VIDEO: Bystanders at a Waco gasoline station immediately helped push a car engulfed in flames away from the gas pumps. The Waco Fire Department said a mechanical problem is likely to blame for the blaze that torched the car at about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday. The driver was filling up his gas tank at the gasoline station. As he was getting ready to leave, the car went up in flames. Photographer Matthew Muhl captured the moment firefighters arrived at the scene. Two firefighters quickly exited the fire engine and immediately doused the car with water while a police officer rerouted traffic. The Waco Fire Department said no one was hurt.  

During the June 22 city council meeting, the Anna Fire Department honored its three new battalion chiefs with a pinning ceremony. Chuy Eaton, Bryan Thomas and Cody Nelson were recognized for their accomplishments. They will each serve as the highest-ranking operational firefighter on their shifts. Their responsibilities will include coordinating all on-scene emergency operations, managing incident stabilization and remediation, and facilitating communication with State and Federal agencies. "These firefighters are excellent examples of leaders and have demonstrated exceptional professionalism, integrity and service to our community," Fire Chief Ray Isom said. "This pinning ceremony is a way to honor their commitment and recognize them in front of the City Council, family, friends and neighbors."  

The McAllen Firefighters Association and International Association of Fire Fighters Local 2602 approved a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the City of McAllen. The previous CBA was set to expire on September 30, 2021. After several months of negotiating the McAllen city manager and city attorney reached a new CBA with the McAllen Fire Union. "Our firefighters are very important to the McAllen City Commission," McAllen Mayor Javier Villalobos said in a statement. "It is important to invest in our first responders, not just with compensation, but in equipment, resources, training, and anything that helps make their job of protecting us better and easier." McAllen City Commissioners approved the CBA during its regular city meeting on Monday.  

The Amarillo Fire Department's Fox Unit is continuing to serve the public through the vaccine clinic at the Civic Center. The Fox Unit is staffed with AFD's higher-level paramedics who have had more experience in order to provide the best care to the community. The Amarillo Public Health Department started partnering with AFD back in December because they needed more staff to help distribute the vaccine. Now the unit monitors patients who receive the vaccine. "We want to make sure that we are able to vaccinate as many people as we can and the fire department has been an amazing partner to us in all of that. So, they always go with us, especially during that 15-minute monitoring, the fire department has been critical during that time," said Casie Stoughton, director of Amarillo Public Health Department.  

PHOTOS: The San Antonio Fire Department released three photos Tuesday from a big rig crash the day before that injured three people and caused major damage to a Northeast Side convenience store. SAFD posted the pics on Facebook with the caption, "Over 20 SAFD units responded including Hazmat & Heavy Rescue; thankfully no lives were lost." The driver of the big rig told investigators on Monday morning that his brakes failed, causing him to lose control of the vehicle as he exited southbound Interstate 35 at O'Connor Road. That driver suffered serious injuries to his arm, but is expected to be OK. Two other people were also taken to the hospital for minor injuries. The truck was hauling asphalt and a large amount spilled during the crash. The store sustained structural damage and is expected to be closed for a period of time for repairs.  

Brownsville Fire Department Chief Jarrett Sheldon has spent nearly 30 years of his life serving his community, but has never forgotten where he started – Texas Southmost College. The Los Fresnos native first became a volunteer firefighter when he was only 15 years old, following in his father's footsteps, who served decades in the U.S. Navy as a firefighter, in crash rescue, in the industrial emergency medical services and with the Brownsville and Los Fresnos fire departments. Since then, a career in firefighting has been a family affair with his brothers pursuing the same path. However, Sheldon said TSC opened up numerous opportunities for him, such as becoming a paramedic. "I started college at Texas A&M-Kingsville, but I was only there for a couple of semesters," said the 42-year-old.  

VIDEO: Firefighters battled high temperatures as they fought to extinguish a large, seven-alarm house fire in Revere Tuesday evening. Crews were called to the scene on Hyde Street where smoke and flames could be seen pouring out of the top of the home. The back side of the structure was charred. At least one other home caught fire due to constantly changing wind directions. Several firefighters were treated for heat exhaustion but all firefighters and residents were reported out of the building. With the humidity that has settled over the region over the last few days, it is likely that the firefighters tried to gain control of this fire in 104 degree temperatures, Chief Meteorologist Jeremy Reiner said. Crowds are being kept well away from the scene.  

VIDEO: Four people have been arrested and two others charged in connection with a fire at a Spring Valley assisted living facility that claimed the lives of a resident and a firefighter earlier this year. District Attorney Thomas Walsh and New York State Fire Prevention and Control officials detailed the arrests and the results of the three-month long investigation at a Tuesday afternoon news conference. On March 23, 2021, volunteer firefighter Jared Lloyd would heroically help rescue over 100 residents of the Evergreen Assisted Living Facility before passing away during rescue operations. A resident of the facility, 79-year-old Oliver Hueston, also died. A rabbi and his son associated with the facility are facing the most serious charges, for "actions that have been determined to cause the fire," Walsh said without elaborating.  

New machine learning algorithms could soon help firefighters forecast dangerous flashover ignition events using sensor data from burning buildings. Called P-Flash, the system was developed by Thomas Cleary and colleagues at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the US and Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Trained using data from thousands of simulated fires, the model can predict some flashovers in housefires up to 30 s before they occur. Flashovers are among the most hazardous threats faced by firefighters. At high temperatures, all exposed combustible material in a room can be ignited simultaneously, releasing a huge amount of energy. To avoid danger, while maximizing the amount of time spent searching a fire for victims, it is critical for firefighters to predict these events as far in advance as possible.  

VIDEO: Jordan Pinol is never too far away from his fire hat. The French child, who leaves on the border near Geneva, Switzerland, has fond memories of a family trip to Florida in 2018. "He loves everything about firefighters," said his dad, Alex. Jordan, now 6, begged his family to stop at the fire station while visiting Clearwater. The excited child wanted to see how big American fire trucks were compared to trucks back home. The crew at Station 45 in Clearwater invited everyone inside, gave Jordan that prized plastic hat, and posed for photos. Jordan got to see the trucks up close and learn about American firefighting. "Our crews really enjoy being able to have those interactions," said Division Chief John Klinefelter, who has been a firefighter for 20 years. "Now there is an open line of correspondence going back and forth a little bit with the family."  

VIDEO: Capt. Michael Renn had a few minutes before dinner with the rest of the crew at Louisville Fire Department's Engine 2. With diving gear from training that day drying out behind him, he sat down for a quick jam session with Sgt. Alex Eckert — fellow firefighter and fellow band mate. "I think it started off with me kind of probably just playing guitar, bringing my guitar up to the fire house, and then bumping into actually…our lead singer," said Renn. Lead singer and harmonica player Capt. Sam Pierce works out of Engine 15 and Sgt. Trevor Dixon, on the drums, is at Engine 9. Eckert plays bass and also works out of Engine 2. "The name of our band is Quickline," said Renn. "On our engine companies, it is the first line that we would pull off. It is our go-to hand line with water in it that we take into a structure."