San Antonio fire investigators are working to determine the cause of a fire at a North Side apartment complex early Friday morning. The fire was called in around 1:45 a.m. at the Escondido Village Apartments in the 7200 block of Blanco Road, not far from Loop 410 and Lockhill Selma Road. Firefighters said when they arrived, the fire had already made its way from a laundry room up to a storage unit of the building. The fire was quickly knocked down. At least one resident of an upstairs apartment unit was displaced. One person was also evaluated on scene by EMS for smoke inhalation, but was not hospitalized. According to the San Antonio Fire Department website, as many as 30 units were called to the fire. The investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing.  

The funeral services for Harker Heights Firefighter and EMT Cole Hagen Simmons will be held on Monday, Dec. 6. The 23-year-old first responder died in a motor vehicle accident on Tuesday following his shift with the Harker Heights Fire Department. "He enjoyed going to concerts with his friends, golfing, fishing, playing Frisbee golf, and was an avid fan of the Texas A&M Aggies," reads Simmons' obituary. "He never met a stranger, had a good sense of humor, was always smiling, and enjoyed hanging out with his friends." City mayor Spencer H. Smith ordered the City of Harker Heights Flag to be held at half-staff through Monday evening in honor of the firefighter. The City of Harker Heights announced that the service will be held at 11 a.m. in the St. Mary's Catholic Church of the Assumption located at 303 South Harrison Street in West.  

Nearly three months after Mayor Sylvester Turner signed an executive order requiring Houston's 21,000 city employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine, receive a medical or religious exemption, or submit COVID-19 test results every two weeks, compliance with the order varies widely among departments. Just over 60% of Houston firefighters had either been vaccinated, submitted test results or received an exemption as of Nov. 15 — the lowest rate of any city department. That's according to city data released to Houston Public Media, which also revealed Houston police, waste management and health staff at the bottom of the list of those who have complied with Turner's order. Just 74% of police officers were in compliance with the mandate, along with 74% of Solid Waste Management employees and 74% of Health and Human Services employees.  

Back-to-back house fires killed three people in Hardin County just this week. The latest fire in Lumberton claimed the life of 74-year-old Robert Lind on Wednesday. On Monday, it was a couple in Silsbee. Safety is on the mind of many as we head into winter. Lumberton Fire Chief Jeff McNeel said house fires usually spike during the winter months, but there are some things you can do to keep your loved ones safe. "We're going into the Christmas season where you would hope everybody would be happy and enjoying family. This is a hard, hard thing to go through," McNeel said. Investigators are still searching for a cause of the fire that killed the 74-year-old man, and they are also trying to determine the cause of a fatal fire that killed a married couple in Silsbee Tuesday.  

VIDEO: Dec. 2, 2021 marked the fifth anniversary of an Oakland tragedy. In 2016, a late night fire broke out at a warehouse. It happened during a dance party and killed 36 people. The master tenant, Derick Almena, was sentenced earlier this year to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter. Prosecutors say Almena was criminally negligent when he illegally converted the industrial Oakland warehouse into a residence and event space for artists dubbed the "Ghost Ship," stuffing the two-story building with flammable materials and extension cords, without smoke detectors or sprinklers. Victims were trapped on an illegally constructed second floor with just a narrow staircase for the escape route. Almena was the master tenant, but the warehouse was owned by the Ng family, who were never criminally charged.  

A new partnership between the American Cancer Society and the International Association of Fire Fighters will work to improve policies and treatment for firefighters with cancer. The IAFF, or firefighter's union, describes the new partnership as pivotal in their battle with cancer. The collaboration was announced Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021 in New York City but will impact union firefighters nationwide and across North Carolina. Together the two agencies hope to create more research opportunities and culture changes, while working to limit a firefighter's exposures to toxins. It will also provide patient support for instance, rides to treatment or housing if treatment takes a firefighter out of state. It comes as more and more fire departments feel the impact of cancer cases.  

It's a tool that can be the difference between life and death on the scene of a fire. The Kansas City, Missouri, Fire Department is now making sure every crew has a special kit that can treat patients for smoke inhalation. A house fire on Saturday could have been a tragedy, but firefighters say the victim inside was saved by a tool they recently started carrying. "It's one of the few treatments that we carry that we can actually see an immediate reaction, almost like if you gave Narcan to an overdose patient," KCFD Division Chief Michael Latta said. It's called a Cyanokit and it removes cyanide from the blood after smoke inhalation. "Now, what we've learned is almost every material that's synthetic, if it's in your house and it burns, it produces cyanide," Latta said. He said that means anyone in a burning building is likely breathing that toxic cyanide in.  

Actress and talk show host Drew Barrymore welcomed the Long Beach Fire Department to the "Drew Barrymore Show" last month. Barrymore recognized the entire department, highlighting firefighter Catherine Lewis. Lewis, who is known as Cat to her fellow firefighters, was sworn in as the first paid female firefighter in the department's 111-year history in March, which Barrymore noted. "It was a really cool experience," Lewis said of appearing on the show. "It was really nice to have all of us recognized, not just myself." The segment also featured other Long Beach firefighters speaking about Lewis. Sam Pinto, who is also a paramedic and school board trustee, said that having Lewis in the department makes it more like a family, and that she helps move the department forward.  

VIDEO: A long-awaited addition to the Hermon Fire Department has finally arrived. A new training prop is helping firefighters be better prepared to enter burning buildings. "We've been getting pictures of this as it's been built over the months, so it's kind of like a baby. We've been waiting for it to arrive," said Hermon Fire Chief Frank Roma. After placing an order in June, the Hermon Fire Department finally received its custom made training prop this week. "It's a cutaway mockup of the construction types and features that you'll find in residential homes that are either made with a construction type that's called balloon frame, or platform frame," Roma said. "Simply put, any building that's on fire is a building that's under destruction. The construction elements and parts of that building that are being exposed to fire are becoming weak and potentially, over time, they'll fail and collapse. This allows us to have a better idea of what we're working with."