An elderly Hillsboro woman died early Monday in a house fire that spread to a second home from which five adults and a child escaped safely. The fire was reported just before 1:30 a.m. Monday at 425 Park Dr. When firefighters arrived they found the woman's home and a neighboring home at 421 Park Dr. engulfed in flames. Two other residents of the home at 425 Park Dr. told firefighters the woman was still inside, but "due to the structure collapsing, crews were not able to make an effective rescue," the Hillsboro Department of Public Safety said in a press release. The woman's body was recovered at around 3 a.m. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Crews from Hillsboro, Itasca, Bynum and Whitney responded to the fire.  

Waco city officials have narrowed the field of 46 applicants to the fire chief's job to two, Richard A. Potter, a 29-year fire service veteran who now serves as deputy chief of the fire department in Pueblo, Colo., and Gregory L. Summers, a 34-year fire service veteran who was chief of the fire department in Little Rock Ark., from 2009 to 2018. Officials hope to have a new chief in place by spring to succeed Fire Chief Bobby Tatum, who announced last fall he would retire at the end of the year. According to city records, Tatum, a native of Fort Worth, began his fire service career with the Fort Worth Fire Department in 1985 at the age of 19. He retired from the city of Fort Worth after 31 years of service at the rank of deputy chief to become the Waco's seventh fire chief in May 2016.  

The Corpus Christi Fire Department has been given a chance to do some real training over at the Casa De Manana Apartments. Firefighters were permitted by a demolition company to use empty apartment homes to conduct training scenarios. Firefighters have been out since Monday doing several types of drills such as search and rescue, forcible entry, and practicing 'saving your own.' "By allowing us to be able to train like this, it takes some of that risk away. Safety is paramount. Safety of the citizens obviously on these calls, but the safety of our firefighters as well," Battalion Chief Tony Perez said. The training is intended to be as realistic as possible by practicing getting through walls, roofs, doors, and windows.  

VIDEO: Across the Rio Grande Valley, fire department train for all kinds of scenarios. In particular, on how to respond to an incident involving a pipeline fire. The Edinburg Fire Department undergoes controlled simulations. The possibility a natural gas pipeline could rupture and burn; it's something they also prepare for. Pipelines are all over the Valley. They can be found crossing through neighborhoods or in front of schools. When seeing the pipeline fire in Corpus Christi on Monday, Fire Chief Shawn Snider explained it was a better scenario than others.  

Bryan Palmer walked around his freshly-mowed lawn on Monday afternoon. "It looked like a jungle out here," Bryan Palmer said, explaining why he spent his Sunday morning mowing the lawn. Palmer said he was about to take a break when his defibrillator went off. "I thought I hit something in the yard electrical at first because it hurts, trust me. It's not a pleasant feeling when that thing goes off," Bryan Palmer said. His daughter, Kayla Palmer, heard him screaming. She said she saw her dad clutching his chest so she and her mom called 911 and sat her dad down in a chair. Bryan Palmer said paramedics and four Hutto Fire Rescue firefighters responded. "Sitting in the chair [before heading to the hospital], I made the comment to them, 'OK, who's gonna finish mowing my yard?' And they all laughed and got a chuckle out of it," Bryan Palmer said.  

VIDEO: A large, deadly fire consumed the Porterville Library Tuesday evening and claimed the lives of two firefighters. "We are still working on notification," Tulare County Fire Chief Charlie Norman said as he fought back tears. The names of the firefighters killed have not been released. Both work for the city of Porterville, Norman said. Earlier, Norman confirmed one firefighter had died but that another was "unaccounted for." "When it's safe to operate we will be back in the building," Norman said. "Hopefully, we'll find that firefighter. We are here for the city of Porterville. We are here for the fire industry." Confirmation of the second fatality came late Tuesday night. "Prayers for the Porterville City Fire Department," Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux said on social media. "They have lost two brave men in a library fire this evening. The city of Porterville mourns their loss and we as a community grieve with them and their families."  

Representatives from the city's firefighters union say a new public administration software system designed to streamline payroll for the department has instead burdened the force with extra duties. The union has filed a grievance on behalf of its 911 dispatchers claiming the software has not only created more work, but shifted payroll responsibilities to their supervisors who they say haven't properly been trained to administer it. "This has placed unfair expectations and an unfair burden on the members of the unit," according to the grievance signed by four members of IAFF Local 740, the Portland Firefighters union. It violates the union's agreement with the city, they say, because it alters pay and working conditions, which is protected under their collective-bargaining contract.  

Any first responder knows in an emergency, time is of the essence. Bruce Bechtold is a former Stearns County deputy. He says cutting minutes or even seconds off response time can make all the difference. That was the case when his cousin Mark suffered a heart attack nearly a decade ago. "Firefighter just happened to be nearby with an AED and shocked him and he's alive today," said Bechtold. "If that wouldn't have been there, he wouldn't have survived." There are more than 500 AED's scattered throughout Stearns County according to the nonprofit Advocates for Health. St. Cloud based mapping firm GeoComm mapped all of them. The Stearns County Sheriff's Office now has that information in their system. "Shows up on our screen here so we know where it's located," said dispatcher Megan Kampa.  

The Fire Department's Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) responded to more than 1.5 million medical emergencies last year, saving countless lives in the process. But many of these first responders — who endure high stress in a job where mere seconds may mean the difference between life and death — barely have anything left to save once they get their paychecks, according to unions representing them. City Hall and the EMT unions — including FDNY EMS Local 2507, EMS Superior Officers Association of the FDNY and DC 37 Local 3621 — began negotiations Tuesday on a new collective bargaining agreement. The unions hope the de Blasio Administration will give a significant boost to the entry-level salary for an EMT, which is just above the minimum wage — $33,320 annually, or about $16 per hour. New York City's hourly minimum wage is $15.  

Just because you call an ambulance in Montgomery County, Maryland, that doesn't mean you'll skip the lobby wait in the emergency room. Maryland's ER wait times — the time spent in the emergency room before being admitted to the hospital or being sent home — are the longest in the country: an average of 376 minutes, in the latest data, from 2017. The national average was 281. The only hospital in the county that scored above the national average for how long it took to see a health care professional once a patient arrived at the emergency department was Adventist. However, it was still below average on most other emergency department-related metrics. Walk-ins aren't the only people waiting — ambulances are waiting, too. That means emergency responders can't get back to work answering other calls.