An off-duty Dallas firefighter is being credited with saving two people from a house fire that investigators believe was started on purpose, officials said Saturday. Dallas Fire-Rescue said crews responded to a fire at a two-story home in the 800 block of East Ninth Street in southwest Dallas around 5:35 a.m. Arriving firefighters found two people with burn injuries in the front yard of the home and learned that they were helped by an off-duty firefighter. The department said the firefighter was driving into work when he noticed the fire and rescued the two people after running inside. The firefighter chose to remain anonymous. The two injured people were taken to a hospital for treatment. Their conditions are unknown. Crews were able to put out the fire, but the house suffered "significant damage," according to the department.  

On Sunday, Oct. 31, at about 1:40 a.m., Anna Fire Rescue responded to a call referencing a house fire at 307 E. 7th St. After the fire was extinguished, fire personnel located a deceased body within the residence. Anna Fire Marshalls, assisted by the Collin County Fire Marshall, are investigating the fire. The deceased male has not been positively identified, and the cause and manner of death are under investigation. Anyone who may have information regarding the incident and has not been interviewed is encouraged to contact the Anna Fire Marshall or the Anna Police Department.  

VIDEO: It's not everyday a child gets to meet his or her hero, but Friday, Oct. 29 that moment was made possible for one little girl from Prosper who has big goals of becoming a firefighter. For years, Annabelle Turner has dreamed of this moment. Just ask her mom. "Ever since she could talk!" Aubrey Turner said. "Every time she would pass a firetruck she would comment on it." The 6-year-old wanted to meet a female firefighter and she did. Autumn Verhoef is Prosper Fire Rescue's only female firefighter who just a couple years ago changed careers. She left her job as a full-time ER nurse to become a firefighter "When I was in the ER, I lived in a different town and in that particular town those firefighters and paramedics would bring me patients," she said. As she learned more about what they did she realized being a fire fighter was her dream job.  

An overnight apartment fire in Killeen sent two people to the hospital, one being a child, after they escaped through a window and jumped from the second floor. "It's horrifying, it's horrifying to know that your child might be burning alive," said Patricia Butler, a resident who said the fire started un her daughter's unit. "I heard her screaming and I know she got burned by the fire and she did what she had to do but, now I am here, and I am waiting to find out what happens here." Fire crews arrived on scene just before 4 a.m. and Killeen Police Chief James Kubinski said he's proud of his crew who stopped the fire from spreading to other units. "The initial reports were we had flames throughout the unit and when we arrived," Kubinski said, adding they sent four fire engines, a ladder truck and heavy rescue to the scene along with a couple of ambulances.  

Iowa Park is looking to spend $5 million on a new police station and a new fire station. City Manager Jerry Flemming said the city went back and forth about getting approval for the past 18 years. He said a few things held them up from getting ahead, including COVID-19. But now, the designs are laid out and everyone's on board. Police Chief Steven Davis said the last time the police station was redesigned was in 1985. "We've had some flooding issues, in portion of our buildings we've had some roof work done on it. Running out of room to store a lot of this evidence and paperwork that we're required by the state to maintain," said Davis. Davis says with all the work the police station demands, it's time for a new place to work. The city is safe, and they want to keep it that way, but to do so they've gotta be up with the times.  

VIDEO: On Friday, Oct. 29, a storage garage caught on fire in an Edna home. Jackson county fire Chief Kurt Janica said their department received the call at at 8:25 in the morning. While he and his team were setting up for a presentation on how to prevent fires at a nearby elementary school. After arriving at the fire location in the 1000 block of South Wells street. Firefighters noticed the storage garage was completely up in flames. Yet they managed to put the fire out in just 30 minutes, by 9:00 a.m. No one was hurt during the fire, nor transported to a hospital. The initial cause of the fire is still unknown, since the emergency services department says they are continuing to investigate what could have caused the fire.  

VIDEOS: Firefighters battled a multi-alarm blaze in Philadelphia's Port Richmond section on Sunday night and saved a neighborhood bar from catching fire. The call came in just before 10 p.m. for a massive fire showing from a vacant three-story warehouse located near the intersection of Melvale and Tioga streets. The Action Cam was there as the raging flames sent smoke billowing into the sky. Officials say a tire manufacturing company once operated out of the warehouse. It was no longer in use, but whatever was left inside was fueling the fire. Firefighters initially tried to get inside the building, but backed away when the flames started to intensify and shot through the roof. "There was fire showing on the top level when companies first arrived and they took a defensive posture," said Craig Murphy, Philadelphia Fire Department's first deputy fire commissioner.  

New York City municipal workers have rushed to get COVID-19 vaccinations in recent days, raising the group's overall coverage to 91% through Saturday evening. But progress has stalled among key workforces such as first responders and sanitation workers, and enforcement of the mandate begins on Monday. Mayor Bill de Blasio has pledged to send home all unvaccinated employees without pay, but some workers are already calling in sick. Service interruptions, namely trash pickup, are deepening. About 1 in 5 sanitation workers — 21% — missed Friday's deadline for the shots and remained unvaccinated. This tally improved only two percentage points on Saturday. Similar stagnation applied to the city's firefighters, except a larger portion there — 27% — have not taken at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Large gaps also remain intact for emergency medical services (EMS) workers and the NYPD — both with 16% uninoculated.  

More than 100 local firefighters and a team of emergency technicians gathered recently at Heiman Holsteins outside Chili for a training exercise tailored to the unique challenges of farm-site rescues. Organizers described the goal of the training exercise as twofold. The first was to prepare emergency workers for situations that only occur on private farm properties. The second was to promote cooperation with farmers for a nationwide site-mapping program. Officials described the program as way to inform responders of potential hazards unique to each farm without depending on farmers' directives or going in blind. "Rescue operations on farms tend to be low frequency/high risk, meaning that they may not happen as often as car wrecks but, when they do happen, they're often very severe because of the nature of the occupational environment on farms," said Casper Bendixsen, director of the National Farm Medicine Center.  

PHOTOS: The antique, horse-drawn steam engine inside the Yantic Fire Engine Co.'s headquarters bay can't match its modern counterparts when it comes to mobility or pure gallon-pumping power, but it sure does look pretty. After a three-year repair and refurbishment process, the department's 1891 Silsby Steam Engine is back home in all its nickel-plated glory, with fresh paint, newly upholstered seats and modern coils of hose. And while the guts of the engine are archaic by today's standards, its basic design is the same, Assistant Chief Paul O'Connell said this week. "Today's $1 million trucks use diesel and combustion, while the Silsby used coal and steam to extract and discharge water to put out fires," said O'Connell, the department's historian. "It's always been about putting wet stuff onto hot stuff."