The City of Converse and the Converse Fire Department are mourning the unexpected death of firefighter/paramedic Joseph Mitchell. Mitchell was a six-year veteran of the department. According to Converse Fire Chief Luis Valdez, Mitchell was "actively employed but was off-duty when he suffered an unknown medical ailment and suddenly passed away." Mitchell leaves behind his wife Michelle and their two-year-old twins. "Our department is hurting from this news and this loss is devastating. We ask for prayers for Rochelle, their children and family during this difficult time," Fire Chief Valdez said in a statement regarding Mitchell's passing. The City and Fire Department are working to support Mitchell's family in their time of grieving.  

Thousands of vials containing a coronavirus vaccine are expected to reach Galveston this morning. Within hours of their arrival, groups of doctors and nurses at the University of Texas Medical Branch will begin receiving vaccinations against the virus. Health officials compared the day to some of the most important dates in U.S. history. "This is akin to man landing on the moon," said Dr. Gulshan Sharma, the medical branch's chief medical officer. "This has never happened in the history of medicine, that we were able to identify the virus and have an effective vaccine within 11 months. "There is nothing, from my standpoint, more innovative and exceptional that we have ever done for humanity than this vaccine," he said.  

The Lorenzo Volunteer Fire Department accepted a $16,300 grant through the Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assistance Program to help convert an excess military Stewart Stevenson truck into a firefighting vehicle. The Texas A&M Forest Service administers the assistance program and the Department of Defense Firefighter Property Program, which awarded Lorenzo VFD with the truck. The plan is for the Stewart Stevenson to replace an older truck that was having motor problems. "The new addition's main purpose will be for wildland firefighting since it has a slip-on unit with a 500-gallon water tank and foam capability, but we could also use it for structure fires and rescue," said Mark Majors, Lorenzo VFD Fire Chief.  

A man died in a fire early Sunday morning, according to the Abilene Fire Department. Michael Czeto, 55, was identified as the victim. His body is now being transported to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office for an autopsy. Firefighters responded to the fire at about 3:50 a.m., in the 4200 block of Caldwell Road. Crews arrived to find heavy flames and smoke coming from a single family residential mobile home. Fire officials said that because of fire conditions, an interior attack was not possible. The fire resulted in heavy structural damage to the roof and floor and heavy equipment was requested in order to remove debris and search for the victim. The investigation int the cause of the fire is ongoing. The estimated amount of damage was listed at $25,000.  

A car pulled into the CEFCO Convenience Store gas station located in the city of West Saturday night around 6:45 p.m. and caught fire after parking near the gas pumps, as seen in the West Police Department Facebook post. Corporal Brian Couch stated, that "the vehicle had overheated." The West Volunteer Fire Department was able to extinguish the flames. The West Fire Chief, Emmanuel Mitchell said "that no one was injured during the incident. The vehicle obviously was a total loss. There was damage to one pump."  

An elaborate ornamental frame encloses a dramatic scene of everyday life in mid eighteenth-century New York: in the image we witness a volunteer company laboring to extinguish a fire at an unidentified location. Without access to the sorts of hydrants that are a common feature of today's cityscape, a line of men passes buckets of water from hand to hand, a team effort that is memorialized both in the name of the company (Hand-in-Hand Fire Company) and in the emblem of a disembodied handshake that graces the top of the frame. Emptied into the engine at center, the water is manually pumped into the hose a firefighter aims at the burning building's third-floor window. Inscribed by Isaac Roosevelt, the certificate invites the Earl of Sterling to attend an evening meeting on March 3rd, 1762 at the house of a man identified simply as "Mr. Crawley."  

As a boy, Robert Weber chased the blazing lights and roaring sirens of fire engines down the streets of Brooklyn, New York. He hung out at the Engine 247 firehouse, eating ham heroes with extra mayonnaise, and "learning everything about everything to be the best firefighter in the world," said his wife, Daniellle Weber, who grew up next door. They married in their 20s and settled in Port Monmouth, New Jersey, where Weber joined the ranks of the more than 1 million firefighters America calls upon when stovetops, factory floors and forest canopies burst into flames. Weber was ready for any emergency, his wife said. Then COVID-19 swept through. Firefighters like Weber are often the first on the scene following a 911 call. Many are trained as emergency medical technicians and paramedics, responsible for stabilizing and transporting those in distress to the hospital. But with the pandemic, even those not medically trained are suddenly at high risk of coronavirus infection.  

VIDEO: It was a hot weekend for local firefighters. City and county crews were dispatched to dozens of fires all over Kern. Those fires cost families their homes and local business owners, their livelihoods. The Rea family was sound asleep as this fire engulfed their home on Franklin Avenue in East Bakersfield. It started just before 3am on Saturday. It awakened their neighbors, but not them. "By the time I ran from my house over to that door," said their neighbor Keith Petty. "The whole awning was under flames." Keith Petty lives across the street and is friends with the family. "I beat on the door to see if anyone knew it was on fire, no one responded," Petty said. "Broke that first window to yell into the house and still never heard anything."  

PHOTOS: The Lorenzo Volunteer Fire Department accepted a $16,300 grant through the Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assistance Program to help convert an excess military Stewart Stevenson truck into a firefighting vehicle. The Texas A&M Forest Service administers the assistance program and the Department of Defense Firefighter Property Program, which awarded Lorenzo VFD with the truck. The plan is for the Stewart Stevenson to replace an older truck that was having motor problems. "The new addition's main purpose will be for wildland firefighting since it has a slip-on unit with a 500-gallon water tank and foam capability, but we could also use it for structure fires and rescue," said Mark Majors, Lorenzo VFD Fire Chief. The truck has other features that will be an asset to the department, including high ground clearance that can help in flash floods and wildland firefighting tools.  

PHOTOS: A retired, 29-year Middletown firefighter and WWII veteran marked his 102nd birthday this weekend in style, with a large vehicle parade and a visit from several state and local officials. John Cyrulik Sr.'s family decorated his front yard, and bundled him up in a blanket under a tent on the cold, rainy Saturday afternoon. Cyrulik, surprised by the visit, told officials his plan was to live until 105. "He enjoys life. He's happy to wake up and enjoy whatever it has to offer," according to his daughter-in-law Leslie Cyrulik. The centenarian, who lives alone in the house he has owned for 62 years, enjoys daily visits from wild turkeys in his backyard, she said. Two-dozen fire trucks, police cruisers, local and state dignitaries, family members and friends drove by Cyrulik's home Saturday, beeping their horns and thanking him for his military service.