VIDEO: A large house fire Wednesday morning put Houston firefighters on the defensive as they worked to douse the flames. It happened around 6:15 a.m. in the 1000 block of Terminal Street in east Houston. More than a dozen units responded to the structure near the corner of Terminal Street and Avenue J in the Greater East End. The home is located in a neighborhood adjacent to Union Pacific Railroad tracks and is a wood frame structure. Flames from the home could be seen for miles as Skyeye flew over the scene Wednesday morning. A 40-year-old man suffered smoke inhalation. The fire may have started from an electrical issue, fire officials said.  

Blazing fires are only one threat facing firefighters. Constant exposure to carcinogens and post-traumatic stress disorder brought on by experiences from attempted rescues plague the men and women who battle fires in an effort to save lives and property. The new fire and EMS station for Harris County Emergency Services District No. 48 was designed and built to mitigate exposure to carcinogens and assuage some of the stressors that contribute to PTSD. The new facility, located at 24127 Western Centre Dr., officially opened its doors on Friday, Sept. 25. The 18,000-square-foot structure sleeps 17 fire and EMS personnel and currently houses one fire truck and one medic unit in its100-foot by 60-foot bay. Eventually the facility will house 2 ambulances, a heavy rescue apparatus, rescue boat and high-water vehicle. HC ESD 48 protects the lives of more than 140,000 people.  

For all the attention on getting a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine approved, that's really only the first step. The next big challenge will be distributing it across the country, and one North Texas city is prepared more than most. Allen firefighters are on the front lines in the battle against the coronavirus. But one way they're prepared for the pandemic to end can be found in a back office of the fire department, where a medical-grade refrigerator and freezer are being kept. As the race for a vaccine heats up, appliances that keep them cold are hot commodities as people like chief Jonathan Boyd prepare for the first shipments of a vaccine. "I think its money well spent because every day that we continue to be in the pandemic is costing everyone lots and lots of money," Boyd said. Boyd said federal CARES act funding paid for the refrigerator and freezer.  

The City of Austin Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management and the Travis County Office of Emergency Management have partnered to launch an emergency preparedness mobile application called Ready Central Texas. The Ready Central Texas app provides resources and information for citizens across the Central Texas area to better prepare for natural disasters and other emergencies, as well as updates about COVID-19. The mobile app has a news section, preparedness resources, an emergency plan checklist, informational videos, a document library, and COVID-19 resources from Austin, the State of Texas, and the federal government. The app is free to download and use is available on Android and iOS devices. You can download the application from the Apple Store and on the Google Play Store.  

Multiple crews are battling an early-morning fire in Tyler on Wednesday at Coker Enterprises, a store that sells outdoor power equipment products. According to firefighters at the scene, it began just after 4 a.m. at the store just off HWY 271. The building is currently billowing thick smoke. Business owners at the scene said that no one was hurt and it is unclear how the fire started. The owners also said while there was no insurance on the building, crews were able to save their workshop. Responding to the scene were fire departments from Lindale, Flint, Red Springs, Chapel Hill, Jacksonville, and Smith County. The store's website says it has been family owned and operated in Tyler for 43 years.  

Longview fire crews battled a structure fire inside a vacant home on Oden Street early Tuesday morning, according to a Facebook post. The Facebook post stated that fire crews were dispatched out to the fire in the 1200 block of Oden Street at about 12:22 a.m. on Tuesday. In all, the Longview Fire Department responded to the blaze with three fire engines, two ladder trucks, an ambulance, and four support vehicles. Twenty-one LFD personnel were dispatched out to the scene. When the first fire crew arrived at the scene of the fire, they found fire inside the main living area of the house. There were no reported injuries. "It is believed that transients may have been inside the vacant house prior to the fire," the Facebook post stated. "The cause of the fire is still under investigation.  

A tractor-trailer driver was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and reckless driving in Hanover County Circuit Court on Wednesday for a 2018 crash that left Hanover County Fire & EMS Lt. Brad Clark dead and several other firefighters injured. The driver, Lester Labarge, faces up to 11 years in prison when he is sentenced. Circuit Court Judge Patricia Kelly issued the guilty verdicts after a two-day trial that saw 19 witnesses called to the stand, including the injured firefighters and Labarge. The crash in question happened on October 11, 2018 on Interstate 295 South near exit 38. Clark and the others had just arrived to that location responding to another crash. Labarge lost control of his tractor-trailer when it hydroplaned and crashed into the back of Clark's fire truck and the firefighters who were standing outside it.  

Leaders in states across the country are sounding the alarm about rising COVID-19 cases that experts say could foreshadow a coming surge. In New York, several COVID-19 clusters have created "hotspot" zip codes, the governor said, with a positivity rate about five times more than the statewide figure. The clusters are a "stark reminder" that New Yorkers need to stay vigilant, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. "Wear a mask, socially distance, follow the public health guidance -- because this thing is not over," Cuomo said in a statement. Leading health officials including Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, have also warned that the US could see an especially challenging fall and winter this year. They say cities and counties should prepare by keeping safety measures and guidelines in place.  

Topeka's first structure fire came soon after the city was founded. The nine men who founded this city in December 1854 built a cabin here, which was destroyed in an accidental fire soon afterward. Still, it wasn't until March 1870 that Topeka created a fire department. This week's History Guy video at CJOnline focuses on that department, which turned 150 years old this year. The Topeka Fire Department initially consisted solely of volunteers. But George Wilmarth, an accountant who was hired as fire chief in 1872, arranged later that decade for the city to pay its firefighters. Wilmarth became chief after fire destroyed the building that housed his accounting firm, said Alan Stahl, the department's current public education officer. The department was modernized considerably during the 42 years Wilmarth served before dying of pneumonia in 1914 after being exposed to the elements at a fire scene, Stahl said.  

Water surrounds three sides of Logan International Airport, with all departures and arrivals flying over Boston Harbor. There are a handful of coveted jobs on the Massachusetts Port Authority team that protects the harbor, the Massport Fire Department's Marine Unit. The $7 million vessel is equipped with water guns that can pump up to 6,000 gallons of water per minute. "The probability of having a major incident in the ocean is pretty high for us," DeGrace said. "So if we had one of these structures here along the waterfront catch fire, between our boat and (the Boston Fire Department's) boat, we could dump quite a bit of water on it." Massport's Marine Unit provides a critical piece of mutual aid in fire and rescue operations: not only in the city of Boston, but coastal cities and towns statewide.  

In an emergency, seconds count. During a fire, choosing the right door to enter or pinpointing where someone is trapped can be a deadly guessing game. In response to emergency situations, the first tool of its kind in Southwest Florida is helping to save lives. When North Collier County firefighters head out on a call, they respond with a $5,000 drone packed in the chief's truck. "As soon as we get dispatched, the drone pilot and the drone will arrive on scene," said Chandler Craft, a drone pilot for North Collier County Fire Control and Rescue District. "They will launch." It's a launch that gives firefighters a technological edge. The high-tech drone has an infrared camera and starts sending data immediately. "Instead of doing a rule-out method — the traditional method of it's not here, it's not here — we can tell them this is exactly this is where the fire is," Craft said.