VIDEO: Rockport Fire Chief Aaron Guerrero has passed away from medical complications, this was announced by the Rockport Volunteer Fire Department early Saturday morning. According to the department, he has served with the RVFD since he was 19 years old and as chief for the last three years. Chief Guerrero was known for his commitment to his department, offering leadership skills and determination. His contributions will leave a lasting legacy in our community.  

VIDEO: The City of El Paso held a groundbreaking ceremony for its Fire Station No. 38 on Friday. The station will be located in the 14300 block of Pebble Hills Boulevard, adjacent to the new police regional command center. This state-of-the-art facility will span more than 9,000 square feet and will feature the following services and amenities: three emergency vehicle parking bays with vehicle exhaust ventilation system, dispatch office and Information Technology server room, medical supply/equipment storage, decontamination shower room and unisex restrooms with showers, dormitory and industrial laundry facility, food preparation/service area with cold and dry food storage, fitness area, public restrooms, and lobby. Construction of the project with an approximate budget of $5.4 million will be managed by the City's Capital Improvement Department.  

A structure fire in northwest Lubbock was started by an improperly discarded cigarette, according to Lubbock Fire Rescue. Just after 11 a.m. Friday, LFR was called to a working fire near 6th Place and the West Loop. The caller advised the fire was in the bedroom. Crews were able to extinguish the fire quickly with no injuries reported. Crews were able to contain the fire to one room to keep it from spreading.  

The City of Killeen says a member of their fire department has gone to Florida to lead search and rescue efforts after Hurricane Helene. Phillip "Flip" Bannister is a Technical Search Specialist on Texas A&M Task Force 1. He also leads and trains the Texas Task Force 1 Water Rescue Team, according to the Texas Task Force Foundation. When he's not rescuing folks at the state level, he's in Killeen, acting as a Battalion Chief and Technical Rescue Team Commander for the fire department. After Hurricane Helene hit Florida on Thursday, Sept 26, Bannister deployed to manage search teams in the areas effected by the storm.  

VIDEOS/PHOTOS: An incident at a Rockdale County chemical facility early Sunday morning has prompted orders for many area residents to evacuate and others to shelter in place. A shelter-in-place order has been given to the entirety of Rockdale County. Around 5:30 a.m., a sprinkler at the BioLab plant on Old Covington Highway in Conyers malfunctioned and sprayed water on a chemical, causing a reaction that created a large, hazardous plume, which then began drifting to the northeast, Rockdale County Fire Chief Marian McDaniel said at a press briefing shortly after 10 a.m. The malfunction also caused a small fire on the BioLab roof, which was contained, McDaniel said. During a press briefing around 5:30 p.m., McDaniel said the roof collapsed due to the fire.  

Fire chiefs from Australia, Canada, Netherlands, Slovenia, the United Kingdom, Europe, and the U.S. participated in the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Urban Fire Forum (UFF) last week at NFPA headquarters in Quincy, MA, endorsing four important documents that address some of the most complex challenges facing the modern fire service. The documents, considered official UFF-Metropolitan Fire Chiefs (Metro Chiefs) position papers, take account of a wide-range of topics including enhancing firefighting safety, improving operational effectiveness, and promoting ethical decision-making in the face of emerging technologies and environmental concerns. "NFPA is proud of its longstanding support of fire departments worldwide through our Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association and the Urban Fire Forum," said NFPA president and CEO Jim Pauley.  

VIDEO/PHOTOS: Short on supplies, power and patience, storm victims who saw the brutal force of Helene upend their lives have emerged to a new week, facing the daunting challenge of rebuilding. Some of the roads and bridges they need to do the job aren't there anymore. Electricity could be a week away or longer. Emergency services are stretched. Communications infrastructure is in shreds. And neighbors, some of whose own homes are gone, are helping neighbors – all the while worrying about the fate of those from whom they haven't heard. At least 102 people have died across six states since Helene, which made landfall in Florida as a mammoth Category 4 hurricane, tore through the Southeast and left millions without power and communications.  

The number of people in the U.S. dying from drug overdoses is falling for the first time in years—and it's falling quickly. Nationwide, overdose deaths fell 12.2% between April 2023 and April 2024 from 110,771 to 97,309, according to CDC data released in September. In comparison, overdose deaths fell by 3% between 2022 and 2023, the first annual decrease since 2018 when the number of deaths was 67,367. Data from individual states shows even more drastic declines. In Ohio, for example, overdose deaths are down 32.6% so far this year compared to last, according to nonprofit Harm Reduction Ohio. And in Vermont, state health department data from January to June of this year shows overdose deaths have fallen about 16% compared to the average number of overdose deaths from the same period over the past three years.