the interim chief, Kenneth Jacks has now taken on that role permanently. With almost 35 years experience, 27 of them with the Richardson fire department and five years as the fire chief in New Braunfels, TX. He Retired from there and began taking interim fire chief jobs which brought him here to Texoma. "It's almost like a calling, it's almost like someone put me in the place that I needed to be, because it got me really excited again because of their enthusiasm, and the tradition of Denison," said Chief Jacks. "How can you not love it, you know kind of deal, and that's what brings people here." Jacks says he's looking forward to taking the department to the next level when he officially begins his permanent role in January.  

A firefighter with the Pasadena Fire Department is back at home and recovering after being struck by a hit-and-run driver Saturday night. It all happened during the department's annual Santa Project event. Chief Fire Marshal David Brannon said the firefighter was directing traffic at the intersection of Pasadena Boulevard and Dewberry Lane about 8:40 p.m. That's when the unidentified driver of an SUV rapidly approached and hit the firefighter, tossing him about 30 feet, the chief said. The driver then reportedly fled the scene. Brannon said the firefighter was responsive and alert at the scene, but he was taken to the hospital in critical condition. He has since been released and is back home recovering. His name has not been released. "We want to thank all of those who have reached out and have shared their prayers and love to our firefighter," Pasadena Fire officials said.  

VIDEO: Smith County Fire Marshal Jay Brooks has confirmed that firefighters found the body of an elderly woman inside a home that burned in the Chapel Hill area of Smith County Friday afternoon. Brooks said they were working to obtain a search warrant, and getting a justice of the peace to the scene. The fire happened at a home on Rolling Pines Drive. Firefighters were working on the fire both outside and inside the home. Brooks said the call came in around 12:33 p.m. Friday. When Brooks and deputies arrived at the scene, flames were visible, showing in the northwest corner of the house. Crews tried to kick down the door and rescue anyone that might have been inside the home. Crews made it to the bedroom, but they were pushed back by the fire, Brooks said. Eventually, the fire overran the firefighters.  

A firefighter with the Austin Fire Department was injured while responding to a fire at a fourplex in North Austin this weekend. The fire was reportedly started by a cooking fire. According to the fire department, the fire happened at a two-story fourplex in the 7200 block of Creekside Drive in North Austin on Sunday, December 19. One firefighter reportedly received minor injuries and needed to be treated by ATCEMS. No civilians were injured in this incident, according to the fire department. Six adults and six children have been displaced because of this incident. Red Cross has been notified and will assist the displaced tenants, according to the fire department. The fire caused roughly $250,000 in structural damage and $75,000 in personal damage.  

VIDEO: A major building fire late Sunday night in an industrial area of central El Paso drew a massive response from firefighters. The warehouse blaze in the 1800 block of E. Mills was labeled a condition 4 fire by the El Paso Fire Department. That's basically the Borderland's equivalent of a 4-alarm fire. At least 50 firefighters were battling the flames, but fire officials said there were no injuries reported. Smoke from the huge blaze was visible to motorists traveling along Interstate 10.  

A woman and her three young children were pulled from their burning apartment. Dallas Fire-Rescue rushed to the apartment complex on Gannon Lane near Interstate 20 and Highway 67 in the Red Bird area of southern Dallas early Monday morning. When they arrived around 2 a.m. they found an apartment in flames on the second floor. Neighbors helped a woman who managed to escape the apartment. Firefighters had to go into the burning apartment to rescue her three children who are all under 5 years old. The woman was taken to Parkland Hospital. She is getting treatment for smoke inhalation and burn injuries. Her children are all being treated at Children's Dallas. One is reportedly in serious condition and the other two are recovering.  

VIDEO/PHOTOS: Firefighters were still responding to hot spots and smoke on Monday leftover from a deadly weekend fire at the QVC distribution facility in Rocky Mount. The Edgecombe County Sheriff's Office said search and rescue members located a body on the outbound side of the loading dock at the distribution facility on Sunday morning. The body was identified as 21-year-old Kevon Ricks around 4 p.m. "This is a very active and fresh investigation," said Edgecombe County manager Eric Evans during a press conference on Sunday afternoon. "[We're] not able to answer any questions at this point and time, but thank you for being here." QVC officials had previously confirmed that "everyone inside the center made it out safely." The major fire tore through the building on Saturday morning just after 2 a.m.  

VIDEO: As a devastating tornado rolled through Rudd Wednesday night, a local resident went above and beyond to protect his neighbors from what was to come. With heavy winds and rain bearing down on the town, Volunteer Firefighter Tyler Hicks answered the call when asked to sound Rudd's tornado siren system by hand. "It's raining sideways, all that kind of stuff, and I'm still holding the button. It really wasn't too bad with all the gear on, and next thing you know, there's no button there anymore to pull down," Hicks said. The intense moments Hicks weathered to warn Rudd residents of the impending tornado were captured on video. However, not pictured in the footage - the resilience it took to keep the siren blaring as the world around Hicks started tearing apart.  

Bruce Sams is no stranger to fighting for his life and fighting to save others' lives. As a McMinnville firefighter, it's right there in his job description. But the North Albany resident didn't expect to be fighting for his own life against one nasty case of COVID-19. Fortunately, for Sams, 55, landing in the intensive care unit of Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center meant being admitted to one of the few hospitals in the country using a brand new treatment. Which saved his life. The treatment is a Seraph 100 filter, which works in conjunction with a typical dialysis machine to filter out pathogens from a patient's blood. It's essentially a sealed plastic tube filled with tiny little beads that look like sand. The beads are coated with heparan sulfate, a type of carbohydrate that's common in human and animal cells. A person's blood is removed from the body, run through the filter and then sent back into the bloodstream.  

VIDEO: You can find a lot of things at Faneuil Hall. From Keytar Bear to Ned Devine's and even John Legend. The past few years, you may have even caught Buddy the Elf. And while the notable Christmas character is known for spinning around turnstiles and eating already chewed gum off railings in New York City, this Boston-based Christmas elf has one goal in mind: pillow fights. Meet Brendan Sullivan, a local firefighter spreading Christmas joy one pillow fight at a time. Sullivan started his impromptu pillow fight videos in 2018. Since then, his videos around Boston — and even an episode in New York City — have gone viral. His video from 2018 has almost one billion views, according to Sullivan. "I'd be walking down the street — of course I'm dressed as Buddy the Elf mind you — and people recognize us," Sullivan said. "They said ‘oh my god, you're the firefighter. Oh my God. You're the Boston pillow fighting elf.'"  

Quinlan Roe remembers his first lecture in Missoula College's new paramedic program. He said it was from the director of the program, Dave McEvoy, who shared a story about being handed a newborn baby struggling for breath. McEvoy told his students he still remembers the fear and trust in the mother's eyes. "He got teary-eyed and told us that, at some point, that was going to be us in the field, experiencing something similar," Roe said. "He told us that being a paramedic is about caring for and helping people – that it's hard work and requires a lot of studying and commitment." Fast forward four semesters, in the middle of a national health care labor crisis and a global pandemic, and the University of Montana's Missoula College is graduating its very first cohort of new, nationally certified paramedics.