VIDEO: No one was injured in a fire caused by lightning, fire officials said. Around 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, crews were called to a large outside fire on private property on Austin Estates in eastern Brazos County. Bryan police said lightning struck an oil pad site and there was an explosion. Multiple agencies were called because it was difficult to extinguish the flames, said BPD. Bryan fire officials said the tank that was struck by lightning was lifted off its pad and thrown about 100 feet. The College Station Fire Department says that the Bryan Fire Department asked for their reserve airport rescue and firefighting vehicle to help put out the flames. That vehicle uses foam to suppress fires. Bryan fire officials said oil that spilled from the tank was contained by firefighters. Smoke could be seen from Austin's Colony in Bryan, where Bryan police set a perimeter.  

For a lot of people, getting over COVID-19 is more than getting over just the initial illness. Recovery from long-lasting symptoms can take months and can require medical help, as a Mesquite Fire Department firefighter recently found out. Rob Williams said he had hoped the worst was over after being released from his COVID-19 stay at the hospital. Weeks, even months later, he suffered from fatigue, joint pain and anxiety that he would never return to normal health. "I've had injuries before. They can always give you like, 'This will take you 4-6 weeks to recover,'" he said. "With this, it is was like, 'We don't know for how long it's going to take.' And that mental side may be harder than dealing with the sickness." "I had joint pain so bad that it hurt to walk. If I made it into the kitchen, I was tired and had to lay down and take a break," he said.  

Firefighters with the Corpus Christi fire department were able to put out a fire that broke out inside a home on the Island. First responders were called out to the 14200 block of Allamanda Drive around 7:20 p.m. Tuesday. Investigators said the fire started inside a trash can inside of a home and it traveled up a wall and into an attic. Firefighters said the homeowners came outside when the fire broke out and they started to put the fire out on their own. Investigators said they were unsuccessful but when firefighters arrived, they got control. There were no injuries to the homeowners. Corpus Christi Fire Department Battalion Chief Billy Belyeu, said, "It seemed like a routine fire, but these fires kinda get away from us when they get into an attic space which makes them a little more challenging, but the guys with a coordinated effort did a really good job."  

On March 2, Marcus Brown was promoted to Assistant Fire Chief for the Waxahachie Fire Department, after Randall Potter retired from the position in January. Brown has been with Waxahachie Fire-Rescue for 21 years and has held every rank in the department from firefighter to Fire Marshal. "In each position throughout the years, he has provided excellent service to the citizens and businesses of Waxahachie," said Chief Richard Boyd. "He exemplifies servant leadership. He has the respect of the members of the department and everyone he comes in contact with. We look forward to a bright future for Waxahachie Fire-Rescue under his leadership." Boyd shook the hand of Brown and the rest of the firefighters promoted that day.  

A possible explosion and fire destroyed a home in Sabine Pass Tuesday afternoon. City of Port Arthur firefighters responded to the house fire on Tremont Street near the Sabine Pass School at about 12:30 p.m., according to a firefighter on the scene. The home was "fully involved" in flames when firefighters arrived on the scene. The firefighter also told 12News the call initially was reported as an explosion. A neighbor also reported hearing an explosion and said the homeowner is on oxygen. It took crews about 30 minutes to get the fire under control. Crews remained on the scene for much of the afternoon putting out hot spots. Crews on the scene said no one was injured, but a house next door was damaged in the fire. The Red Cross was on the scene assisting those impacted by the fire.  

A fire at an unoccupied South Side home was put out by firefighters before it could spread early Wednesday morning, the San Antonio Fire Department said. The fire was called in around 4:20 a.m. at a home in the 9500 block of Espada Road, not far from Roosevelt Avenue and Loop 410. Fire officials said the unoccupied house somehow caught fire and threatened the trailer next door. Firefighters were able to put out the fire without incident. A woman who lives inside the trailer next door was able to get out safely and was not harmed, fire officials said. The cause of the fire is not currently known. A damage estimate was not given.  

VIDEO: An Ontario neighborhood rocked by a deadly, massive explosion involving fireworks remained evacuated Wednesday, with residents reeling from the series of blasts that shattered nearby windows and sent up a huge plume of smoke. Authorities - including the FBI and ATF - are investigating Tuesday afternoon's explosion of what were believed to be a cache of commercial-grade fireworks in Ontario. The incident occurred shortly after 12:30 p.m. Tuesday in the 400 block of West Francis Street. About 50 firefighters still worked to douse the flames three hours after the initial blast. Fire crews remained at the scene Wednesday morning. Videos posted to social media showed flames and a thick plume of smoke rising from the home, and then a long series of fireworks shooting up into the air, sending nearby pedestrians running for cover.  

VIDEO: For a lot of people, getting over COVID-19 is more than getting over just the initial illness. Recovery from long-lasting symptoms can take months and can require medical help, as a Mesquite Fire Department firefighter recently found out. Rob Williams said he had hoped the worst was over after being released from his COVID-19 stay at the hospital. Weeks, even months later, he suffered from fatigue, joint pain and anxiety that he would never return to normal health. "I've had injuries before. They can always give you like, 'This will take you 4-6 weeks to recover,'" he said. "With this, it is was like, 'We don't know for how long it's going to take.' And that mental side may be harder than dealing with the sickness." "I had joint pain so bad that it hurt to walk. If I made it into the kitchen, I was tired and had to lay down and take a break," he said.  

George Stephens has been the chief of the North Garden Volunteer Fire Company for 20 years, and a firefighter even longer. He joined the company as a young man after he watched firefighters struggling with inadequate tools and unreliable water resources try to salvage a house. "Despite their heroic efforts, the house burned to the ground. It was the home of the custodian at my elementary school," he said. "I realized I had just watched on the sidelines. That day I asked myself what I was doing to help and got involved." A lot has changed since he first volunteered. "Initially we only responded to fires, but over time we were responding to more car accidents," he said. "We decided to get medical certifications because we wanted to do more for our residents than just hold their hand and comfort them until the ambulance arrived." Yearly calls have more than doubled since the early 1990s, from 300 to more than 800 in a typical year.  

There will be no St. Patrick's Day parade in Cleveland for the second straight year because of the coronavirus pandemic, causing many to wonder where they'll find their holiday cheer. But don't worry, we have you covered. Our St. Patrick's Day gift to you is a live video performance by the popular Cleveland Firefighters Memorial Pipes and Drums band on Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. EDT. They will perform on the bagpipes in a live video that will be broadcast on Facebook by reporter Hannah Drown. The performance will start around 12:30 p.m. If you're not on Facebook, the video player will be added to this post once it begins. The Cleveland Firefighters Memorial Pipes and Drums is a fixture at the annual St. Patrick's Day parade in downtown Cleveland. They have won the award for Best Bagpipe Band at the Cleveland parade 11 times since 1992. Most of the band's pipers and drummers are members of fire departments throughout Northeast Ohio.  

March is Women's History Month and all month long Fox 40 is recognizing notable figures from the Southern Tier, like the woman who is remembered as the hero of Binghamton's deadliest fire. July 22nd, 1913 was a sweltering hot day in the City of Binghamton. On Wall Street, employees at the Binghamton Clothing Company were opening up windows to try and catch a breeze. "They made overalls. Had about 100 employees," says Roger Luther, the Broome County Historian, "Nellie Connor, at that point, had worked there for about 30 years." Nellie Connor was the forewoman on the fourth floor of the factory. "By all reports, she was loved by her employees," says Luther. The workers Connor supervised were mostly immigrants and mainly women. On that hot July afternoon, workers started to notice the building seemed to be getting even hotter. Sometime around 2:30pm, someone discovered a small fire that had started under the staircase.