VIDEO: No injuries were reported in an early-morning house fire Tuesday in Deweyville. Firefighters from South Newton County Emergency Services District Number One responded to the blaze at about 1 a.m. Tuesday morning. Fire officials say the home in the 3000 block of County Road 3148 was completely destroyed. Heavy smoke and flames could be seen at the fire where no one was home at the time.  

City Council weighed the implications of significantly expanding benefits for emergency services employees this past Thursday in a resolution that calls for a new family leave policy for the city's EMS, police, and fire departments. The resolution, sponsored by Council Member Ann Kitchen, directs city staff to develop plans for a program providing adequate paid leave for new parents in emergency services departments and to return with cost estimates within 30 days. The resolution passed unanimously, with Mayor Steve Adler off the dais and Mayor Pro Tem Natasha Harper-Madison abstaining. "I think parental leave is a necessity for all of our employees, and I don't think we should be negotiating it," Kitchen said at Council's work session last Tuesday. "Regardless of the fiscal implications, I think this benefit is fundamental."  

PHOTOS: The Celina Fire Department has a new set of life-saving wheels. The department recently acquired a new ambulance that was custom designed for Celina. Celina EMS Captain Brian Little said the new ambulance was built with a door-forward concept, which means the door to the ambulance is closer to the front of the ambulance rather than in the middle. Little said this provides more open space inside the ambulance. "It allows for more people to be in the ambulance and to walk around and to work surfaces," he said. This is the second door-forward ambulance the department has acquired. The first one came in 2018. The newest ambulance also includes improvements based on upon the 2018 model. A cabinet in the 2018 ambulance had set a refrigerator up high and a cabinet for trauma supplies down low, which Little said presented challenges.  

The small community of Bluntzer just outside Robstown, Texas, was devastated just before the holidays when one of their historical landmarks burned to the ground Sunday. The landmark was a house located at the Spirit Center and was home to two of the nuns who serve at the center. Superior General Annette Wagner said Dec. 12 was a difficult day for many. "The sadness has broken through the area because of the loss of the house, but our spirit of service and presence in the area continues forward," Wagner said. According to the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament, the status of the home is thought to be a total loss. The property will be further evaluated by officials in coming days. After a preliminary investigation, Dianna Bluntzer with Nueces County ESD #4 said they believe the cause of the fire might have been electrical.  

The dry conditions Texoma has seen are to blame for many fires that broke out late last week and even into the weekend. Two burn bans are now in place. In Archer County, the Lakeside City Volunteer Fire Department posted on their Facebook page a burn ban is in effect immediately. In Clay County, the commissioner's court voted on Monday to put a burn ban in place for all county residents due to the increasing drought conditions. That burn ban is effective now until January 10 and includes burn barrels, open-top grilling and fireworks. Agriculture burns, welding and grilling will have thresholds that need to be met to avoid penalties. In Young County, Friday night's large grass fire burned 509 acres, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.  

San Antonio fire investigators are working to determine the cause of a "suspicious" fire at an East Side restaurant early Tuesday morning. The fire was called in around 4:15 a.m. at Papis Mexican Restaurant in the 2800 block of East Houston Street, not far from North Walters Street and the AT&T Center. Firefighters said when they arrived, they found flames on the back of the restaurant and a strong smell of accelerant. Firefighters quickly knocked down the flames, fire officials said. Damage to the restaurant was described as minor. A fire investigation team is now working to figure out the exact cause. No one was inside the building and no injuries were reported, fire officials said.  

VIDEO/ PHOTOS: Firefighters are still monitoring the scene where a large fire broke out in Malvern on Monday evening. The question now is what the status is of a few of the other buildings in the area. Crews from roughly a dozen agencies have helped at the scene and continue to water down hot spots from the fire. Tom Mulholland, the owner of Mulholland Grocery which was damaged in the fire, said the following on Facebook Tuesday morning: "With the efforts of the Malvern Fire Department and those from over a dozen other communities doing everything possible to contain the fire last night, the water supply for the community was exhausted and it has caused a boil order for the community. I apologize for the inconvenience it will cause for hundreds of people. I have reached out to people at my warehouse and they are working on getting a water delivery to the community as soon as they can. I wish I could do more to help."  

VIDEO: Nothing shines like a new fire truck -- except maybe two new fire trucks. With record growth and tourism, the city of Gulf Shores is investing in the safety of its residents and visitors. The new Pierce engine and ladder truck are now in service. They came with a significant price tag of $2 million dollars, an investment the city felt it was time to make. "With the amount of vacationers we had in town this past summer, we don't look for that to decrease in the future so it really drives how quickly and how safely we get to scene, again, for the wellbeing of our firefighters and the wellbeing of our residents," said Gulf Shores Fire Rescue Chief of Staff Melvin Shepard.  

New Jersey's pension system for public employees costs more than most other states while offering "generous" benefits that are increasingly going toward more retirees than active employees, according to a new report. One retirement fund, for police and firefighters, had more people collecting pension benefits in 2019 than current workers, and two others were on a similar trajectory — meaning those funds are less able to handle investments risks, the analysis by the fiscally conservative think tank Garden State Initiative found. All this is despite years of increasing payments by the state that reached a record of nearly $7 billion this year. Without making policy changes for tens of thousands of public employees, New Jersey's political leaders will likely face difficult choices on how to use taxpayer dollars to stabilize the pension funds, the group said.  

Fire Chief Larry Walters spoke to City Council about a new initiative the department is currently working on to help promote safety through social media. "We're always looking for ways to get safety messages out regarding fires, hazards, that sort of thing," Walters said. "Social media has been a good way to do that. Tyler Thompson, one of our younger firemen, manages that (Facebook) site for us. He's come up with a new initiative where he's posting ‘Fire Safety Fridays,'" Walters said at Monday's council meeting (Dec. 13). "Every Friday, there will be a new fire safety message up there."  

A new Oneida County program will better prepare first responders for emergency situations involving people with special needs. The Assistance for Special, Cognitive, Emotional Needs and Disabilities (ASCEND) program will allow people to voluntarily register their disability or condition with the county so emergency workers will be notified of the circumstances during an emergency call. "Times of crisis can be stressful for all parties involved, and this type of situation can be unnecessarily elevated when first responders are unaware of special needs and conditions," Picente said. "The ASCEND program will help to ensure that our residents who have such needs are identified immediately and provided the additional support and resources they require. Awareness and understanding are the keys to remedying these issues in the safest manner possible."