Area firefighters had to fight flames at a recycling plant on the city's East Side early Wednesday morning, the San Antonio Fire Department said. The fire was called in just after midnight at the Republic Services plant in the 1900 block of Hormel Drive, not far Interstate 35 and Binz-Engleman Road. Firefighters said they arrived to find flames inside the building. They had trouble finding the source of the fire, because inside there was a 25 foot pile of cardboard and other recyclable materials. Crews used a "front loader" to move the materials around in an effort to find the source, fire officials said. The SAFD said the building does have a fire suppression system to help with flames, but firefighters still had to work for hours. Employees at the plant have since returned and resumed normal operations.  

A Dallas firefighter was injured while helping a woman off a balcony during an apartment fire in Lake Highlands on Tuesday morning, officials and sources told WFAA. The firefighter was in stable condition Tuesday and expected to be released later in the day. The fire happened at an apartment at 11151 East Lake Highlands Drive, near Northwest Highway. The firefighter was on a ladder and trying to help a woman off a balcony when a flash fire ignited and blew back the woman and the firefighter, apartment residents and sources told WFAA. The firefighter struck a fence and suffered a cut. Other firefighters were able to stop the bleeding and he was taken to Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, sources said. The woman was expected to be OK.  

San Angelo Police Department officers and San Angelo Fire Department personnel responded to a structure fire at approximately 5:35 a.m. Tuesday at the Bella Vista Apartments, 4125 Ben Ficklin Road. When officers and fire personnel got to the scene, they learned Jimmy Keith, 62, had received minor burns after lighting a fire in his apartment. He was transported to Shannon Medical Center downtown for treatment for the burns. Keith was under detention at the hospital for arson and under the supervision of a San Angelo Police officer. While receiving treatment, Keith ran from the facility and made it outside to the north side of the emergency room. The officer stopped him and tried to take him into custody, but was hit multiple times in the face by Keith.  

The pandemic has put many ceremonies on hold, and the Corsicana Fire Department activities are no exception. Each day, a myriad of calls come in, ranging from the mundane to the extraordinary. Many of these calls have been pandemic related over the last few years. However, Corsicana Fire Rescue was able to honor its' difference makers from 2020 this past weekend with a small and intimate affair. "Due to the pandemic, we only had the event for our staff and family," Fire Chief Henley stated. "The new station provided the perfect venue." Many successes were highlighted and awards for exemplary service were issued. The following are the nominees and award winners. James Reed took home Firefighter of the Year for 2020. The other two nominees were FF Page and FF Cookston.  

Groesbeck and Teague volunteer fire department members used a ladder truck to rescue a man trapped when a lift truck malfunctioned, trapping him up in the air. Groesbeck Volunteer Fire Department assistant chief Catlin Samuels said they got the call to a location on Frost Street in Groesbeck about 8:00 p.m. Monday. The man had been in the bucket of the truck extended up to allow cutting some trees when the mechanism malfunctioned and would not allow him to come down. Groesbeck did not have a truck that could reach him, so they called Teague volunteers who brought their truck to the scene and brought the man down. The rescue was carried out without incident and the man was not injured.  

Irving firefighters responded to an ammonia leak at 211 Cowboys Pkwy on Tuesday afternoon around 4:00 p.m. By 4:40 p.m. the Irving Fire Department said, "The building has now been cleared for reentry. The incident has been brought to a close." Approximately 100 people had been evacuated from the building. One person was checked by paramedics but was not taken to a hospital, the fire department said. No injuries to civilians or first responders have been reported.  

PHOTOS/VIDEOS: Two firefighters were injured Tuesday afternoon while fighting a 3-alarm fire that burned through a building in Southeast Portland. Crews were called out at about noon Tuesday on reports of black smoke coming from a building near the intersection of Southeast 13th Avenue and Hawthorne Boulevard. Flames quickly broke through windows and the building's roof, and fire officials called out a second and third alarm to bring in more resources. A smoke explosion injured two firefighters who were battling flames from outside the building. The blast blew out the windows of a business, Portland Fire spokesperson Rob Garrison said. Both firefighters are expected to be released from the hospital later Tuesday. Garrison added that there were no other confirmed injuries from the fire.  

A New Jersey woman who police said drove her jeep through an emergency area on I-76 in Montgomery County over the summer and struck and killed a firefighter while injuring three other first responders is now charged with third-degree murder. Her initial DUI charge was dropped. Jacqueline Walker, 63, of Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey, is charged with third-degree murder, homicide by vehicle, aggravated assault by vehicle, recklessly endangering another person, reckless driving and other related offenses. The crash occurred on July 24 at 3:23 a.m. on I-76 westbound at mile marker 335 between the Gladwyne exit and PA 23 (Conshohocken exit). Pennsylvania State Police and Belmont Hills Fire Company had been called to the area earlier that morning at 3:06 a.m. for another crash involving a Chevrolet Malibu and a Nissan Altima.  

VIDEO: A fire station in the Oakland hills would seem to be an unlikely spot for a confrontation over guns, let alone one in which firefighters were threatened. "It's unfortunate when violence or threats come home to us in the firehouse," said Zac Unger, president of the International Association of Firefighters Local 55. It all began Thursday afternoon when a firefighter, who was driving his personal truck, saw two men dumping something in a spot off Skyline Boulevard near Grass Valley Road. The men spotted the firefighter, got into a car, and started chasing him. They tailgated the man's vehicle and pulled alongside him. The firefighter slammed on his brakes, and the car drove off. He went back to the dumpsite and found a backpack with two loaded guns inside. Both were 9mm semiautomatic Glock handguns with extended magazines. The firefighter took the guns back to the fire station. But the same men from before pulled up to the station and began threatening him and other firefighters.  

PHOTO/VIDEOS: Jerald Allison wanted one more ride in a fire engine. The retired Muskogee fire department captain was overheard by residents and workers at Azalea Gardens Memory Care say that he wanted to take one more ride. One of the workers who heard him was Hope Hardesty, who also serves with the Okay Fire Department. She contacted her fellow firefighters to try to work it out. "Jerald talks non-stop to his wife about being on the fire department," Hardesty said. "I'm part of Okay Fire and we had our monthly meeting Tuesday. I asked the guys and they showed up — it was no problem. "It makes me proud that all these guys showed up to honor someone that for 26 years did what we do." Once the Okay firefighters were on board, Payden Metzger of Okay thought about contacting Muskogee to see if they were willing to help. He said there was no hesitation.  

When Orange County Fire rescue veteran Erik Siena lost his five-month battle with brain cancer this past May, his wife Christy filed for the line-of-duty death benefit provided under Florida Senate Bill 426. Christy, who served as a paramedic with the department for 16 years, never received out-of-pocket medical expenses, the $7,500 designated for funeral expenses or the $75,000 death benefit promised under the existing law. The county twice denied claims for line-of-duty death, finding that the brain cancer was a "personal medical condition," not a result of his job. "It's not fair," she told News 6. "He always worried about exposure to one warehouse chemical fire." The 46-year-old firefighter was convinced exposure to hazardous chemicals at an Orlando warehouse chemical fire his unit responded to in April 2006 exposed his team to carcinogens that would eventually catch up to them.