Amarillo Fire Department crews contained a house fire that occurred early this morning in north Amarillo. Crews were dispatched at 5:30 a.m. to a home near NE 22nd Avenue and Columbine Street. Upon arrival, firefighters found a large amount of fire and smoke showing from the rear of the home. The fire was coming from a two-room addition and firefighters were able to contain it to that area, according to AFD. Officials said moderate smoke damage was found throughout the home. There were no injuries reported. Red Cross was requested to assist two adults and eight children. One person was seen by AMS crew while on scene due to minor smoke inhalation. Amarillo Fire Marshal's Office did respond to the fire, but no findings have been released at this time.  

Randy Parr, chief of the Tomball Fire Department, announced his retirement during the start of a March 1 regular City Council meeting. Addressing council members and city officials, Parr said he is grateful for the last 17 years he has spent in Tomball and thanked his wife and daughters in particular for their support. "I'm retiring," Parr said. Parr said leading the department's transition from a volunteer to a career fire department is one of the noteworthy moments from his time in Tomball. "Seventeen years ago this coming Monday, March 8, your predecessors gave me the privilege of leading the Tomball Fire Department," he said to council members. "Seventeen years is a long time, and I'm still having a hard time grasping the fact that it has been 17 years."  

An accidental fire at an Abilene commercial building caused an estimated $5,000 in damages. According to a press release from the Abilene Fire Department, at 10:46 a.m. Tuesday, the department responded to a structure fire in the 100 block of Windmill Circle. Fire crews found a large commercial structure with light smoke coming from the north side of the building. All employees had self-evacuated from the building before firefighters arrived. A smoldering fire was discovered in a below-grade conveyor belt track. The fire was quickly brought under control and put out, preventing any structural damage to the building. An investigation showed the fire was the result of welding operations igniting flammable residue in the conveyor track.  

The Randall County Fire Department is receiving a new engine to enhance capabilities of fighting wildfires. Due to the drought and the deep freeze from the winter storm, firefighters expect more wildfire outbreaks during this wildfire season compared to normal. "A wildland fire is not going to start in their backyards, it's going to start miles away from it but with our winds, it can sneak up on them pretty quickly. So, that is the concern that it can get to their home before they're prepared," said Clayton Baker, lieutenant at the Randall County Fire Department. With the help of County commissioners, the department is receiving a new engine that is based on trucks that help fight federal wildfires. "If we do have to set up to save a house, it has the capabilities of doing that," said Joe Koch, district chief at the Randall County Fire Department.  

The city of Mission was awarded a federal grant of $80,340.91 to enhance local fire prevention and safety efforts, U.S. Senator John Cornyn announced. A Tuesday news release from Cornyn's office says the funding comes through the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program. The program aims to strengthen the nation's overall level of preparedness and ability to respond to fire and related hazards, the news release stated. "Firefighters continuously answer the call of duty to save lives in all kinds of emergency situations, and they deserve all the support and resources necessary to do their job," Cornyn stated in the release. "I applaud area leaders for their work to obtain this grant, and I'm grateful for our firefighters keeping Mission safe."  

The freezing temperatures, including a windchill reaching -14 degrees at least one day of winter storm Uri, are etched into the minds of area fire departments, who battled the storm and all that came with it last month. "This was an event that will always be remembered by the Mineral Wells Fire/EMS Department. There are many stories of firefighters overcoming obstacles and challenges that only one can imagine, with a windchill of -14 degrees," MWFD Deputy Chief/EMS Coordinator Ryan Dunn said. "Water was freezing in our tanks and we could not get water to the end of the nozzle. Firefighters are always good at overcoming obstacles, and I am proud of all the effort that the Mineral Wells Fire/EMS employees put forth." MWFD responded to a total of 102 calls between Feb. 14-19 — Feb. 16 received the highest volume of 22 calls for service.  

VIDEO/PHOTOS: A Jellico, Tennessee motel was destroyed after a large fire early Wednesday morning. Fire crews were called to Parkway Inn just after 10 p.m. last night. Officials said the motel had been closed for remodeling and had just reopened a few days ago. A handful of people were staying there but everyone was able to get out before firefighters arrived. No injuries have been reported. "We got called out on this to assist Jellico and when we got here there was probably two rooms engulfed," Jellico Fire & Rescue's Mitchell Long said, "And it just contained inside and there's not a whole you can do with it." "It stayed in the attic and it just basically just destroyed the whole building from one end to the other," Mitchell said. Firefighters worked into the early morning hours to keep the fire from spreading to nearby homes. The cause of the fire is under investigation.  

VIDEO: Being a firefighter means running into the burning building when everyone else is running out. It's dangerous and requires courage, but for the brave men and women who train for it, it's just another day on the job. But even that can change quickly. By all accounts, January 30, 2014, started as a typical day. "Everything about that day, everything that lead up to that day, was normal," said Sterling Sudderth, a battalion chief with the Greensboro Fire Department. "I had no idea that it was a life-changer." The initial call came in just after lunch as a car fire at 811 S. Elm St. on the outskirts of downtown Greensboro. Responding units quickly learned that the car on fire was actually inside of an auto repair business. "As soon as we got off the truck, I saw the fire — heavy fire — coming out of the auto repair shop," said Sudderth, who was a captain at the time. "At that point, between the amount of fire and the amount of smoke, I think everybody knew that this had gotten beyond that single car fire."  

In just over a week, two incidents of drunken driving while on duty have occurred within the Detroit Fire Department, causing city leaders to reflect on the department's policies and resources for firefighters amid higher levels of pressure and stress caused by the pandemic. Mayor Mike Duggan announced a partnership with national firefighter leaders to help guide Detroit in finding a solution, including launching an independent environmental audit and a review of the department's policies and employee assistance program. "The men and women of the Detroit Fire Department are heroes. We depend on them every day to save our lives, and they've done a terrific job, but the people of the city of Detroit are entitled to know that the men and women they are counting on to come save them are free of the influence of alcohol or any other restricted substances," Duggan said during a news conference Tuesday.  

Under the fluorescent lights of a vacant Sears department store near the state Capitol, officers from across the east Twin Cities metro area have been preparing for six weeks for potentially dangerous situations that could occur at a mass demonstration. St. Paul police Cmdr. Tim Flynn has led 550 St. Paul officers and 250 others from agencies in Dakota, Washington and Ramsey counties through the training. "When the civil unrest was happening, we needed people from all those counties and agencies within those counties to come help us with what was going on in the city," Flynn said. The St. Paul Police Department added the training to deal with a specific problem encountered last year. Firefighters had trouble responding to buildings on fire because of the volatile situation around them. During the exercises, members of law enforcement, carrying wooden batons, practice moving back crowds, getting to injured or dangerous people within the crowd, and creating a small perimeter within which fire crews can safely work.  

Health officials are urging Americans to not let their guards down against COVID-19 as researchers discover new variants that may already be more transmissible and could also be somewhat resistant to the vaccine. "At this level of cases, with variants spreading, we stand to completely lose the hard-earned ground we have gained," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said during a White House briefing Monday. "These variants are a very real threat to our people and our progress." While experts have been following variants first identified in the United Kingdom and South Africa, they're also seeing red flags in other variants discovered closer to home in Brazil, New York and California. In Monday's briefing, Dr. Anthony Fauci said a recent study found some COVID-19 treatments may not be as effective against the new variant discovered in New York.