A man died Tuesday in a fire at a house in Houston's Fifth Ward, officials said. The fire broke out about 11 a.m. at the house in the 5200 block of Noble Street. Fire crews used a rescue saw on a locked gate and burglar bars to gain access to the house, officials said. Firefighters found the man's body during a primary search, officials said. His identity has not been released.  

Joseph Cirasola, age 67, of Holly Lake Ranch, Texas, passed away on May 29, 2020. Joseph was born to Rose and Salvatore Cirasola in Brooklyn, NY on July 29, 1952.He graduated from Archbishop Molloy High School in Queens, NY and attended Iona College in New Rochelle, NY. Joe came to East Texas in 1998 and, soon thereafter, moved to Holly Lake Ranch where he became passionate about community service through his involvement with the Holly Lake Volunteer Fire Department. Joe served with the department for 15 years, the last 5 as Fire Chief. He was honored as "Firefighter of the Year." Through this role he ran multiple charitable events in the Holly Lake community. Joe was also the Precinct Chair for the Wood County Republican Party and was a daily presence in the Pro Shop. Not forgetting his roots, Joe remained a long-suffering New York Mets and Jets fan.  

The Tyler Junior College Fire Academy recently graduated 12 cadets from its 17th academy class. Jace Phillips of Lindale was class valedictorian, and Byron Wade of Golden was salutatorian. Graduates and their hometowns are: Victoria Barrera, Tyler; Chance Brock, Mabank; Braden Campbell, Azle; Iesha Collins, Whitehouse; Justin Forsyth, Tyler; Marcos Gallegos, Mabank; Peyton Garner, Ben Wheeler; Benjamin Lee, Trumbull, Connecticut; Dakota Lipe, Rusk; Jace Phillips, Lindale, valedictorian; Jose Vega, Gun Barrel City; and Byron Wade, Golden, salutatorian. The cadets were about halfway through the program when in-person classes were cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak. During the shutdown, they kept up with lectures and tests via online learning methods, but hands-on training was delayed for several weeks.  

The Flower Mound Fire Department responded to a house fire around 5:16 p.m. Tuesday in the 8100 block of Firestone Drive in the Tour 18 subdivision. The fire caused minor damage, but there were no injuries, said Brandon Barth, emergency services manager. Barth said neighbors initially saw smoke and flames coming from the two-story, 7,540-square-foot home. When crews arrived they saw heavy smoke. "Based on the size of the house and the location we escalated it to a second alarm," Barth said. Crews from all six fire stations in Flower Mound responded to the fire, as well as units from the Argyle Fire District, Roanoke Fire Department and a rehab unit from Lewisville. Firefighters from Grapevine, Denton and Coppell filled in at Flower Mound's stations.  

At the Public Safety Commission's Monday meeting, Austin Police Department, Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services and Austin Fire Department representatives discussed how cadet classes that were delayed due to COVID-19 (and other issues) will move forward. ATCEMS Chief of Staff Jasper Brown told the commission that the department had planned a set of oral interviews for March, which were postponed. They are now scheduled to take place in July. "This is our initial entry point into the department," he said. "Other departments use a test and then they also do an oral interview later. The structured oral interview is our initial entry, scoring and that's what ranks them accordingly on civil service." He said the department is checking with the Civil Service Office to determine if any of the process can take place online.  

A birthday celebration turned scary for one Robstown family this evening. They were celebrating at "In the Game Funtrackers" in Flour Bluff when they got stuck at the top of the roller coaster. Mike Martinez climbed down on his own and helped his wife down, as well. He called 911 and waited for fire crews to rescue his daughter, Haley, and stepdaughter, Cristalina Montez, who was celebrating her 12th birthday. Haley said she was glad her father called the fire department for help. "They didn't take a long time but it was taking a long time for me because I was scared," Haley said. "I was glad she was okay because I was worried about her the whole time and I didn't want her to get hurt." The family was a little shaken from the ordeal, so they decided to cut their celebration short and head home.  

VIDEO: Several homes were destroyed and evacuations were ordered when a grass fire ignited Wednesday afternoon near a Suisun City neighborhood, officials said. The fire ignited around 3:45 p.m. in the marsh of Kellogg Street, near the Suisun City Wildlife Center, the Suisun City Fire Department said. Residents on Maple and Elmwood streets were evacuated, the Suisun City Police Department said. An evacuation center has been set up at Crystal Middle School at 400 Whispering Bay Lane. The grass fire burned more than 300 acres, officials said. Four homes were destroyed, four homes sustained interior and exterior damage and three homes had exterior damage. The Suisun Fire Department said all homes on Maple Street lost their backyard fences.  

Five, four, three, two, One-Stop. Placing the emotional and upsetting events on the ground – the civil unrest across the country after the death of George Floyd – to one side for a moment, last weekend we placed two Americans into space from the U.S. mainland after a 9-year delay. After blasting off from the Kennedy Space Center and then whizzing around the Earth at speeds that eventually hit 17,500 mph, the SpaceX spacecraft carrying two NASA astronauts docked with the International Space Station, completing the first leg of a historic journey. The mission marks the first time a private company has flown astronauts to orbit and flight tested a vehicle that could truly take us onto a journey that will boldly go where no one has gone before. NASA Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley sit at the tip of the pyramid of tens of thousands of workers – and, importantly, disrupters and innovators – who have delivered new space vehicles, innovation and technology across years of research and development.  

More than 130 days have passed since the first known case of COVID-19 was identified in the United States. Over that period, nearly 1.8 million Americans have been infected — and over 100,000 of them have died. While no state has avoided the virus's reach, cases have been largely concentrated in densely-populated states in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic. Still, in nearly every state — even in those where the number of known cases per capita has remained low — there are hotspots where the number of diagnosed cases per capita is approaching or well exceeding the national figure. As of June 1, there have been 554 cases of the virus for every 100,000 people nationwide. Using COVID-19 data from state and local health departments, and population data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed COVID-19 cases in over 3,000 U.S. county and county equivalents to determine the county in each state with the most cumulative confirmed cases, adjusted to the population. In the counties on this list, the prevalence of the disease ranges from 73 cases to more than 14,000 cases per 100,000 people.  

Members of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) National Response Team have been sent to Minneapolis and St. Paul to investigate the fires set to local businesses during the recent unrest that took place in both cities. According to a spokesperson with the ATF St. Paul Field Division, they've been requested to work alongside both city's fire departments and the Minnesota State Fire Marshal Division to help determine the parties responsible for the fires. "The cause of these fires is quite obvious," Special Agent in Charge William Henderson, of the St. Paul Field Division said in a statement. "The task at hand now is to determine who is responsible. ATF's National Response Team is going to be a tremendous asset. It brings a wealth of knowledge and resources to assist local police and fire departments in large-scale fire investigations."  

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that some people may be putting off getting emergency care for serious health conditions during the coronavirus pandemic -- and fewer visits for critical conditions could result in complications or even death. During the coronavirus pandemic, the total number of visits to hospital emergency departments across the United States for conditions other than COVID-19 was 42% lower than during this same time last year, according to a new CDC report. The new research, published in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report on Wednesday, found that emergency department visits drastically fell from about 2.1 million visits per week between March 31 and April 27 last year to 1.2 million between March 29 and April 25 this year.