More than a dozen families were displaced from an apartment complex in The Woodlands after a fire that officials said was sparked from a kitchen stove erupted. Investigators with the Montgomery County Fire Marshal's Office said the fire started around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday when a resident of the Green Tree Place apartments on Valley Wood Drive near Budde Road was preparing lunch, according to a report by the Montgomery County Police Reporter. The fire spread up the resident's wall and into the attic, moving toward nearby apartments, the report continues. While no one was injured in the blaze, but 14 families were displaced. County Judge Mark Keough and county office of emergency management and homeland security worked with Red Cross to assist the displaced families.  

Across the country, police and SWAT teams aren't always the initial first responders to arrive at a catastrophic event, like a mass shooting. In many cases, firefighters and EMS crews show up first. These men and women no longer wait on the outskirts of a crime scene. They run into these dangerous situations ahead of the others. Now, one local fire and EMS department is adding an extra layer of security to further protect themselves, and in turn, save more lives. "You train people and you teach people and communities have expectations. We can't perform those trainings or expectations without the proper equipment," said Garrick Herbert, Assistant Fire Chief for the City of Seguin. Rapid response training for mass shootings and other catastrophic events is evolving. "These incidents are not just happening in a large city," said Herbert.  

Design. Engineering. Technology. Manufacturing. These are a few of the departments you likely think of when you think of a car company. And when it comes to Toyota, you can add fire department to the list. The automaker recently shared a feature highlighting its Fire and Rescue Brigade. There's one at each of its manufacturing plants in North America. Toyota says they are fully staffed and operate like a local fire station. "We have a full-time fire brigade and are authorized to have 18 firefighters," says KB Hallmark, Assistant Chief of Fire and Rescue at Toyota Texas. "Our staff works a 48 hours on/96 hours off schedule - common with municipal fire departments in the area." He adds, "Our staff members are required to have professional certifications through the Texas Commission on Fire Protection and the Department of State Health Services and receive additional training specific to their duties."  

A faulty dryer caused a garage fire that displaced a family of four from their West Side home late Thursday night, the San Antonio Fire Department said. The fire was called in around 10:40 p.m. at a home in the 200 block of Oriole Lane, not far from West Woodlawn Avenue and St. Mary's University. Firefighters said when they arrived, they found the flames and got a quick knock down of the fire. No one was hurt. The fire was caused by a faulty dryer that was near the garage, fire officials said. The family of two adults and two children are now going to stay with relatives for the time being. There was minimal damage done to the home, authorities said.  

Firefighters in Brooks County are on high alert for potential grass fires after hundreds of thousands of acres burned in their area last year, causing some people in Falfurrias to lose their homes. Falfurrias Fire Chief Rubén Ramírez said his department is doing all he can to prevent a massive fire from breaking out again. "Right now, it's a big concern," Ramirez said. "Every year we're getting more and more acres burned, more money spent, more resources needed. So it's definitely a big concern this year." Earlier this week, Brooks County firefighters had to battle two different blazes.  

Four people were hospitalized after an SUV crashed into a restaurant Thursday evening in Far North Dallas, firefighters say. A Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman said crews were called to reports of a major accident involving an SUV that had driven into a restaurant located in the 18200 block of Preston Road. Multiple customers inside the restaurant, Speranza Ristorante Italiano, were treated for minor injuries, DFR said, while a total of four people were hospitalized. Details on the severity of their injuries were not immediately known. The restaurant was open for business at the time of the crash, DFR said. Video taken at the scene from Telemundo 39 showed damage to the exterior wall of the building and debris inside the restaurant. A woman was seen being handcuffed and placed into a police cruiser.  

One person was taken into custody Thursday evening in connection with a massive structure fire inside a two-story apartment building in Westlake. Calls about the fire came in around 5:15 p.m. at a building located on the 2800 block of 7th Street, according to a news release from the Los Angeles Fire Department. Prior to the fire breaking out inside the complex, an LAFD engine was already on scene to support an LAPD operation. The call was upgraded to a structure fire response after one of the firefighters saw smoke coming from a window. Heavy flames were showing in both the second floor and attic, and additional resources were requested. In total, more than 100 firefighters responded to the scene, the Fire Department said. The building was fully evacuated and firefighters worked their way through the building to ensure that no people were trapped inside.  

VIDEO: Vincent Dransfield lives life on his own terms, and that's not something many 108-year-olds can say. He leased a car two years ago and is still driving — in more ways than one. "I'm still driving everybody crazy," Dransfield joked. When asked what type of car he drives, he responded by saying "four wheels." He's still sharp and quick-witted. "I like to have a sense of humor," Dransfield said. "It's good. It gets you somewhere. If you're nasty and angry, you ain't going nowhere." Dransfield is also the oldest firefighter at the Little Falls Volunteer Fire Department. Not as active as he once was, he's still on the roster at Singac Engine Company No. 3. "I said, ‘When I grow up, I'm going to become a fireman,' so I became a fireman," he said. His contributions and pictures from the last 84 years with the department are plastered on the firehouse walls.  

Design. Engineering. Technology. Manufacturing. These are a few of the departments you likely think of when you think of a car company. And when it comes to Toyota, you can add fire department to the list. The automaker recently shared a feature highlighting its Fire and Rescue Brigade. There's one at each of its manufacturing plants in North America. Toyota says they are fully staffed and operate like a local fire station. "We have a full-time fire brigade and are authorized to have 18 firefighters," says KB Hallmark, Assistant Chief of Fire and Rescue at Toyota Texas. "Our staff works a 48 hours on/96 hours off schedule - common with municipal fire departments in the area." He adds, "Our staff members are required to have professional certifications through the Texas Commission on Fire Protection and the Department of State Health Services and receive additional training specific to their duties."  

VIDEO: The alarm sounds and Roy Lewis grabs his gear and darts to the truck. He feels a rush of adrenaline as he climbs into the driver's seat, starts the engine and turns on the siren. Lewis is a Phoenix firefighter who's living his dream of helping the community. "I always vowed if I ever had an opportunity to give back, I would," he said. Lewis has been fighting Phoenix's fires for almost ten years. He's an engineer with Station 18 who is constantly responding to calls and helping save lives. He always knew this was a job he wanted, but sometimes life throws a curve ball. "Football has afforded me so many opportunities, and I'm very thankful and very humble," he said. "This job reminds me how fortunate I am." In 2008, Lewis joined the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was a cornerback and played with everything he had.  

When Thayer Smith, a firefighter in Austin, Texas, received the call that a Tesla was on fire, he knew that he'd need to bring backup. It was in the early morning hours of August 12, 2021, and a driver had slammed a Model X into a traffic light on a quiet residential street in Austin before crashing into a gas pump at a nearby Shell station. The driver, a teenager who was later arrested for driving while intoxicated, managed to escape the car, but the Tesla burst into flames. As emergency responders battled the fire in the dark of night, bursts of sparks shot out of the totaled car, sending plumes of smoke up into the sky. It took tens of thousands of gallons of water, multiple fire engines, and more than 45 minutes to finally extinguish the blaze. "People have probably seen vehicles burning on the side of the road at one point or another," Smith, the division chief at the Austin Fire Department, recalled.