PHOTO: A large fire broke out at the Arbors of Killeen Apartment Complex at 2801 O W Curry Dr. in Killeen at around 10 p.m. Wednesdsay. The Killeen Fire Department reports crews found smoke coming from the upper floor of an apartment building when they arrived, but were able evacuate everyone there safely. Fire officials said the fire grew quickly and went through the roof of the three-story complex. Flames could be seen shooting out. The people living in six units were displaced because of the fire. There were no reports of any injuries to civilian or emergency personnel. The complex is near the Hilton Garden Inn that caught on fire in February. The apartment complex management and the American Red Cross were assisting those displaced due to the fire. An investigator from the Killeen Fire Marshal's Office was at the scene to determine the origin and cause of the fire.  

Houston firefighters announced Wednesday afternoon they've collected thousands of signatures to add a binding arbitration initiative to the city ballot. If approved by voters, it would force the city to meet with an arbitrator when the two sides couldn't agree to contract terms. The arbitrator would have the power to impose contract terms after hearing both sides. Houston firefighters have been without a contract since 2017. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner has consistently opposed arbitration. Turner recently proposed an 18% pay raise to be paid out over the next three years. The funds come from the latest round of COVID-19 stimulus funding. The city budget - currently being negotiated - only guarantees the first year of that raise.  

The Laredo Fire Department is investigating a possible arson case that happened at a Laredo Hotel. The incident happened on Tuesday, June 1, at around 3:30 a.m. when crews were called out to a fire at Amerik Suites located at the 6500 block of Metro Ct. Firefighters arrived and found an active fire to the first-floor bathroom and the west wing hallway. Crews managed to evacuate all of the guests from the building and the sprinkler system was activated which caused flooding in the affected area. Fortunately, there was minimal fire damage to the building and no injuries were reported. Fire officials say arson is a type two felony and is punishable from two to 20 years in prison.  

A fire destroyed the City Hall in Aurora, a small Wise County town where, according to legend, a UFO landed in 1897 and the locals buried one of the aliens. Investigators from the state fire marshal's office on Wednesday were digging through the rubble. The cause of the fire is still undetermined. The blaze broke out about 5 o'clock Tuesday morning, destroying historical records dating to the Civil War. "There were a lot of things lost we'll never get back," Mayor Terry Solomon said. "It's pretty devastating. There was a lot of history that went up in flames." The history includes records on burial plots at the city cemetery, where an alien is buried. According to legend anyway, which goes like this: A UFO crashed into a windmill in Aurora on April 17, 1897. And residents gave Ned, an alien, a proper burial. A large rock marks the supposed burial spot.  

The Laredo Fire Department is investigating a possible case of arson that happened in north Laredo. The incident happened on Thursday morning at around 1:20 a.m. when fire crews received a call saying two vehicles were caught on fire. Officials arrived at the 900 block of Andrew Ln where two cars were up in flames. Firefighters were able to extinguish the flames without incident and the case is being investigated as a possible arson case. This is the fourth reported fire in the city, within the past seven days.  

Flashover is a very dangerous phenomenon, in which all of the exposed combustible materials in an enclosed area near-simultaneously ignite. Thanks to a new AI-based system, however, firefighters may soon receive warnings when flashover is imminent. Typically, flashovers occur when a structure fire causes the temperature in an enclosed space to reach at least 593 ºC (1,100 ºF) – this is the approximate autoignition temperature of many commonly used organic materials. As a result, they will emit flammable gases and ignite at more or less the same time, even if they haven't been directly exposed to flames. Needless to say, firefighters do not want to be in a building when a flashover occurs. Given the chaos and limited visibility inside burning structures, though, it can be difficult for them to spot visible warning signs such as flames rolling across the ceiling.  

PHOTOS: For 30 years, Ramon Barreto has worked as a San Francisco firefighter, responding to calls within the city and facing down some of the region's most challenging wildfires. But by night, he brings that blazing energy into the ring as one of the Bay Area's most legendary wrestlers: Chicano Flame. Born in Ensenada, Mexico, Barreto immigrated to the Mission as a child. He'd sit on the floor of his living room watching wrestlers on TV while his grandfather screamed along, rooting for Mexican stars like Mil Mascaras as they crossed over into American wrestling leagues. In the '80s, Barreto's family moved to Visitacion Valley, putting them in the shadow of one of the hotbeds of Bay Area wrestling: the Cow Palace. "I've got to wrestle in the Cow Palace several times," says Barreto. "It's such a great honor, from being a kid in the seats seeing it, to actually being in the ring under the lights and in the dressing rooms. That was a great accomplishment, to go full circle from the seats into the ring."  

It all started after a furniture factory burned down. The factory, once located at the end of Putnam Street in the Chesterfield community, caught fire at a point when fire service was provided in the area by a joint effort from the city of Morganton, Oak Hill Fire and what later became Triple Community Fire Department, Chesterfield Fire Chief James Robinson said. That fire highlighted the need for a fire department closer to home, and on June 6, 1971, Chesterfield Fire Department officially was chartered, Robinson said. It was a humble beginning, when the community rallied together to purchase used fuel tankers and have them retrofitted to carry and pump water, Robinson said. "That was the start of the original fire department," Robinson said. "They were yellow in color, and we've slowly, as fire service likes to go, we've slowly evolved and ripened from our yellow fruit to our red fruit fire trucks that we've got now."  

VIDEO: The St. Louis Fire Department is showing off its newest fire truck, all thanks to Ameren Missouri. The truck costs about $1 million dollars and it took 9 to 10 months to design and another to build. Ameren Missouri helped with the design and donated the truck to the fire department. St. Louis City has two to three significant underground every year that can burn for hours, which can extensive damage and outages. The new truck puts those fires out in a matter of minutes by cooling everything down. It has a new fire suppression system which uses carbon dioxide to extinguish underground electrical fires. The truck has already been used on two manhole fires and helped fight the recent chemical fire in Affton. Chief Jenkerson says the city never would have gotten this truck without the donation from Ameren.  

VIDEO/PHOTOS: Firefighters were able to return a woman's American flag from her apartment after losing her home to a 4-alarm fire in Myrtle Beach Wednesday morning. The flag was all she had left. It was emotional devastation for firefighters, and the people who stood watching the fire destroy their homes. Vinnie Nudo-Frazier lived in the top floor unit for 7 years where firefighters focused most of their efforts in the early morning hours. "I'm feeling very emotional. Up and down. Crying one minute and laughing the next minute. But everyone is safe. That's the most important thing. Everyone got out. And we're just going to start over." Her American flag was flying high as crews worked to save what they could. Nearly 8 hours after the initial call, fire crews were forced to demolish the damaged units to put the fire out.