Plano Fire Chief Sam Greif has been selected as Chairman for International Association of Fire Chiefs' Terrorism and Homeland Security Committee, the city announced Monday. Greif has served on the committee since 2016 and previously chaired the subcommittee on cybersecurity. The Terrorism and Homeland Security Committee is made of fire and emergency service leaders who provide guidance to the IAFC and policymakers about how to prepare for the next terrorist attack. "While the overarching goal of the Terrorism & Homeland Security Committee is to keep the American public safe, the focus of this prestigious group is developing best practices for the prevention, response, and mitigation of terroristic activities," Greif said in a statement. "I am honored to be a part of this group and will represent Plano and Plano Fire-Rescue to the best of my ability."  

VIDEO: An explosion that left six people hurt in a Plano neighborhood was likely caused by a gas leak. On Tuesday morning, investigators with Plano Fire-Rescue returned to the site of the blast in the 4400 block of Cleveland Drive, located off Park Boulevard between Ohio Drive and Coit Road. They determined the probable cause of Monday afternoon's explosion was an isolated gas leak inside the home. The force of the blast left the home in a flattened pile of wood and debris. The two houses on either side also have major damage and are uninhabitable. The explosion was recorded by a doorbell security camera on a house across the street. One person was inside the home and had to be pulled from the rubble and taken to the hospital. Five other people including three children were also hurt. They were all in a house next door.  

Standing in a pair of blue galoshes he found in the debris, Barry McKinnley said he and his sister, Angenette, escaped their burning home with only the clothes on their backs and no shoes on Sunday. "We didn't have a chance to grab anything," McKinnley said. A fast-moving fire in the 200 block of Segura consumed the longtime family home they shared with their late parents before the flames jumped on the roof of the house next door. A spokesman for the San Antonio Fire Department says only the first house was a total loss. He said the damage was so extensive, the cause is still undetermined. Inside their home, McKinley said, was everything they owned and needed, especially now. "Our cell phones were gone. I mean, everything," McKinnley said. "All our birth certificates -- gone. All of our personal items are gone."  

A Lufkin woman's home caught fire Monday morning after city officials say she fell asleep with a lit cigarette. Firefighters responded to the home at 7:57 a.m. in the 400 block of Bonner Street, which is in the center of town. Crews got to the house in less than four minutes and the woman made it out safely. The firefighters went inside and found heavy smoke along with a small fire in the back. By 8:10 a.m., the crews had it under control. 21 personnel between three engines, one rescue car, one battalion chief, and five support staff responded, according to Assistant Fire Chief Ryan Watson. A second fire in Lufkin happened just before 6 a.m. in a vacant home on Locke Alley, which is also near the downtown area. The fire had engulfed the home by the time EMS arrived, so crews switched to a "defensive strategy and protection of the nearby structures."  

Corpus Christi firefighters took on a stove fire over at the Lexington Manor Apartments Monday afternoon. Fire crews tell us the unattended food on the stove of an apartment on the second floor caught fire. That, in turn, melted the microwave above it and even damaged some of the cabinets. Although no one was hurt, there was damage to the apartments. "It could've been a lot worse. Probably the most damage is going to be water damage we had to move the people in the apartment below out because of water leaking into their apartment, shut off all their electricity," said Battalion Chief Jim DeVisser. Apartment management is helping to find residents accommodations for the night. Fire crews say they covered up furniture on the first-floor apartments to help keep the damage to a minimum.  

Volunteer fire departments in the Brazos Valley say they are in dire need of more help from the community. Crabbs Prairie Fire Captain Stephen Countz says they need more volunteers, especially after they absorbed another district, nearly doubling the area they already cover. He says recruiting efforts are not helping. "With a county of about 70,000, you would think that there would be more numbers of people wanting to step up and volunteer for their community, but there really isn't," said Countz. Countz says they have about 20 active members. But when calls come out in the middle of a weekday and members can't get out of work, he says only a few are able to respond. "If there's not enough, then somebody's gonna have to wait, and when seconds count and lives mean everything, that's where it goes," said Countz.  

Multiple fire departments responded to a house fire on Poplar Lane in Citronelle Monday. When Citronelle Fire and Rescue arrived at the home, they saw heavy smoke and fire coming from the roof. No one was inside the home at the time, and no injuries were reported. Georgetown-Fellowship V.F.D., Oak Grove Volunteer Fire-Rescue, and Calcedeaver Volunteer Fire/Rescue Department were requested as mutual aid. "Please join us in keeping this family in your thoughts and prayers as they have lost almost everything to this fire," Citronelle Fire and Rescue posted on Facebook. "We would like to thank everyone on scene for their assistance, which also includes, Mobile County Dispatch, Mobile County EMS, Citronelle Police Department, as well as the bystanders who provided us with cold waters."  

Hall County Fire Chief Chris Armstrong agreed that when he was a young boy many of his playmates wanted to be firefighters when they grew up, but things often change in the years between youthful dreams and adulthood realities. But for those in whom that childhood ambition still simmers, Armstrong says his department might have just what they are looking for: a career opportunity as a firefighter. At Monday's Hall County Commission work session Armstrong presented commissioners with his department's newest recruiting tool: a three-minute video featuring members of Hall County Fire Services and what they have to say about their work as a first responder. "Every successful organization really starts with good recruiting," Armstrong told commissioners.  

Seven members of the Vestal Fire Department have been answering the call of duty for a combined total of more than 400 years. "It's our job," said Chris Lupold, 71, a 53-year volunteer for the department. "We just keep doing it." Lupold has battled countless blazes during his long firefighting career. Fellow firefighter Carle Truman is the longest-serving member, with 64 years of service. Other veteran Vestal firefighters include Ronald Linfoot, with 60 years of service; Ed Zimmer, 59 years; Gene Wagner, 58 years; Paul Gregson, 57 years; and Robert "Bob" Nasiatka, with 55 years. "They love to stick around to help their community," said Vestal Fire Chief John Paffie. "They stick around to be mentors to the people that are underneath them, people like me. I still look up to them. I still ask them questions. I still learn from them."  

VIDEO: Normally when you hear about firefighters and car wrecks, it's the firefighter who is responding to the incident, not getting into them. While Washington County firefighter Chandler Fishack has completed numerous extrications, he also has a knack for taking cars apart to turn them into demolition derby cars. Fishack will be competing in his 6th demolition derby during this year's Washington County Ag Expo and he couldn't be more excited. He explains the process of creating a demolition derby car is not like your average trip to the auto body shop. The car must be stripped of all glass and plastic pieces, including windows, mirrors, and head or tail lights. Fishack also welds three of the four car doors shut and also welds metal bars and fencing to replace the now-removed windshield.  

Cheers filled the air as Steve Hines drove the Belmar First Aid Squad's 1938 Ford ambulance one last time. As Hines pressed on the gas Friday, the sirens sung. He gave the 83-year-old ambulance as much gas as it would take to accelerate onto a truck that would drive it approximately 650 miles to the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan — the ambulance's new home. Hines said he felt a little emotional. "You know, folks came out and it's a part of history going down the road — good history," he said. Hines was a member of Belmar's First Aid Squad since 1975. His father joined in 1938. "Me and my brother stepped right into the first aid squad because it was something you did back then," said Hines. The squad disbanded in March due to financial strain and now they say goodbye to an ambulance that is symbolic of the squad's history, a history that let go of many ambulances in their time, but not this one.