A 49-year-old firefighter died Sunday due to work-related brain cancer, the Fort Worth Fire Department said Monday. Steve Collins, 49, joined the department in 1999 and was diagnosed with brain cancer in the spring of 2006. He was a family man who was married to his wife, Carla, for 19 years. They have two sons, ages 15 and 12. His memorial services are set for Oct. 10. The service, funeral procession and graveside memorial are private, but will be live-streamed on the department's social media pages. The department said studies show that firefighters are more likely to be diagnosed with cancer and are more likely to suffer cancer-related deaths compared to the general public. After the tumor was removed, Collins remained cancer-free for seven years and when tumors returned, he was told there was no chance of survival, the department said.  

Four cities in North Texas have been honored by the North Central Texas Council of Governments, receiving the Regional Cooperation Award in August for their responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Honored were the cities of Cedar Hill, DeSoto, Duncanville and Lancaster. The award recognizes the cooperative regional efforts of local governments, honoring those that promote coordination and cooperation to solve regional problems; do not allow jurisdictional boundaries to be barriers to solutions; and demonstrate that joint projects can provide better use of resources as well as quality service. The award was presented to the fire chiefs of the four cities as reaffirmation of the critical roles that they play in keeping residents as safe as possible. They are Rodney Smith, Cedar Hill; Jerry Duffield, DeSoto; Sam Rohde, Duncanville; and Kenneth Johnson, Lancaster.  

Three workers were killed Monday when a stairwell collapsed inside a high-rise building under construction in Houston, according to fire department officials. The fire department said one injured worker was taken to a hospital and was listed in stable condition. Firefighters were waiting for engineers to confirm the building was stable enough for them to go in and recover the bodies of the workers, said Assistant Fire Chief Ruy Lozano. It could be several days before their bodies are recovered, he said. Authorities were not concerned that the building itself was in danger of collapsing but were "worried about sections of that same stairwell that collapsed the first time," Lozano told reporters during a news conference.  

Construction is expected to begin soon on a new fire station in McKinney. McKinney City Council is slated to consider approving the guaranteed maximum price for the new McKinney Fire Station No. 11 in the coming weeks, according to city staff. Construction on the station will then begin about one month after that approval and last 12-14 months. The goal is to finish at the beginning of 2022. The new station will be located at 6260 Rundell Way, which is on the west side of Alma Road near the McKinney Soccer Complex at Craig Ranch. It will be a 15,000-square-foot facility with three apparatus bays that will house 10 firefighters and officers. The station will also have a training tower and small McKinney Police Department storefront office. McKinney firm Conduit Architecture + Design is the architect on the project.  

Data collected by the city of Brownsville and local hospitals paint a clear picture of how shelter in place, mask mandates, social distancing and hand hygiene guidelines helped keep the spread of COVID-19 under control as the virus swept across the Lower Rio Grande Valley. The numbers mirror clearly the reported surges in cases and deaths that placed real strain on Brownsville's EMS and hospital systems in mid-June through the end of July. According to Leslie Bingham, CEO at Valley Baptist Medical Center, data from the hospital shows that the total number of emergency room patients at VBMC-Brownsville from August of this year dropped by 49% in comparison to August 2019. Interestingly, the decrease in the number of ER patients arriving by ambulance to VBMC in August 2020 compared to August 2019 was 36%, which Bingham said suggests that non-COVID patients who would normally seek care in the ER stayed away due to fear of exposure to the virus.  

On April 17, 2013, just 20 miles north of Waco, a fire at the West Fertilizer Company turned into an ammonium nitrate explosion. The facility burst at the seams approximately 20 minutes after the fire was first reported to emergency dispatchers. West, a town of about 2,800 at the time, felt the impact of the explosion both physically and emotionally. Following the incident, the town received an outpouring of support from Waco and the surrounding communities, including Baylor University. The explosion resulted in the death of 15 people, 12 of which were first responders. Over 160 people sustained injuries and more than 500 buildings were damaged or completely wrecked by the catastrophe. The McLennan County Judge at the time, Scott Felton, issued a declaration of disaster for the entire county. Amber Adamson, a professor of journalism at Baylor, captured the stories of countless individuals who put their lives on the line in her book.  

PHOTOS: A five-alarm fire in Elizabeth left two young girls dead and two adults hospitalized in critical condition Monday, a city official said. The children who died were approximately 7 and 11 years old, according to city spokeswoman Kelly Martins. The blaze began around 6 p.m. in the 800 block of Elizabeth Avenue and was under control about two hours later. Police officers rushed to rescue the children, but were impeded by bars on a window of the building. The two adults - a man and a woman - were taken to an area hospital, the spokeswoman said. At least 21 residents were displaced from their homes by the inferno. Authorities were working to determine what caused the fire. The fire raged through a building that includes commercial space and apartments.  

When Ray Tannatta first introduced the Highrise Lifeline in the early 1990s, it seemed to be all the rage, being repeatedly featured on national TV. "I got a lot of attention. I had people calling me from all over the country, all over the world," Tannatta said. "At the time, I thought my product was working and the message is getting out there and people should be buying it. I had a company buy it but they never put it on the market." Thirty years after its initial flash in the pan, the device is finally for sale. Tannatta is now marketing it himself online. "It should be out there, it will save lives," he said. "We lose 2,000 to 3,000 people every year in fires." A former Schenectady firefighter for more than two decades, Tannatta invented the device after a local man died from smoke inhalation before help could arrive.  

First responder sirens were wailing nearly non-stop as Hurricane Isaias churned above eastern Pennsylvania. Listening to dispatches about people trapped by flood waters, motor vehicle accidents, and a commercial structure fire, I was concerned and praying for the first responders during this storm. As Isaias swept northward, a cascade of agencies responded. And with this incident, the shoulders of chiefs, deputy chiefs, commissioners, supervisors, and other command personnel grew heavier with disaster responsibilities. I wonder how agency leaders are keeping it together. The wellbeing of department personnel ultimately falls on the shoulders of chiefs and supervisors, regardless of workload, critical incident, or personal stress. As the saying goes, the buck stops here. Already exhausted from the plight of COVID-19 victims, chiefs especially are experiencing the daunting task of leading their departments.  

Salt Lake City firefighters were warned not to expect police officers as often as they have before because of a regular backlog of calls, according to a leaked department memo. The note, penned by Assistant Fire Chief Mike Fox, begins by saying the police department has changed some of their responses "due to COVID" and that they are experiencing "regular days when they have a backlog of calls." Fire department officials turned down a 2News request for an on-camera interview and advised we talk to the police about the call backlog and changes to department policies. A spokesperson for Salt Lake City police on Friday denied the department has a staffing issue because of COVID-19 or any other reason. He referred 2News back to the fire department to discuss the content of the memo. In paragraph two, Fox says "you may not get police on low acuity medical calls, accidents... or on other calls that you would normally see them on."  

A new drone technology program launched Monday at Great Oaks Career Campuses, and it's the first of its kind in the world. Through the program, first responders can become drone certified as an emergency services drone operator. "It's opening up doors to programs beyond your traditional law enforcement and firefighter basic training academy. The idea is to add programs and bring them back to continue their education over the course of their 25-30-year careers," fire safety services supervisor Johnny Mason said. The course teaches first responders how to fly the drone and how to view and interpret emergency scenes from above. "The drone can do anything from locate a fire, and give us hot spots in a burning building, telling where a fire may still be, missing people. It can go out and find a heat signature and tell us and help us locate," program coordinator Dan Runyan said. Monday was the first day for the course.