VIDEO: More than a dozen units were severely damaged Thursday morning by a large fire that spread through a storage facility. Flames shot high into the air as firefighters responded to the facility around 6:15 a.m. in the 2600 block of Allen-Genoa near S. Houston Road. No injuries were reported and it wasn't clear what was inside the units that were destroyed. Sections of sheet metal were torn from the structures as crews hosed down the flames and debris that was left. The facility is located behind a gas station and car wash. No other structures appeared to be threatened by the fire. The building that burned contained approximately 24 individual units.  

James Douglas Dedear (Doug Dedear), age 58 of Lexington, Texas, went home to be with the Lord Saturday evening, September 19, 2020. A celebration of Doug's life will be held at 10 AM on Thursday, September 24, 2020, at the First Shiloh Baptist Church, located at the intersection of FM112 and CR 481, physical address being 100 CR 481, Thrall, Texas, with Brother Ray Dennis officiating. Doug was born on September 5, 1962 in Burnet, Texas, to Claude and Irene Dedear. Being faithfully raised in church, Doug accepted Jesus as his Savior at the tender age of nine and was baptized. He was raised in Florence, Texas, and graduated from Florence High School where he met and married his high school sweetheart, Becky Roznovak. The two were married on September 24, 1983. He worked for Central Texas Tiltwall of Pflugerville right out of college until 1985 when he entered into the Austin fire academy, which led to a 27 year career as a professional firefighter with the Austin Fire Department.  

The Lubbock Fire Marshal's Office is investigating a fire that happened at a house where a homicide occurred earlier this week. The fire happened just before 7 a.m. in the 1800 block of E. Colgate in Lubbock. A neighbor called the fire in. Fire officials say an addition to the house, in the back, is what caught on fire first - then spread to the kitchen. The fire was contained and heavy smoke damage was throughout the house. No one was home at the time of the fire, but officials say Red Cross was called in to help the two people who live there. On Monday night, around 11:30 p.m., Lubbock Police were called to the same house in reference to a deceased person. When police arrived, they found Kyera "Polly" Jones, 26, had been stabbed, but was still alive. She was taken to University Medical Center where she died.  

While fires rage on in California, Travis County is getting just about $1.2 Million dollars in federal grants to help out in local fire prevention and safety efforts. US Senator from Texas John Cornyn's office reports, the funds come from a FEMA grant program, aimed to boost the nation's overall level of fire preparedness. "As our first responders are handling unprecedented crises, the federal government should make sure they have every resource they need to keep Texans safe," said Sen. Cornyn. "I'll continue to do everything I can to support firefighters in Travis County."  

As fires continue to burn in the west, a Temple firefighter will head to California to help out. Matthew Perrine is the Battalion Chief of Operations for the City of Temple Fire and Rescue. "Currently we have one firefighter who is deployed to California working the August West Complex Fire," Perrine said. "He will be returning next Tuesday and I have the fortune and good luck of being able to go replace him on the next rotation." He said he will leave next week as a part of the Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System. "It's a state-level organization that allows local resources to be used and deployed at a state level," Perrine said. According to the state of California's website, the August Complex Fire is 39% contained at the time this article was written. He said there are crews who deal with wildland fires all the time. He mentioned those are the people seen in the more high profile spots with the larger active fires burning.  

VIDEO: More than a dozen units were severely damaged Thursday morning by a large fire that spread through a storage facility. Flames shot high into the air as firefighters responded to the facility around 6:15 a.m. in the 2600 block of Allen-Genoa near S. Houston Road. No injuries were reported and it wasn't clear what was inside the units that were destroyed. Sections of sheet metal were torn from the structures as crews hosed down the flames and debris that was left. The facility is located behind a gas station and car wash. No other structures appeared to be threatened by the fire. The building that burned contained approximately 24 individual units.  

VIDEO: By day he is a firefighter/paramedic for the city of Tampa, and by night he is a rock 'n' roll drummer for the local band Jack Jagger. Nick Cedela quickly and quietly packs up the hook and ladder in preparation, the fire alarm could go off any second inside Tampa Fire Rescue Station 19. He's part of the Marine Division. "Water rescue, any kind of marine fires, boat fires, we respond to it all," said Cedela. But when Cedela isn't fighting fires, he's pounding the drums, with his band. "It's a great stress relief especially the way I play," said Cedela. Cedela and bandmate Lani Daniels just finished their newest song, "Chemicals," when the pandemic hit. "You know there are obstacles in this world that you need to overcome right now in this current situation, but this is our heart and we want to express ourselves," said Daniels. So instead of debuting "Chemicals" at a concert, they decided to make a safe, socially distant, music video.  

Google Maps will now highlight coronavirus case counts around the world and how bad outbreaks are in each region, Google announced Wednesday, with a new layer dedicated to information about the pandemic. The new feature will display the seven-day average for COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people for the map area that a viewer is looking at, as well as whether cases are trending upward or downward. The map, which will offer information for every country currently supported in Google Maps, will be color-coded to easily show the density of each area's outbreaks, ranging from green (less than one case per 100,000 people) to dark red (more than 40 cases per 100,000 people). The map will be based on information from "multiple authoritative sources," including Johns Hopkins University, the New York Times and Wikipedia. Users can access the feature, which will roll out this week on Android and iOS devices, by tapping the "Layers" button and clicking "COVID-19 info."  

Wildfires are nothing new in the Northwest, and the "Big Burn of 1910" in Idaho and Montana is still remembered as one of the worst disasters in the region's history. What's not remembered so much is that one group sent to battle the blaze was a company from the 25th Infantry, a regiment of Black soldiers, most of whom were from the American South, but who were stationed at Fort George Wright in Spokane. The Big Burn of 1910 has been the subject of books and documentaries – notably by Northwest author Timothy Egan and from PBS – for the centennial 10 years ago. The fire in late August of that year was actually a series of blazes mostly in Idaho and Montana, though partly in British Columbia and Washington, too. A total of an estimated three million acres burned, and at least 87 people died after what had been an exceedingly dry spring and summer. The science of forestry and the Forest Service as a federal agency were relatively new in those years.  

Brent Vanfossan has been a firefighter in Christopher, Illinois for over 20 years. And he has wanted to buy his own firetruck for quite some time. "This engine belonged to the Sesser fire protection district. They had it for sale for a while. And I had been looking for something to honor my son Kody," said Vanfossan. On May 5th 2019, Vanfossan's son Kody was killed in the line of duty while fighting a fire in Christopher. "He was a character. Didn't know a stranger. Had a little bit of a mouth on him, which every young kid does. Do anything to help anybody. And he loved firefighting," Vanfossan said. To honor his son and other firefighters throughout the area, Vanfossan is creating a memorial for fallen firefighters across Southern Illinois, by putting the names of the firefighters, their fire department, and when they died on the side of the truck. "There are unfortunately 20 names on the door. We wish it was zero," Vanfossan said.