Fire Chiefs play a vital role in their departments as they set the goals and objectives. Joe Kratochvil is a training specialist with the International Association of Fire Chiefs. He's trying to let fire chiefs from area departments and businesses know about some of the latest and best practices from across the country. "One of the big things is folks with medical conditions, looking to see that they have medication as they need, if they are evacuated, or if they're on specific medical care for oxygen, things like that and that's taken care of dialysis, they have the ability to have it taken care of," Kratochvil said. Corpus Christi Fire Chief Robert Rocha said he was happy to hear that his department is already following many of those recommendations being made. However, he realizes there's room for improvement.  

The Cleburne City Council recognized the efforts of a city fire fighter who saved someone from potentially drowning in Lake Pat Cleburne. City Council and staff presented firefighter Austin Warner with a service award at the July 27 City Council meeting. Warner saved someone's life while he was off duty earlier this summer. Cleburne Fire responded to an incident on June 16 for a truck that had driven in Lake Pat with a person inside. Before the on-duty fire and paramedic personnel could arrive, firefighter Warner had went into the water and pulled the patient through the window as it submerged into the lake. By the time crews arrived at the scene, a boat was pulling to shore with Warner holding on the side of the boat while holding on a semi-conscious patient. Cleburne Fire believes Warner's actions saved the patient's life while voluntarily risking his own.  

Fire crews worked to put out a two-alarm fire at a strip center on the northeast side Wednesday morning. Fire officials were called out around 9 a.m. to the shopping area in the 4200 block of Centergate Street. SAPD Chief Charles Hood said at the scene there was maintenance work going on at a paint shop in the strip center, which is what caused the fire. Chief Hood said he was mainly worried about how the heat index would firefighters as they worked on the fire. "They are in great physical condition and at the start of their shift, but they have to work another 23 hours today," Chief Hood said. Chief Hood said he was grateful it was not later in the afternoon when the heat would be even worse. "If this had been at 3 or 4 in the afternoon, we would be at four alarms already," Hood said.  

An apartment fire in Marshall has displaced residents. The incident happened on Tuesday around 1:52 p.m. in the 1300 block of Washington Place East, according to the City of Marshall. First responders received a call from a tenant that smoke was coming from the building. When firefighters arrived at the location, they saw heavy black smoke covering the front entrance. Then, they made an interior attack and contained the fire. No one was injured, but residents were left without a home because the fire was severe and caused damage. The Red Cross was alerted about the situation. "This was a large house modified into four separate living units. Our guys did a fantastic job today. Considering the complexities of fighting a fire in a structure of this age and the modifications made, this could have had an outcome much worse," stated Marshall Fire Chief Reginald Cooper.  

Wildfires can be caused by humans or by mother nature herself. The severity of the Western fires has called for the help of Texas A&M. Currently, 53 Texas am Forest Service personnel are in the Western states helping in various ways to stop the destruction, the majority are firefighters. "Boots on the ground, working with hand tools and hoses," Erin O'Connor Program Specialist III for the Texas A&M Forest Service said, "There are engine crews and dozer crews." O'Connor said they also sent overhead support personnel, people to take on leadership roles. "We have individuals that are supporting prevention teams, working as public information officers and we even have some people who are supporting the financial side for instance, we kind of run the gambit here."  

When City Council Member Alison Alter heard that the Loop 360/Davenport Fire and EMS Station would not be opening in Fiscal Year 2022 as planned, she thought of how savings from that station could be used to help the Austin Fire Department and Austin Travis County EMS. She laid out a plan for use of the savings on the City Council Message Board and pushed for those ideas at Tuesday's work session. Twenty-four firefighters recently participated in a training designed to help prepare them for a fire event in the wildland-urban interface, and that training will allow the firefighters to train the remainder of the department. Alter said the city could use $300,000 originally intended for the Loop 360/Davenport station.  

At least four fires were ignited near North Park overnight, according to San Diego police. The costliest of the fires, most of which were sparked between 1-2 a.m., involved a Tesla parked near Utah and Capps streets. In that fire, someone lit a car cover on fire, resulting in the destruction of the vehicle. That fire was caught on video and was believed to have begun shortly after 1:30, with the car burning for several minutes before firefighters could extinguish the flames. The video captured a series of small explosions, at one point creating a fireworks-like burst of white-hot material. Investigators think the series started about 10 minutes earlier in the 3800 block of Pershing Avenue, when the arsonist lit a pair of trash cans on fire, causing some minor damage to a nearby fence.  

Many pet owners teach their dogs how to sit, roll or shake hands, but rarely do they ever train their pets to guide firefighters out of a burning building. A group of doctoral students led by Eric Jing Du, a professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Florida, have trained and developed robotic dogs with the intent of helping first responders virtually see through walls in situations that they would otherwise be blindsided by. Firefighters who have trouble navigating through fires in an unfamiliar environment would be able to escape these situations with the help of the dogs. Since 2015, Du has aimed to understand how the robotic dogs can impact human interaction and possibly prevent unnecessary deaths of future first responders. "Human beings cannot go into these dangerous rooms with fire and hazardous substances, but they can send this robotic dog there," Du said.  

It was an honor that was years in the making on Tuesday for one special local hero. On Aug. 3, 1939, John Harris — who served in the latter part of the 19th Century as the first Black firefighter with the Kokomo Fire Department — died and was buried on a small plot of land at Crown Point Cemetery, just north of Carter Street. And for 82 years, no one but cemetery record keepers even knew where Harris' final resting place was, as there was no headstone or grave marker highlighting the exact location. But that's not the case anymore, thanks to a group of local historians and first responders. It all started earlier this year when KFD Division Chief Glenda Myers was doing a bit of background research on Harris and went out to the cemetery to look for his burial site.  

My name is Lieutenant Roger Bayne, Jr. I have been a firefighter/paramedic with Addison Fire Protection District No. 1 for 25 years. Giving back to my community has always been something I have been very passionate about. About 10 years ago, I knew I wanted to do something more, something bigger than only supporting my local community. I was asked by a friend to get involved with the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, which honors firefighters who have paid the ultimate sacrifice of laying down their life while in the line of duty. I knew this was my calling to support not only my local community, but to also be involved in helping my firefighter family that crosses state lines. I signed up that day, and for the past 10 years I have had the honor and privilege to be a volunteer as an Honor Guard Commander, representing the Addison Fire Protection District No. 1 and the Associated Fire Firefighters of Illinois Honor Guards.  

Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber's lockdown-inspired single, "Stuck With U," has now raised over $3.5 million for the First Responders Children's Foundation, going directly to thousands of first responders' families around the U.S. The single, which released on May 8, 2020, was recorded in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and donated 100% of its profits from streaming and sales to the foundation. A collaboration between Grande, Bieber, Scooter Braun's SB Projects (which manages both Grande and Bieber), Republic Records and Def Jam Recordings, the song's profits will be used to help the families of first responders — healthcare workers, EMTs, paramedics and firefighters — who remain on the front lines of the pandemic.