One Central Texas family has turned its tragedy into an opportunity for young adults pursuing their dreams of becoming firefighters. Maria Negrete has photos of her son, Jose Negrete throughout her home. A military child, Jose Negrete first moved to the city of Copperas Cove when he was just three years old. "He was very caring, compassionate," Maria said. "Jose wanted to be a firefighter. That was his dream since I can recall. It takes pride to look at these pictures. That's all I have left." The family worked hard to make his dream come true. One of its biggest hurdles was paying for the fire academy. "Now it roughly is about $4,000 to $5,000 to get you through school," Maria explained. "That meant that, hey, we had to take loans out. We had to put it in credit cards or he (Jose) also had to do (a) part-time job."  

The Killeen Fire Department was able to rescue a family and their dog from a house fire over the weekend. The fire department had to resuscitate the family's dog once they got everyone out of the fire. They were successful in their attempt, and as soon as the dog was alert he was happy to see his owners and ran to them immediately. The City of Killeen shared what their firefighters do to protect themselves and the community in the post. "Not only do firefighters work to protect people and property, they also save pets," said the City of Killen post. "Once their heroic work was complete, the firefighters completed their "bath" to wash off all the contaminants associated with fighting fires. Taking this step is important to protecting the health of fire personnel."  

A lightning strike is blamed for a house fire Monday night near Alamo Ranch and Alamo Parkway on the far West Side. The call comes on the heels of four similar incidents last month during a span of 19 minutes when another storm hit the area. Bexar-Bulverde Volunteer Fire Chief Jerry Bialick said while not much can be done to prevent a lightning strike, residents can take some precautions to prevent a large fire from occurring. Bialick said since lightning hits roofs most of the time, it's a good idea to keep items in the attic to a minimum. Keeping attics free of items helps firefighters from battling a huge blaze. "Typically, we find that the damage resulting from lightning is most heavenly concentrated in the attic. It's kind of natural where the lightening hits," Bialick said. Bialick said the first thing firefighters do when they arrive at a structure fire is shut off the utilities.  

VIDEO: A fire that broke out at an apartment complex in Harlingen on Monday is under investigation, said Harlingen Fire Chief Rafael Balderas. The fire happened at the Sierra Apartments, located along the 2900 block of Haine Drive. Officials said nobody was inside the apartments. "We have an idea where it started," Balderas said. "We have to go in there and actually take a look at all the evidence that we could find in there and come up with a determination. Sometimes it'll turn out to be undetermined, but we're going to try to figure out what it is that occurred." Firefighters contained the fire to one unit; two other units had smoke damage. Officials say some residents have been displaced.  

A Fourth of July celebration in a Houston neighborhood could have ended in an explosion after police say a person shot a gas line, causing it to rupture. HFD responded to a call about a gas leak shortly after 11 p.m. Sunday at a home on Bayswater Drive and Canterview. Driver charged with aggravated assault for hitting bicyclist in SE Houston According to police, a family was setting off fireworks at the home when a relative pulled out a gun and started firing into the ground. A bullet hit the gas line, causing it to leak. The line did not ignite, and the fire department was able to cap it. Police detained the person who fired the shots. Firefighters stressed the family is very lucky that the gas line did not explode. Authorities have warned about the dangers of celebratory gunfire before.  

Two people are safe after being rescued when they were caught by floodwaters on the North Side Tuesday morning, according to the San Antonio Fire Department. SAFD Spokesman Woody Woodward said there was a report of two people caught in the water around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday near Loop 410 and Vance Jackson Road. Heavy rain on Tuesday morning caused flooding on streets and creeks across San Antonio. The National Weather Service has issued a flood warning for Leon Creek until Wednesday morning. Major flooding is expected at the creek's intersection with Interstate 35 and U.S. Highway 90. As of 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, the stage was 6.9 feet. The flood gauge is 15 feet. The river is expected to rise above the flood stage this afternoon.  

VIDEO: A firefighter approaching a blaze in the garage of a West Michigan home was sent running in the opposite direction after a propane tank ignited. The ensuing blast was caught on camera, showing the emergency responder staggering backward and a massive explosion from the home. The footage, released by the Plainfield Township Fire Department district chief on Monday, showed the flames traveling from the garage to the rest of the home after firefighters arrived. The house fire occurred in a neighborhood just north of Grand Rapids in Kent County. First reported by WOOD TV, the family that lived at the residence had evacuated the home before the explosion. The homeowner credited a passing newspaper delivery man with alerting the family to the fire, allowing them to escape before the fire spread.  

Most of us can't afford homes with fire-extinguishing sprinklers built into the ceiling … and that's where FACE is designed to come in. It's a self-contained, heat-activated fire suppression device that's mounted in the user's home, wherever it's most likely to be needed. Its name an acronym for Fire Activated Canister Extinguisher, FACE was invented by San Francisco high school student Arul Mathur. He tells us that he was inspired to create it after moving from New Jersey to California, where he discovered firsthand just how much of a threat fires pose to people's dwellings. "I heard about the hundreds of thousands of people who evacuated their homes every year to flee from wildfires, but I never thought that I could be one of those people," he says. "Finally, in the summer of 2019, a wildfire threatened to force my family to evacuate our home. At that moment, it became personal. I knew that I needed to do something about it."  

VIDEO: Fire chiefs across the region are calling for the end of a law that allows people in Pennsylvania to set off commercial-grade fireworks after a number of incidents across the state that led to complaints and fatal incidents. In West York, a child died after the improper disposal of fireworks. In Lebanon, fireworks are being investigated as officials work to uncover what caused an explosion that destroyed a recycling plant. Fire officials said investigators are also looking into if fireworks caused a house fire Sunday in Montgomery County that killed a volunteer firefighter. In York City, Fire Chief William Sleeger Jr said "the police department has fielded you know, numerous calls. I want to say numerous, but it's probably in the hundreds."  

VIDEO: One Central Texas family has turned its tragedy into an opportunity for young adults pursuing their dreams of becoming firefighters. Maria Negrete has photos of her son, Jose Negrete throughout her home. A military child, Jose Negrete first moved to the city of Copperas Cove when he was just three years old. "He was very caring, compassionate," Maria said. "Jose wanted to be a firefighter. That was his dream since I can recall. It takes pride to look at these pictures. That's all I have left." The family worked hard to make his dream come true. One of its biggest hurdles was paying for the fire academy. "Now it roughly is about $4,000 to $5,000 to get you through school," Maria explained. "That meant that, hey, we had to take loans out. We had to put it in credit cards or he (Jose) also had to do (a) part-time job." Following a battle with cancer, Jose Negrete passed away last year.  

PHOTO: The first firefighting apparatus of the Plummer Hook & Ladder Company—an 1890s horse- or mule-drawn wooden wagon that carried equipment including buckets used to haul water to fires—returned home last week nearly 20 years after a promise was made to establish a museum to honor the legacy of the department's founding members and the volunteers who followed. "It's a fulfillment of a dream to finally get it back to Warrenton," said Walter Gardner, the town's mayor. "We have worked a long time to make all the arrangements since 2004 to make (this) a possibility." Established in 1868, the Plummer Hook & Ladder Company was Warren County's first fire department and is recognized by North Carolina as the state's longest continuously serving African-American volunteer fire department. It was later known as the Warrenton Volunteer Fire Department and merged with Warrenton Rural VFD in 2004.