Officials are investigating after two Houston firefighters have suffered heart attacks in the last week. On Thursday, a 46-year-old Houston firefighter collapsed at the fire station and went into cardiac arrest. Fellow firefighters were able to bring back his pulse. According to Marty Lancton, President of the Houston Professional Firefighters Association, the 46-year-old is now in stable condition at a local hospital intensive care unit. "Thank you, Houston for all the outpouring of support, prayers, and messages," said Lancton. Last week, 24-year-old HFD firefighter Malcom Willis died suddenly at his home following a heart attack. Willis served with HFD for 19 months. An autopsy report for the 24-year-old hasn't been released.  

The hot, dry weather made it a tough day for Port Arthur firefighters. They spent more than two and a half hours battling a grassfire burning along Highway 87 near the Intracoastal bridge. Some call it South Gulfway Drive. Firefighters responded to the fire around 10:20 a.m. Thursday. Officials said the fire started close to the bridge and extended for more than two acres because of dry vegetation and wind. The exact amount of acreage affected is still under investigation. One firefighter was injured after suffering from a burn during the fire. Hot embers got between the firefighter's glove and coat and burned his wrist, according to Port Arthur Fire Chief Greg Benson. He said it can be hard to control these wildfires depending on weather conditions. In the last few weeks, Benson said the fire department received reports about smaller fires in the area.  

Dry conditions are continuing to produce flames across the Big Country, but it's the quick response from local fire departments that's saved so many lives and homes. Just south of Kirby Lake on FM 707, response times can take a little longer, leading to a potential new fire station to create shorter waits for those impacted. For Michelle Kessler, her Saddle Lakes backyard was once teeming with lush green grass, vibrant hedges and 20-foot tall pine trees. It was a peaceful sight, reminding her of home back in North Carolina. "We never dreamed it would happen in our own backyard," Kessler said. That lush greenery and safe home feel changed Monday, July 18 when a fire burned the property just behind her.  

Perryton Fire Department said a four-year-old child was found dead after a house fire yesterday in Perryton. PFD Chief Paul Dutcher said about 9:53 a.m., firefighters were called out to a fire at a home at 802 S. Drake, according to the High Plains Observer. The fire was in the southwest bedroom and was mostly contained in the room. As firefighters were putting out the fire, they noticed a four-year-old girl in the bed who had passed away. Dutcher as they were investigating the fire, the homeowner told them that there should have been a man in the home. Firefighters found a 39-year-old man in a crawl space under the house. While he did not appear to have any injuries, he was taken to Ochiltree General Hospital and transferred to Lubbock to be treated for smoke inhalation.  

According to the Texas A&M Forest Service, the West Bend Fire is stable as of Wednesday afternoon. Wednesday afternoon, the fire was confirmed to be 100% contained after burning about 6,522 acres. However, parts of the fire sparked back up because the fire has been dropped down to 98% contained. One couple in the area rushed home from an out-of-state trip to check on their home. "You'd just have to imagine, it scared me to death, and we were a far way from home, so I said we have got to get back home," Gloria Bagley, a resident in the way of the fire, said. "We may not even have a house when we get back." When the fire started Monday, July 18, they began to recieve phone calls, but they had no idea how close it was to the house until they returned the following morning.  

VIDEO: The Austin Fire Department and Austin-Travis County EMS spent Thursday working on swift-water rescues. While training is important for first responders, the person calling in the emergency can play a part as well. "One of the first questions out of our communication medic's mouths is ‘what is the address of your emergency,'" said Captain Darren Noack with ATCEMS. Knowing where you are is important, and even identifying a landmark can help. "If you are in an area like the greenbelt or the lakes that we have all around where there isn't a landmark, you can't look up and say, ‘I am next to the Rudy's' or ‘I am a block away from this intersection,'" said Noak. Noak said his department uses an app that can help identify a location for first responders, even if the caller can't identify where they are. It is called What3Words.  

VIDEOS/PHOTOS: A packed Orange Line train transporting commuters on a bridge that runs over the Mystic River in Somerville caught fire on Thursday morning, sending hundreds of people scrambling for safety. Video shared with Boston 25 News showed flames shooting from a train car and thick smoke billowing into the air. An MBTA spokesman said the train was approaching Assembly Station when it caught fire around 6:45 a.m. About 200 people were forced to evacuate the train, including a woman who jumped into the river and others who climbed through smashed windows. The woman who jumped off the train bridge swam to shore and declined medical attention, according to the MBTA. There were no other injuries reported.  

VIDEO/PHOTOS: Brad Hillegass had operated a crane plenty of times but never with the lives of nine men in the balance. That changed July 24, 2002, when nine miners were trapped 240 feet underground at the Quecreek Mine in Somerset County and his job was to safely lift them to freedom one-by-one in a slim, yellow, metal capsule through a precariously narrow shaft dug by rescuers. Hillegass' challenges were many, not least of which was that the rescue capsule, which had never been used before, might get hung up on the shaft. There also were concerns that hoisting the miners too quickly might result in decompression sickness. With all that on the line, Hillegass practiced — over and over again — with the rescue capsule until the call came that the hole to the miners was completed and rescuers had spoken with the trapped men. It was time.  

VIDEO: Staffing shortages are being felt in every office across the country. Many companies have come up with new and creative ways to get people in the door. The Wilson County Emergency Management Agency is one of them. "We're basically starting over again, with a new curriculum. A lot of our administration a lot of our in house instructors have worked very diligently to set this up. And we're looking very forward to seeing how this goes," said Colton Young a firefighter and EMT for Wilson County and also the vice president for the Wilson County Firefighters Association. He says there are about 32 openings for the position. In Wilson County, it's a hybrid position where personnel serve as both firefighters and EMTs. The Department of Emergency Management Agency needs to fill these spots and decided to allow uncertified applicants to apply.  

California Society of Dermatology and Dermatologic Surgery (CalDerm), the leading voice for Dermatologists, announced the launch of the Firefighter Skin Cancer Prevention Screening Program in California in partnership with the Firefighters Cancer Support Network. CalDerm, alongside our partners at the Firefighter Cancer Support Network, is pleased to utilize the framework built by their professional colleagues in Boston and offer their expertise in skin cancer prevention and screenings to firefighters on the firelines in California. Recent studies have demonstrated that firefighters are 9% more likely to be diagnosed with cancer and 14% more likely to die of cancer compared with age-matched cohorts. "Fire seasons in California, especially Northern California, are longer each year, requiring that firefighters have lengthened exposure to the most hazardous carcinogens that cause Melanoma," said Dr. Ann Haas, Board Member, CalDerm.  

VIDEO: When you call 911, you expect an ambulance within minutes. But Thursday, emergency services providers offered a bleak prognosis to state lawmakers. "You can sum it up in two words," said Bruce Baxter, president of the Connecticut EMS Chiefs Association. "It's a financial concern and a workforce concern." EMS providers, lobbyists for cities and towns, and hospital groups all weighed in before the General Assembly's Public Health Committee. All agreed the situation is nearing a breaking point, especially in rural areas. The problem? Not enough money and not enough workers. "Some towns saw a drop of half of their voluntary EMTs during this time – up to a third in some other towns," said Betsy Gara, president of the Connecticut Council of Small Towns.