An investigation is underway after a person was found dead following a house fire in Colmesneil on Wednesday afternoon. The burned body was found inside the home after the fire was 'suppressed' on FM 256 east according to Tyler County Sheriff's Office. The home is located about 4 miles from U.S. 190 east. Officials got the 911 call around 2:45 p.m. and multiple fire agencies went to the scene. Inside the home, investigators found multiple box fans and heaters. Right now, officials don't suspect foul play. Tyler County deputies, investigators and the Texas Fire Marshal's office are investigating the cause of the fire. Investigators believe they know who lived inside the home. A name will not be released until it is confirmed, and the family is notified.  

Austin firefighters will likely begin to respond to medical and fire calls in Williamson County — and vice versa — in a year or two, according to a deal approved by Austin City Council on Thursday. The vote came after intense resistance from the Austin firefighters union, which for months has been urging the council to delay voting on the agreement until they could get Williamson County firefighters to agree to follow their protocols at fire scenes. Union President Bob Nicks said he is happier with the final version of the deal but he is still wary. The agreement the council approved still allows Williamson County departments to follow different procedures but it makes a commitment to eventually move toward one set of rules. "The Austin Fire Department is the largest urban department that hasn't had a line-of-duty death in the past four years," Nicks told the American-Statesman on Wednesday.  

The firefighters union does not want a panel of arbitrators to require that health care benefits for its membership be managed by a union-operated entity, a spokesperson said Thursday. Carving out firefighter health care from the City of San Antonio's control into a separate trust was a proposal floated by the union during contract negotiations earlier this year. Such a trust would set its own benefits and premiums for members. The City balked then and this week at the idea. But the most recent union proposal – currently being vetted by three arbitrators who will decide the final terms of the union's labor contract with the City – merely calls for an exploratory committee or working group to be established to discuss the possibility of a such a trust in the future, said Richard Poulson, an attorney representing the union.  

In the aftermath of several public sexual harassment cases, Austin EMS and the police and fire departments are updating their sexual harassment policies to create consistency across city emergency services. The action comes in the wake of Austin Fire Department Lt. James Baker's guilty plea to hiding a camera and filming firefighter Kelly Gall in the fire station restroom. The incident culminated with Travis County District Attorney Margaret Moore offering Baker a plea deal that consisted of five years' probation and the loss of his EMT and firefighting licenses. Austin Fire Captain Christine Jones came to the Dec. 2 meeting of the Public Safety Commission to share a similar story about the harassment, gender-specific insults and slurs she was subjected to by Captain Roger Scarcliff while on the job. As a result of her complaint, Austin Fire Chief Joel Baker suspended Scarcliff for just one day.  

Abilene Fire Department Chief Cande Flores said in a statement Wednesday that firefighter Jessy Horton resigned voluntarily Monday. The Abilene Professional Firefighter's Association on Nov. 27 contacted Abilene police about irregularities with the association's accounts, said police spokesman Rick Tomlin. The police are conducting a theft investigation for an undisclosed amount, he said. Horton, who served with the AFD for 15 years, is listed as the organization's treasurer. Horton did not provide a formal reason for his resignation, Flores said. "This investigation was initiated by the APFA and does not involve the Abilene Fire Department or the city of Abilene," Flores said. "We have always supported the APFA and regret that they have been placed in this situation."  

VIDEO: Amarillo Fire Department is temporarily moving it's Fire Station 5 crew to South Western Street during construction of a new fire station. AFD said the crew is relocating to the old Fire Station 9, located at 3445 S. Western St. because Firehouse 5 is being built at the current site of Fire Station 5. Firehouse 5 is one of three fire stations that is currently funded by Proposition 2, which consists of $20 million to upgrade and repair facilities at AFD, Amarillo Police Department, Animal Management & Welfare and the Office of Emergency management. Firehouse 5 will resemble these two new firehouses and will include an extra ladder truck and crew, which will make it a two-company station. The firehouse will also feature a modern design and other features that will better accommodate firefighters.  

Two hundred fire fighters have now reportedly died from illnesses related to the September 11th attacks, according to a charitable organization that assists 9/11 first responders with medical needs not covered by insurance. The Ray Pfeifer Foundation confirmed on Twitter Wednesday that two more New York City fire fighters have died due to "9/11 illness," marking the 199th, and 200th FDNY deaths related to the World Trade Center attacks. Retired FDNY captain Dennis Gilhooly of Engine Company 67, and retired firefighter Brian Casse of Engine Company 294, both died, the foundation said. The Ray Pfeifer foundation was established in memory of a FDNY firefighter who died on May 28, 2017 from cancer related to 9/11, according to the foundation.  

After voters rejected a city charter amendment Nov. 5 that would have allowed 2 additional mills for public safety, the council is considering options as funds in the annual public safety budget are exhausted halfway into the second quarter of the fiscal year. The rising number of medical runs the Davison-Richfield Fire Department is being dispatched for is considered to blame for the city's public safety budget being $80,000 in the red last year. Medical runs have now burned up the entire 2019-2020 budget which only went into effect in July. While the Genesee County 9-1-1 is asking Davison and other municipalities being hit hard by the rising number of medical runs to wait for new dispatching practices to show results – expected before the end of December – the city council is considering options, including ending fire department medical runs.  

Belgrade residents will face the question of whether they want to create their own fire department in the spring. City officials say it'll be costly -- roughly $3.3 million -- so they have another option on the table. If residents vote to create their own department, taxes will have to be raised, but if they vote to annex themselves to the Central Valley Fire District, city officials say there won't be much of a fiscal change. While they're both separate agencies, they've worked together for the last 70 years. That could change as Belgrade keeps growing. Belgrade has yet to hit the 10,000 population mark, but once it does, state law would require it to have its own operating fire department. That's why city officials want to get the ball rolling on the annexation.  

A recently released CalFire report reveals how one fire captain narrowly escaped death and banded together with two civilians to save themselves by using a fire shelter — a last resort meant to protect from a blaze burning all around — during the Kincade Fire in Sonoma County. Around 3:45 p.m. on Oct. 25, the report said, a captain assigned as a division supervisor during the Kincade Fire was near Pine Flat Road near Geyserville, where he had gone to check on firefighters after hearing reports that some were not wearing protective wildland gear. The Kincade Fire, which eventually burned more than 77,000 acres, had already been burning for nearly two days. Before the incident, there had been a "significant" wind shift from the west to the north, according to CalFire.  

In the aftermath of several public sexual harassment cases, Austin EMS and the police and fire departments are updating their sexual harassment policies to create consistency across city emergency services. The action comes in the wake of Austin Fire Department Lt. James Baker's guilty plea to hiding a camera and filming firefighter Kelly Gall in the fire station restroom. The incident culminated with Travis County District Attorney Margaret Moore offering Baker a plea deal that consisted of five years' probation and the loss of his EMT and firefighting licenses. Austin Fire Captain Christine Jones came to the Dec. 2 meeting of the Public Safety Commission to share a similar story about the harassment, gender-specific insults and slurs she was subjected to by Captain Roger Scarcliff while on the job.