It's been one week since Greg Garza was killed in the line of duty. Last Tuesday, Garza was hit by a car after he stumbled off his fire truck. Hundreds of his brothers and sisters with the San Antonio Fire Department marched through the streets of San Antonio Tuesday to honor his life. The walk was just for them, but people in the community lined the path to show their support. Leticia Barrera cried as row after row of firefighters passed her by. "My grandson is a firefighter, too," Barrera said. "I will bless them, to keep them safe every minute of their life." Crystal Gallegos came with her family. They made signs that read 'you'll never walk alone.' "I just felt like we needed to be here for them," she said. Gallegos said her 5-year-old son wants to be a firefighter. She takes him to Station 1 to see his heroes. Garza was one of them.  

The fire prevention team with the North Richland Hills Fire Department regularly visits libraries, civic centers and schools, teaching young students how to keep themselves safe. A recent visit to Snow Heights Elementary brought the usual oohs and aahs, giggles and questions. While the experienced first-responders knew all the answers they had to do some quick thinking to help one little girl get the most from the experience. The girl, dressed in multi-colored tights with big bow in her hair, wanted to know more about the fire trucks — but this miniature inquisitor is blind. The NRH fire team immediately took the girl on a guided tour of the fire engine, allowing her to make direct contact. In a Facebook post the fire department said, "We took her on a tour of the truck, through touch. It was amazing to see her face light up as she got to experience this! We love our job!"  

Cancer is increasingly recognized as one of the most dangerous threats to firefighters. Studies have shown that firefighters are at increased risk for many types of cancer compared with the general population. The toxins and carcinogens firefighters are exposed to on the scene and through residual effects of firefighting are better understood now than ever before. At least a dozen cancer types can be linked to the fire service. "Firefighters are contracting cancer at an alarming rate, and we need to take action to protect our first responders," said Fire Chief Jim Davis. "Fortunately, there are specific things we can do to lessen our risks and prevent exposure." In the Fort Worth Fire Department (FWFD) alone, $700,000 in health care claims for employees with a cancer diagnosis were made in 2019.  

Just like any other career, firefighters have to go through training. What exactly that training consists of may surprise some people. Two minutes. That's how much time firefighters have to put on all of their gear. Gear that costs upwards of $2,300. "During training, you also learn how to train to put your gear on really quickly because when you're working you can't just take willy-nilly to put your gear on," said Haley Jeffcoat a career firefighter and paramedic and an instructor at the Henderson County Fire Chiefs School. "It's an emergency, so you have to leave quickly." You then go through the "smoke house" practicing constant contact and communication with your fellow firefighters. "There is a buddy system; you always hear two in and two out, so when you go in you have to go with somebody," said Jeffcoat.  

VIDEO: A massive fire destroyed two mobile homes early Tuesday morning and one resident hasn't been found, the St. Hedwig Fire Department said. The incident took place around 3:15 a.m. in the 6600 block of Dan Road on the far southeast side near Calaveras Lake. Authorities said firefighters got everyone they could find out safely, but one person who lives there said there's one person in the area who hasn't been found. Fire crews said the damage totals around $100,000 and the cause of the fire was not reported.  

A new state law increases benefits for family members of first responders killed on the job. The legislation, signed into law Tuesday by Gov. Cuomo, increases the cost of living benefits by 3% for spouses of fallen police and firefighters. "Police and firefighters who lose their lives in the line of duty are mothers, fathers, husbands and wives – and the family members they leave behind must be properly cared for," Cuomo said. "With this measure, we continue to honor these brave first responders and better help ensure their families get the support and the benefits they deserve." The law also increases the cost of living benefits by the same amount for children under the age of 18, or 23 if they're a student.  

Newport Fire Chief William Darin says the department made nearly 5,000 runs in 2018; that includes fire and medical responses. Darin says less than 1 percent of those are for big structural fires. Newport Fire Union President Jake Silvati says the department is understaffed. "We feel that it's not a matter of if something bad happens, it's a matter of when something that happens and we're very concerned about that or concerned about the safety of the citizens and the firefighters," Silvati said. Silvati is pushing the city to staff 12 firefighters instead of the 11 it has been running. He says that's enough to fully staff two fire trucks and two ambulances. City Manager Tom Fromme says Newport does not have the money for another firefighter and the budget is too tight already.  

When a medical call came in on June 24, 2015, to assist an intoxicated man at a trolley station, San Diego firefighter Ben Vernon thought it would be a routine situation. He had been on this type of call several times in the past, so he was not too worried. Arriving on the scene, however, tensions started to rise between a bystander and several security guards, and a fight broke out. Within minutes Vernon's entire life changed — and flashed before his eyes. "I was not in fight mode, and that I will forever regret. My thought was I need to save the security guard," Vernon explained to a room full of more than 300 local firefighters, law enforcement officials, emergency medical technicians and other first responders. "I jump over the railing and as (the bystander) hauls back to punch him, I capture his arm, block it, get my body between them and push him back."  

An Atlanta firefighter who lost his leg after getting struck by a vehicle while responding to a call on I-85 said he wouldn't be here today if it weren't for the quick-thinking actions of his colleagues. Sgt. Darrow Harden was hit by a car in May while responding to a wreck near Cleveland Avenue in the interstate's northbound lanes. "It was Mother's Day morning," Harden said Friday in an interview with Channel 2 Action News. "I got up, went to work. I think the call came in about 7:20 or 7:30, so that was the first call of the day. "The 47-year-old had just stepped off his firetruck to help a motorist who flipped over when the driver of a 2009 Pontiac G5 lost control, striking Harden and the firetruck. "I remember waking up on scene screaming and not being able to move my legs," he said.  

An East Tennessee landmark is now completely gone after a fire late Tuesday night. Cumberland County Fire Rescue responded to a fire at Minister's Treehouse in Crossville around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday. We're told the entire building burned to the ground in about 15 minutes. No injuries have been reported. There has been no indication of what caused the fire. The ten-story building stands over 90 feet tall and took over a decade to complete. Landscaper Horace Burgess bought the land outside Crossville in the early 90s. Burgess became ordained as a minister and began working on the project after he said God told him to build him a treehouse.