VIDEO: Corpus Christi Fire Department Chief Robert Rocha has been selected to head an international organization of fire chiefs. Rocha was elected president of the Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association (MFCA) at the organizations annual meeting in Memphis, Tennessee. More than 130 Metropolitan Fire Chiefs from the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Mexico attended the meeting and elected the Association's 2022-2023 officers and board members, according to the City of Corpus Christi. "This is a great honor for the Fire Department and the City of Corpus Christi," Fire Chief Robert Rocha said. "It validates the tremendous progress we have made in the Department's professionalism and places our City in the forefront of the Fire Service."  

PHOTOS: Multiple Central Texas fire crews battled a structure fire and a grass fire in Morgan's Point Resort over the weekend. The Morgan's Point Resort Fire Department was dispatched around 4:12 p.m. Sunday to a structure fire with a possible victim trapped in the 10000 block of Buckhorn Cemetery Road. The department's initial response included Engine 61 and Battalion 61. Moffat Command 11 arrived onscene first, and reported a fully-engulfed structure with fire jumping to the side pasture – sparking a grass fire. Moffat Engine 11 was first due, and started to battle the fire. Engine 61 then arrived and augmented the attack with a large, defensive handline. Both companies worked diligently to achieve a quick knockdown and limited spread to heavy brush and an open field.  

The #MidpointFire has now burned an estimated 2,000 acres and 60% contained. Crews worked overnight. Priorities today are working on the left flank and finishing fireline in some of the rough terrain. According to the InciWeb Incident Information website, "Crews were able to make progress on the fire constructing lines and conducting burnout operations when able. Rough terrain not seen in the daylight along with weather conditions had made the fire highly resistant to control. Extreme fire behavior was observed throughout the entire night and this (Sunday) morning. Aircraft was only utilized for monitoring of the fire. Due to weather conditions, air tankers were unable to make drops." "Fire crews transitioned this morning and will continue to improve lines where needed and hold. Crews plan to hold the fire south of I-40."  

The Houston Fire Department responded to a fire at a home near where a 17-year-old was found shot to death a week before. Crews arrived at the scene around 11:30 p.m. after a house fire call located at 1329 East 35th Street. The fire was heavy at the front of the home, but was quickly put out once crews arrived, District Chief Kevin Carley said. HFD Arson Division was also called. There was no one inside the home at the time. According to neighbors nearby, the home was near a crime scene from just the week before. On May 22, police responded to a shooting on E. 36th Street but were alerted of a separate crime scene six miles away, where the unidentified 17-year-old was found shot to death on the 1300 block of East 35th Street. A suspect has since been arrested in connection with that shooting.  

A San Antonio man who pleaded guilty to setting fire to a political party office in Austin will spend six years in prison for the crime. Ryan Taylor Faircloth, 31, is charged with arson, stemming from the incident on September 29, 2021. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Faircloth threw a molotov cocktail through the window of the Travis County Democratic Party office in downtown Austin, sending the building up in flames. A nearby witness was able to stop the fire before firefighters arrived. On January 10, 2022, Faircloth pleaded guilty of one count of arson, according to officials. In addition to the prison sentence, he was also ordered to pay $12,472.84 in restitution and a $5,000 fine, according to the US Attorney's Office. The FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force and Austin police and fire departments prosecuted the case.  

The Bryan Fire Department hosted their 2nd Annual Memorial Day Murph Workout on Monday morning at Bryan Fire Department Station. Cody May, Bryan Fire Department Lieutenant, said he's very glad the Bryan Fire Department is able to host a Murph Workout again after a year off due to COVID-19. "We are bringing all kinds of first responders from the area to our station," said May. "It's awesome seeing everyone come together to do something like the Murph Workout." May said the Murph workout he and the crew did on Memorial Day was nothing compared to what men and women have sacrificed for our country. "The Murph Workout is a one-mile run, 100 pull-ups, 200 sit-ups, 300 air-squats, and then another mile run," said May. "Also we have 40-pound vests that we're able to put on."  

PHOTOS: As thick black smoke visible from miles away billowed above a chemical fire in downtown Omaha on Monday night, fire officials recommended residents in the nearby area evacuate. Omaha Fire confirmed in a report Monday night that a fire broke out in an industrial building near 20th Street and Woolworth Avenue a few minutes before 7 p.m. Monday. OFD officials initially advised sheltering in place, but later sent an emergency alert out recommending those between 13th and 20th streets and Leavenworth to Martha streets evacuated because of "smoke and fire." Authorities sent an alert out around 10:30 p.m. about an evacuation site that had been set up at the Columbus Community Center, located at 1523 S. 24th St., where Red Cross was on hand to assist, Omaha Fire officials said. Fire crews initially classified it as a two-alarm fire, officially called at 7:17 p.m., according to the Omaha Fire Department report, and firefighters were able to get inside the building.  

For years, Albuquerque Fire Rescue has honored Memorial Day by completing the CrossFit "Murph" Challenge. KOB 4 was at the AFR Training Academy early Monday morning to get an inside look at the annual tradition and to learn more about the national hero the workout is named after. "When you're suffering, try to remember those that take care of us," said Christopher Epley, captain of training at the AFR Training Academy. "It's in remembrance of Lt. Michael P. Murphy, who was killed in 2005." Murphy was a U.S. Navy SEAL who died in the line of duty in Afghanistan. He received the military's highest decoration for his service – the Medal of Honor. Now on Memorial Day, people all over the country participate in a CrossFit workout named after the hero. "It's one mile followed by 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 squats a mile, and it will take each person approximately an hour, some folks do a little bit quicker," said AFR Lt. Tom Ruiz.  

VIDEO/PHOTOS: Hundreds of motorcycle riders gathered in downtown Cleveland on Sunday to honor Ohio's fallen firefighters who died in 2021. The 18th Annual Firefighters Memorial Ride started with a ceremony at the Cleveland Firefighters Memorial in front of the Cleveland Science Center at 10:30 a.m. Following the ceremony, the processional ride began from downtown Cleveland at the Firefighters Memorial and traveled through the following communities: Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, South Euclid, Mayfield Heights, Willoughby, Mayfield Village, Eastlake and ending at Western Reserve Harley-Davidson in Mentor with food and entertainment.  

May 28, 1977 is a date that may never be forgotten in the Tri-State. 165 people were killed and hundreds more were hurt in a fire at the Beverly Hills Supper Club in Southgate, Kentucky on that date. The famed club near Cincinnati, which was known for entertainment, was hosting a huge crowd that night. People showed up to see popular Hollywood actor and entertainer John Davidson, who was headlining the evening. Before the main act ever hit the stage, a fire broke out in the building. Many made it out, but so many were killed in the tragic fire that a makeshift morgue had to be set up nearby. The blaze dominated the headlines of the day. Forty-five years later, victims of the tragedy were remembered at the site by those who can not forget.