VIDEO: Intense flames left several cars at a southwest Houston apartment complex destroyed overnight. Residents woke up to find their vehicles burned. Houston firefighters responded to the apartment complex on Hillcroft at Edgemoor around 2:45 a.m. Tuesday and found five cars up in flames. Video from the scene shows how intense the flames were when they first arrived. The fire appears to have started in a truck, and quickly spread to the surrounding cars. In total, four cars under a carport at the apartment complex and one car parked on the other side of a nearby fence were damaged. The exact cause of the fire is unknown. Houston Fire Department's arson team is investigating. A small crowd gathered outside the apartment complex as firefighters worked to put out the flames, including a mother who says her car was burned.  

The City of Brenham has named a second interim fire chief. Today (Monday), the city named Assistant Fire Chief and Fire Marshal Roger Williams to serve as the head of the Brenham Fire Department in the interim. This comes after retired Lubbock fire chief Rhea Cooper was chosen in May to fill the post formerly held by Ricky Boeker, who was abruptly fired in April. Cooper's interim contract expires on October 31st. Williams joined the department in September 2019 serving as the interim fire marshal through Strategic Government Resources. He accepted a full-time position with the department in February 2020 as an assistant fire chief and fire marshal. Williams said he is "honored and humbled" and sincerely appreciates this opportunity.  

In time for Fire Prevention Week, the San Antonio Fire Department has released a public safety announcement for children. SAFD teamed up with Megaphonic Creative for this year's campaign, "Learn the Sounds of Fire Safety." The campaign aims to teach children about the importance of smoke alarms. "Children can learn to sleep through the noises of life; dishwashers, washing machines, vacuum cleaners, television sets, and many other types of noise," SAFD says. "Help them learn the sounds of fire safety." SAFD says when a child hears a fire alarm go off, they should find a safe place outside a find a grown-up.  

At approximately 1 p.m. Monday, a small fire in the basement of Shannon Clinic Beauregard forced the building to be evacuated. "There was a small electrical fire in the basement of Shannon Clinic Beauregard," Shannon Administrative Director of Marketing Lyndy Stone stated in an email to Fox West Texas. "Patients were quickly evacuated and no one was injured. Firefighters were able to quickly contain and extinguish the fire." According to Stone, patients seeing providers located in the basement offices will be contacted regarding any changes to their appointments and there is not expected to be any interruption to appointments with providers on the first and second floors.  

San Antonio arson investigators are working to determine the cause of a house fire Monday afternoon on the Southwest Side. According to The San Antonio Fire Department, a call came in around 1:30 p.m. for a structure fire in the 7200 block of Freedom Oaks. Fire officials say a man was asleep upstairs when the smoke detector went off and woke him up. The fire started in an enclosed deck and spread into the kitchen and then into the second floor, SAFD said. The man, along with a cat and a dog, were able to escape the home. Officials said the cat was given oxygen and did suffer burns but, they believe the cat will survive. The cause of the fire is unknown and damage is estimated at $100,000.  

Does a Houston bachelor face a rosy or thorny future on The Bachelorette? We'll soon find out. On September 27, ABC revealed the 30 men who will woo Michelle Young, the star of the upcoming season of The Bachelorette. The season premieres October 19. Among the men vying for Young's roses — and ultimately her heart — is a man from the Bayou City. PJ Henderson is a 30-year-old firefighter and EMT. His bio describes him as PJ is a "natural caretaker," and "someone who wants to make sure that the people he loves are always happy, protected, and healthy." The 30-year-old is "very ready" to get married — with the right woman, of course. Nothing lights Henderson's fire more than "a loyal woman with drive and beauty," his bio adds, especially if he and his lady can work out and travel together.  

VIDEO: Flames forced people and children to jump to safety in West Des Moines Monday night. Fire crews spent all night putting out a large fire at Valley West Inn on Westtown Parkway. The first crews out arrived just minutes after the building went up in flames. They were able to get everybody out, but that took some time. West Des Moines Fire officials said it started on the second floor of the south side. Before they could get water on the fire, they had to get everybody out of the building. They say 130 rooms were occupied around the time the fire started, around 11:15 p.m. When crews got there, they said people inside were running up to them, telling them that their family members and friends were trapped in the building. They said people were dropping children to firefighters from windows.  

PHOTOS: There are some airport amenities you can't wait to use. The Shake Shack in JFK's Terminal 4. A newly renovated lounge. A fun shop, or a runway viewing deck. One of the most important services, though, which just about every commercial airport has, is one that you hope you'll never need. Every airport has an on-site fire-and-rescue department, often known as ARFF (airport rescue and firefighting), which responds to accidents and crashes on the airfield, emergency landings and other emergencies. The size of most commercial airports, coupled with the mass casualty potential of an aircraft disaster and the unique challenges an aviation emergency presents — such as the presence of jet fuel — means that having a local municipal fire department respond simply isn't effective enough.  

A homeless man was jailed early Sunday after state police charged him with assaulting two Mutual Aid paramedics and damaging an ambulance that was dispatched to treat him at a Derry Township shelter. Michael J. Muchnock III, 38, who has lived in Hempfield, was arrested on multiple criminal charges, including aggravated assault, criminal mischief, disorderly conduct, harassment, institutional vandalism and simple assault after the 1 a.m. incident at the Union Mission on Harrison Avenue. Trooper John Robertson said Latrobe police and state troopers were dispatched to the homeless shelter when paramedics reported an "out of control male" they were sent to treat for an unspecified medical issue had become combative.  

Does a Houston bachelor face a rosy or thorny future on The Bachelorette? We'll soon find out. On September 27, ABC revealed the 30 men who will woo Michelle Young, the star of the upcoming season of The Bachelorette. The season premieres October 19. Among the men vying for Young's roses — and ultimately her heart — is a man from the Bayou City. PJ Henderson is a 30-year-old firefighter and EMT. His bio describes him as PJ is a "natural caretaker," and "someone who wants to make sure that the people he loves are always happy, protected, and healthy." The 30-year-old is "very ready" to get married — with the right woman, of course. Nothing lights Henderson's fire more than "a loyal woman with drive and beauty," his bio adds, especially if he and his lady can work out and travel together.  

Republican Sen. Ed Hooper is proposing legislation that would stiffen criminal penalties related to the murder of a on-duty firefighter. Under the proposal (SB 370), the convicted murderer of a firefighter would face the same consequences as a person who killed a police or correctional officer — life in prison without the possibility of parole. Speaking to Florida Politics, Hooper said firefighters are worthy of the same legal classification as their first responder counterparts. They, he asserted, face many of the same risks as law enforcement officers. "I just don't think that they ought to be treated differently if they're all responding to the same emergencies at the same time," Hooper, a retired firefighter himself, said. Indeed, firefighter and paramedics are frequently involved in perilous situations — from police raids and active shooter incidents to hostage situations and other mass casualty incidents that require police intervention.