Two firefighters and a resident were injured during an early morning house fire on Thursday. According to a report from the Smith County Fire Marshall's Office, at about 3:30 a.m., firefighters from Noonday, Flint-Gresham, and Dixie Fire Departments were dispatched to the 14000 block of County Road 1237 in Noonday for a house fire. They discovered a resident who had suffered burns in the fire, but had already made it out of the house. During the suppression efforts, two firefighters also suffered burns. All three people were transported to a local hospital and one firefighter was flown to Parkland Hospital's Burn Unit in Dallas for advanced treatment. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of this morning's house fire," Smith County Fire Marshal Jay Brooks said. "We are actively investigating the fire, but right now our concerns are for the injured."  

When high winds spread a training range fire on March 24 to a nearly weeklong firefighting effort, affecting more than 33,000 acres, Fort Hood's Central Texas neighbors came in droves to support. "(It was) the largest fire by current measurements that we've ever had, and as such, it required a large response," U.S. Army Garrison – Fort Hood Commander Col. Chad R. Foster said. "What we got from the surrounding communities — local, state and federal — was impressive." Given the size of the Crittenberg Complex fire — roughly 15% of the installation's acreage was affected — and the thousands of man-hours to combat it, the startling fact is that there were no injuries, nor major structures damaged … a success story worth sharing and praising, Foster said.  

As the high winds kick in and red flag warnings go into effect again, fire departments across South Texas are on alert. A burn ban is currently in effect for Atascosa County. "Oh, it's been hectic," said Rick Flores, assistant chief for the Poteet Volunteer Fire Department. "(From) last month (until) today, we have (had) 66 calls." For him and his chief, Curtis Adams, the priority is safety. "(It's) hours on end sometimes," Flores said about recent wildfire calls in the area. "I'll tell you, you know, just recently, about a week ago, we were in Lytle helping them out. And I, myself, was there for about 12 hours. I know some of the guys were there longer, but it's awesome from the community's standpoint. The neighbors, they brought out food and water, Gatorade, and things like that. So, we have a very good community."  

Wichita firefighters fought to get a large building fire under control at the Coleman facility near 37th Street North and Hydraulic. Crews were called to the 2100 block of E. 37th Street around 5:20 p.m. after receiving a 911 call about a building fire with hazardous materials. Wichita Fire Chief Tammy Snow said the first crews on the scene reported multiple explosions. One-gallon propane bottles were exploding and shooting off. Fire was observed on the exterior of the building and is thought to have extended into the building, catching two additional trailers on fire. Firefighters said they needed more help and requested a second and third alarm. Snow said crews were able to mitigate the fire thanks to the wind coming out of the north.  

VIDEO: Just 12 miles from Midtown Manhattan is New Jersey's Teterboro Airport, which has an average of 500 flights a day according to fire officials, but taking in smaller planes requires unique training. CBS2's Jenna DeAngelis got an exclusive hands-on experience with new equipment preparing on-site first responders. When flying, a smooth takeoff and landing is always the goal and while crashes are rare, crews have to be ready for worst case scenario. "Eighty-two percent of accidents happen on taxi takeoff and landing and typically within 3,000 foot of the center of the airport," New Jersey Airports Deputy Fire Chief Thomas Wieczerzak said. Teterboro has its own aircraft rescue firefighting team. "It is the most regulated fire discipline in the country," Wieczerzak said. The crew is taking its training to the next level. With a "jaws of life" ribbon-cutting, they unveiled brand new equipment unique to Teterboro.  

Almost every fire station in St. Paul will soon have its own sauna, and researchers will jump on the opportunity to collect some firefighter sweat. Once the infrared saunas are installed, experts hope to collect at least 30 sweat samples to test them for carcinogens. "This study will be completely novel, as no one has looked for carcinogens in sweat in this way," said Dr. Zeke McKinney, an affiliate professor at the University of Minnesota and HealthPartners researcher, addressing the St. Paul City Council on Wednesday. "Firefighters have an increased risk of all cancers compared to the general population, as well as very specific cancers," he said.  

The number of blazes that have been reported at Seattle's homeless encampments have risen to nearly five a day in the area, prompting safety concerns and worries about depleted resources. The latest fire was reported Wednesday morning just steps away from T-Mobile Park. From Jan. 1 through April 3, officials said the Seattle Fire Department has responded 449 times to homeless camps for fire-related incidents, including rubbish fires and illegal burns. That's an increase over last year when there were 290 encampment fires in the first three months. A fire department spokesperson said it is hard to quantify just how much time and effort goes into battling blazes at homeless camps. However, the fires are draining city firefighting resources with little indication of ending anytime soon.  

Half of the states are seeing COVID case numbers rise again while nationwide totals continue to fall. The big picture: The Omicron subvariant known as BA.2 is the dominant strain circulating around the U.S., accounting for almost three out of every four cases. As in-person gatherings have begun again, COVID has sickened a number of Washington A-listers, reminding everyone — yet again — we're not out of the woods with this pandemic. By the numbers: Overall, cases dropped 5% across the U.S. to an average of about 28,700 cases from an average of more than 30,000 cases two weeks ago. Three states — Alaska, Vermont and Rhode Island — had more than 20 new cases per 100,000 people. Nine states — Utah, Montana, South Dakota, Kansas, Louisiana, Iowa, Arkansas, Indiana and Tennessee — had three or fewer new cases per 100,000 people. Between the lines: Deaths fell to an average of 600 a day, down 34% from just over 900 a day two weeks ago.