A Round Rock woman was killed in a house fire early Friday morning. The Round Rock Fire Department was sent to the scene at the 2600 block of Oak Meadow Dr. off East Messick Loop around 3:15 a.m. A release from the Round Rock Fire Department said three people were inside and two had made it out by the time firefighters arrived, but one person was still unaccounted for. Firefighters located the woman who was inside the room where the fire started and she was removed from the house at 3:22 a.m. She was unresponsive and emergency medics attempted CPR at the scene and she was taken to St. David's Medical Center in Round Rock where she was pronounced dead. Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire in 17 minutes and keep it contained to one room. No one else was injured. Round Rock arson investigators are working with police to identify the cause.  

Monday, College Station City Council approved three federal grants totaling $1.2 million for the College Station Fire Department. The other two grants come from the Assistance to Firefighters Grant, worth nearly $300,000. Those funds will provide a source-capturing diesel exhaust removal system in fire stations 1, 2 and 4. "It's an exposure several times a day, every shift that you come to work, over a 30 year career, and it builds up in our systems," said College Station Captain Stuart Marrs "Firefighter cancer is something we need to be aware of and we need to take steps to mitigate that." Marrs says the special hose system connects to the exhaust pipes of the fire trucks and will detach as the trucks pull out of the station.  

Officials have confirmed three people are dead following a weekend explosion. In a Facebook post shortly before midnight, the Red River County Sheriff's Office said three bodies have been recovered from private property near Talco. Officials say the explosion is believed to have happened Saturday night around 7 o'clock. "First Responders were notified when a family member went to check on a loved one that they were not able to get ahold of since the previous day," said the RRCSO. Sunday afternoon, the Longview Fire Department said they were asked to assist in search and rescue efforts in an underground bunker in the same area. The Paris Fire Department also said they sent a two-man response team to do air monitoring.  

PHOTOS: Flames leaped out of the former Langford Distribution agricultural chemical warehouse early Monday morning causing a large fire and hazardous materials response, Waco fire Deputy Chief R.M. Bergerson said. Nearly 40 firefighters battled the blaze at 301 S. 17th St. after smoke was seen in the area shortly after 6:30 a.m. Fire officials were concerned about the possible existence of pesticides in the building as well as the safety of the nearby 17th Street viaduct. Using 10 fire vehicles, firefighters were able to get the fire under control at the 17,000-square-foot frame building and protect nearby buildings. The contents of the building remained unknown Monday morning, but fire officials warned people to stay away from the site.  

For the second time in a week, guests were evacuated from Hotel Valencia on the river walk after smoke started pouring out of the vents in the lobby. Firefighters responded to the hotel's fire alarm just before 3 o'clock Saturday morning. A San Antonio Fire Department spokesperson said the smoke in the lobby was caused by an electrical short in the air conditioner unit from the penthouse on the top floor. No injuries were reported and guests were allowed back into the hotel. Guests at the hotel were evacuated Tuesday after a man started a fire on the second floor in a storage closet. 39-year-old Mario Saenz was arrested hours later and charged with arson. He told police he had done too many drugs and believed shadows were following him.  

The Buddhist worshipers gathered in their new air-conditioned hall, praying on richly-colored mats. They were focused on the ceremony, so the mother did not immediately notice when her 4-year-old daughter slipped out. The girl is autistic, according to a deputy with the Harris County Sheriff's Office, and like many children with that condition, drawn to water. Minutes later, the mother realized she was missing and ran outside to a muddy green pond near the ornate entrance of the Wat Angkorchum Cambodian Buddhist Temple at 16720 Kuykendahl Road. The girl's shoes and socks sat on the steps leading down to the pond, but she was gone. The mother and several other worshipers jumped in the water, searching desperately for her. Firefighters eventually found her at the bottom of the pond, which is about 6 feet deep.  

Members of the Latimer County community are asking for prayers after they said a local firefighter was shot during a house fire and the fire chief had to be taken to an area hospital after experiencing a medical episode. According to officials with Latimer County Emergency Management, the members of the Buffalo Valley Fire Department were battling a fire at a house that was full of ammunition. The flames caused the ammunition to start popping off, and a firefighter was shot in the face and head area, officials said. The firefighter was taken to a hospital in Tulsa. His condition has not been released. "Our chief was so upset he started having chest pains," officials with Latimer County Emergency Management wrote on Facebook. "He, too, was life flighted to Tulsa. He will have new meds and a few days at the hospital."  

VIDEO: One person is still missing, believed to be trapped inside the Hard Rock Hotel after the building partially collapsed without warning Saturday morning. Rescue efforts are still the focus. Engineers are evaluating the building and crews are assembling a 220,000-pound crane to try to stabilize the building, but rescue teams are unable to get to some areas due to fears of another collapse. "We have someone we have not located and can't get to where we think they might be," New Orleans Fire Department Chief Tim McConnell said. "Our goal here is to continue making the scene safe so we can continue getting into this building deeper and deeper for rescue purposes." Several floors of the hotel toppled down Saturday amid blinding dust and flying debris.  

An East Chicago state lawmaker is hoping improved death benefits for Hoosier police and firefighters may encourage Northwest Indiana public safety officers to continue working in the Region, instead of bolting for the generally higher salaries paid by Illinois communities. State Rep. Earl Harris Jr., D-East Chicago, this month won study committee approval for his proposal to hike the one-time death benefit paid to the survivors of all deceased Indiana police and firefighters to $18,000, instead of $12,000. The Interim Study Committee on Pension Management Oversight also endorsed Harris' idea to set the special death benefit for police and firefighters killed in the line of duty at $225,000, up from $150,000. "Better death benefits for these brave men and women is just one way we can recruit the best of the best," Harris said. "It also shows an appreciation for the efforts of those who put their lives on the line every day to protect our communities."  

Surveillance of an EMS station in the Bronx on Saturday night led to the arrest of a 22-year-old man, hours after multiple acts of vandalism carried out on FDNY ambulances. Karim Murdoch is accused of causing damage to six vehicles at Station 15 hours before the arrest, which included broken windows and graffiti, according to a statement issued Sunday by FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro. Hours after the damage was discovered, the suspect was seen in the vicinity of the station, where he was apprehended for questioning by fire marshals and later charged with two counts of criminal mischief, officials said. "Vandalizing and damaging our ambulances shows disrespect to the dedicated men and women of the FDNY Emergency Medical Service, and the public they bravely serve" said Nigro in a written statement.  

The sounds of drones on hand weren't the only buzz filling the new Colorado Center of Excellence for Advanced Technology Aerial Firefighting (CoE) Technodrome last week at Rifle Garfield County Airport. More than 70 people had an up-close look Tuesday at the new 7,000-square-foot indoor facility that allows the center to safely test and evaluate different types of technology for public safety in an enclosed environment. Center of Excellence Director Ben Miller spoke of the bright future of the center as the afternoon sun lent the fabric-covered structure a glowing yellow. "The big advantage of the facility is that we can test new things that aren't quite allowed or contemplated by the FFA because we are indoors," Miller said. "We shut the doors and do all the flying we want to in here. We fly big drones that aren't allowed outside yet, which exceed the current rules, and if we are successful in here, it shows promise and momentum to approach the FAA."