An elderly woman was killed and three other people were taken to the hospital after three different kitchens went up in flames overnight. Firefighters were called to a home on Cochran near Shelby around 1:30 Monday morning. Officials said flames were shooting from the roof when they arrived, but they had trouble getting inside because of burglar bars. Firefighters said they found the body of the homeowner just inside the front door. "Somebody was cooking something, left it on the stove and went to bed. We are unsure what caused the whole issue. The whole thing is when we make a fire at night, even during the day, we want to make sure property conservation is second among search and rescue. We were unable to find the victim until we started putting the fire out," HFD fire engineer Brian Wischnewsky said.  

A fire in a West Side home early Monday morning gave a man and woman a close call with danger. San Antonio firefighters say the entire front side of the home, located in the 400 block of Brandywine Avenue, went up in flames shortly before 6:30 a.m. "The occupants stated that they just woke up to fire and smoke in the house," said Capt. Landon Digby with the San Antonio Fire Department. The couple inside had to make a quick escape. With their front door blocked by flames, they told firefighters they had only one way out. "That's the story we're getting is that the tenants that were there did have to go out the back window," Digby said. Paramedics checked out the man and woman at the scene. Later they were able to walk away from the ambulance. Fire and arson investigators were called in to figure out how the fire started.  

The San Patricio Sherriff's Department announced that a fire at a home near Sinton ended up killing a lot of dogs earlier this evening. Sherriff Oscar Rivera with San Pat said the fire killed an upward of 14 dogs at a residence on County Road 1344. Rivera said at least nine dogs burned inside of their cages inside of the home. The San Patricio County Animal Control was able to rescue at least a dozen more animals to other shelters and a local veterinary clinic, according to officials. "The high wind coupled with live sparking electrical wires made the job both dangerous and difficult," Rivera said. Fire crews from Sinton, Odem, Taft and the Annaville Fire Department were called to help put the fire out. The US Fire Marshals have been called upon to lead the investigation of the fire.  

A fire burned a home in Smith County on Friday night. The house was on County Road 4101 near Lindale. No one was home when the fire started, but fortunately some artifacts that reflected the history and pride of a U.S. marine survived. The Lewis family had lived in their home for only seven months before the fire occurred. "We were out of town and we were getting notifications around 9 p.m., and so we were looking at security cameras and we saw smoke, so we reached to our neighbors, and that's when we found out our house was on fire," Codie Lewis said. Neighbors did everything they could to help with the situation. "Had a neighbor across the street who went through our front door and was able to get one of our cars out, and some other stuff. We had another neighbor next to us that got our dogs out."  

College Station Firefighters are taking extra COVID vaccines to targeted groups in the community Monday. Their new Vaccination Strike Team was at Central Church giving the first COVID vaccine doses to area church staff and volunteers who work in children's ministry. 200 doses were available at the special clinic. People from churches across the area received their first dose of the Moderna vaccine including Central Church's Lead Pastor, Phillip Bethancourt. "It's just a great experience to host volunteers and staff from churches around the area to help give them the vaccine so that they can serve our pre-school kids, students and our special needs people in our community," said Bethancourt. Churches including his have seen their own challenges during the pandemic.  

San Angelo Fire Department had only seven ambulances up until February 1, when the city permitted four private ambulance service companies to transport residents for non-emergencies only. Firefighter and paramedic, Mason Matthews, says this is a positive move forward for both the department and the people of Tom Green County. Matthews says the increased number of 9-1-1 calls during the pandemic had caused an overload for the station's paramedics, so this newly approved changed to the city ordinance allows the department to focus on emergency calls. As the private services will respond to non-emergency calls, this means residents will not have to wait for an ambulance when an emergency occurs.  

VIDEO: One firefighter remains missing after fire burned through a Spring Valley assisted living facility, killing one resident and prompting dozens of middle-of-the-night rescues. "We have numerous teams looking through the rubble" for the missing firefighter, said Rockland County Director of Fire and Emergency Services Chris Kear. Flames broke out inside the Evergreen Court For Adults on Lafayette Street just after 1 a.m. Tuesday. Between 20 and 25 residents were rescued by firefighters what they described as a "chaotic scene." Some are being treated. One was pronounced dead at the hospital. A portion of the building collapsed as firefighters battled the blaze. The missing firefighter is believed to have been on the third floor, Kear said. He rushed into the burning building to rescue residents. Officials believe he got lost and could not find his way out. He was one of the first on the scene. He transmitted a mayday but other firefighters were unable to rescue him.  

VIDEO: A young man who serves the community is now officially a part of it after a naturalization ceremony on Monday. It's a day Artur Lutsyk dreamed about since he was a little boy. "It's a whole lot of emotions of excitement and nervousness," Lutsyk said while standing in front of a fire truck before he took the U.S. citizenship oath. This Sacramento firefighter immigrated to the U.S. with his family from Belarus when he was eight-years-old – speaking very little English and having no friends. Initially, he was homesick. "I wanted to go back," Lutsyk said. "My family wasn't sure how long they wanted to stay here, but with all the privileges here and living the American dream, it inspired them to have a better life." His family linked up with the Slavic community in Sacramento and he learned English, working towards becoming a firefighter by volunteering three years in the reserves. They were on hand to congratulate him.  

VIDEO: The Stevens Point Fire Department is now using augmented reality to show the importance of fire safety in a way previously not possible. Augmented reality is an interactive experience where real-world environments are enhanced by computer-generated content. The new augmented reality fire extinguisher training allows users to see what it would be like to extinguish a fire without the presence of actual flames. "They're seeing their actual office, their actual factory floor or their actual kitchen. They're seeing whatever is through the iPad camera. While there's no live fire, with this prop I think that it's really going to get people used to what they might see in the actual environment," Drew Egan the fire marshal for the Stevens Point Fire Department said. The learning tool utilizes an iPad, an empty fire extinguisher, and QR codes. Through the screen, participants see items on fire and can practice how to put the fire out.  

Jovon Newman always had a passion for music, but as he got older and his successes stalled he set it aside and joined the service to provide for his growing family. "I've actually been in several different music projects--groups and duos. I've been doing it for a while now. I had to take a break from it because I joined the service. Had kids, got married, had to do what I had to do before I get to do what I want to do," said Newman, who goes by JOV while performing. "I'm finally at a point in my life where I'm like, alright, I did everything I had to do and the family's good. Let's go have fun and so I'm jumping back into music full-force--at least trying to." His efforts seem to be paying off. Last week, Newman posted a cover of Brett Young's In Case You Didn't Know--with some tweaks to the lyrics to make it his own--to TikTok. When he went to bed, it had around 100 views, he said. The next morning, it had hit around 20,000. And the virality kept growing.  

March 2021 marks one year of the COVID-19 pandemic upending our lives and the economy here in the United States. Pre-pandemic, Americans were doing well financially, with major markers like unemployment, reaching 50-year lows. Post-pandemic, however, things are looking wildly different. During the second quarter of the 2020 fiscal year, our nation's real GDP fell by a whopping 31.4%, a number that hasn't been seen since the Great Depression. Additionally, unemployment levels reached 14.5%, also nearing Great Depression highs. And while both of those factors have begun to settle back to normal, thanks to the increased re-opening of our economy, things are still a far cry from the way they were in 2019. One marker that has sped far past its 2019 position is that of income inequality in the United States. Low-wage industries have been decimated by the pandemic, leaving millions without work or in positions they are overqualified for.