VIDEO: San Antonio fire crews who arrived to put out a fire inside two East Side businesses overnight were slowed down by security gates. They say it took about 20-30 minutes to saw through the heavy metal that covered windows and doors, just to be able to see what they were facing. Firefighters ultimately found flames and smoke coming from the building, located at the corner of E. Commerce and Walters, when they arrived shortly after 2 a.m. It housed Arena Food Mart and Anthony's Chicken, which both were destroyed. Fire investigators say it appears an electrical problem that caused the fire. A woman who identified herself as the owner of the business told KSAT12 that a contractor had been working on the air conditioning unit as well as other electrical issues all day Sunday. Both businesses were closed when the fire broke out and there were no injuries report.  

A fire in Elm Mott damaged one home and cost a fire department some expensive equipment. The Elm Mott Volunteer and Fire Rescue, Lacy Lakeview Fire Department and Ross Fire Department responded to a house fire in Elm Mott on Sunday night, which started in the garage. "I saw a bunch of fire trucks," neighbor Bobby Roppe said. "It just so happened Ross was across the highway working on a fire, then here came Elm Mott and Lacy Lakeview, all of them. They got it under control, and it was gone." Temperatures reportedly exceeded 1,200 degrees. It was so hot that firefighters had to change their course of action. "Instead of having guys four or five feet from the fire inside the house, we decided to take out a couple windows and fight the fire from outside," Lieutenant James Webb said.  

The El Paso Fire Department freed a man who was stuck in between two central El Paso buildings for hours early Tuesday morning. A spokesman for the department told ABC-7 they received the call just before 2:30 a.m. The man was stuck between the The District Pub and Volume Lash Lounge on the 600 block of N. Piedras. Rescue crews were able to free the man just after 5:30 a.m. The man did not tell firefighters on scene how he got stuck, but did tell them that he had been there for several hours. Crews had to break down a portion of a wall in one of the buildings to free the man. He was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.  

Odessa is getting another fire station to help cut down on long response times. Station 6 had its groundbreaking on Aug. 16. The new station will be located on the southwest corner of Grandview and Penbrook, near the Buffalo Wild Wings. It will replace the original Station 6, that has been active since the 1950's. "We recognized the need that fire Station 6 was in bad shape," Saul Ortega, Odessa Fire Rescue Assistant Operations Chief said. "It was built in 1959 and had many renovations to it. We've outgrown it, the fire trucks are bigger now than they were in the 1950's." The station will house a fire truck and ambulance, with extra space for a second ambulance if needed. Odessa Fire Rescue is paying $93 million for the station through certificates of obligation.  

VIDEO: Midlothian police officers and firefighters helped make the first day of kindergarten special for a little boy who is facing some challenges this school year. Batman and Captain Marvel greeted 5-year-old Michael Denison outside his house Monday morning. He got a look inside a police squad car and fire engine before taking off for his first day of school. Then at Mountain Peak Elementary, classmates and teachers gave him a warm welcome. Last week, Michael's mom, Brittany Denison, made a plea on social media for kids to be kind and asked parents to educate their children about people who are different. Michael was born with a rare condition called Treacher Collins syndrome. All of the bones in the lower half of his face are smaller than they should be just like the boy Auggie in the movie "Wonder."  

VIDEO: A massive fire broke out in a Tukwila apartment complex early Tuesday morning, giving firefighters fits as they try to take it down. Zone 3 Public Information Officer Eric Autry said the department was called out just after 5 a.m. for the fire in the 15100 block of 65th Avenue S, which crews almost immediately upgraded to a two-alarm fire. Firefighters started with a defensive plan for the fire and thought they got it under control until they got inside and saw fire surrounding them from all sides. This is when Autry said they had to return to a defensive standpoint and call in a third alarm, bringing in departments from around south King County. "We have had some injuries, I don't know the exact number, I don't believe they were serious injuries, they were minor injuries," Autry said as firefighters continued to try to slow it down more than an hour later.  

VIDEO: Nearly 3,000 people died the day of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Among them were 343 New York City firefighters, plus eight emergency medical service workers from private companies who responded to the Twin Towers in New York City. To honor them, Wisconsin firefighters are collecting 351 pairs of new or slightly used men's shoes to display at the Wisconsin State Firefighters Memorial in Wisconsin Rapids on Sept. 11 this year — the 20th anniversary of the attacks. Jack Sponholtz, a member of the Tisch Mills Fire Department for 56 years, came up with the idea for collecting the shoes. He was the commander of the Manitowoc Hazmat Team in 2001, and he recalled that at the time of the attacks his team and other agencies were inside "The Bunker" under the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Office to discuss the results of recent emergency drills at local nuclear power plants.  

A tribute is growing in honor of a 26-year-old Burlington firefighter who died after suffering a medical emergency while fighting a fire in New Hartford last week. Colin McFadden, a member of the Burlington Volunteer Fire Department, was one of the many firefighters who responded to help put out a massive fire at the historic New Hartford House in New Hartford last week when he suffered a medical emergency and was rushed to John Dempsey Hospital for emergency surgery. That is where doctors discovered that he had a rare form of leukemia that had not been diagnosed, according to fire officials. Two days late, McFadden passed away.  

VIDEO: United Airlines is performing the final safety tests at its upcoming Technical Operations Center at Los Angeles International Airport. The $352 million project, which United and the Los Angeles World Airports broke ground on in 2019, will allow the airline to provide service for all of its aircraft fleets. The 407,408 square foot facility is comprised of two connected buildings that include a ground service equipment and facilities maintenance building and a line maintenance hangar. The hangar features an engine support shop that will focus on the aircraft's Dreamliner fleet. The facility's fire suppression system, which the airline recently tested in a video, features 400 gallons of high expansion concentrate used to generate over 1.57 million cubic feet of foam. In the demonstration, the foam fills the hanger more than 10-feet deep in less than four minutes.  

Five states broke records for the average number of daily new COVID cases over the weekend as the delta variant strains hospital systems across the U.S. and forces many states to reinstate public health restrictions. Florida, Louisiana, Hawaii, Oregon and Mississippi all reached new peaks in their seven-day average of new cases per day as of Sunday, according to a CNBC analysis of data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. On a per capita basis, Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida are suffering from the three worst outbreaks in the country. Louisiana recorded an average of 126 cases per 100,000 residents as of Sunday, more than three times the national average, while Mississippi and Florida averaged 110 and 101 cases per 100,000 residents, respectively, according to the data.