VIDEO: More than a dozen families have been displaced after a fire tore through their apartment building in northwest Harris County during the strong storms that passed through on Thursday evening. Firefighters from Klein and Ponderosa responded just after 6 p.m. to the London Park Apartments in the 145000 block of Bammel North Houston near Walters Road. Video shared with ABC13 showed intense flames taking over multiple apartments. The fire started at the height of the storm, resident Emma Johnson said. How it started was too close for Dra-kkar Wesley. "The transformer exploded and landed on the corner of my patio," he said. The father then grabbed his three children and got out. Seventy-two firefighters were on scene, fighting the fire from the ground and above by way of a tower ladder truck.  

Harker Heights has a new fire chief. Shannon Stephens will take command of the Harker Heights Fire Department on July 10, according to city news release on Friday. Stephens is a 24-year veteran of The Colony Fire Department, near Dallas. "We are extremely excited to have Shannon as our next Fire Chief. Shannon has made significant contributions to fire safety and devoted his life to public service. He is a capable leader who will serve the city and the Fire Department well as we confront the challenges of the future," Heights City Manager David Mitchell said in the release. Stephens currently serves as assistant fire chief for The Colony, a position he has held since 2014. At The Colony, he is responsible for five fire stations and 95 employees.  

Austin City Council passed an agenda item Thursday that would change the city's fire code for pet boarding facilities following a tragic Georgetown fire that took the lives of 75 pets staying at a pet resort. In September 2021, a fire broke out at the Ponderosa Pet Resort, killing 75 dogs belonging to 59 families. None of the facility's staff members were on-site at the time, and there was no sprinkler system. The City of Georgetown told KXAN after it happened that its fire code, as well as federal and state standards, did not require sprinkler systems for a facility of this type and size. Months after the incident, Georgetown City Council unanimously approved amendments to the fire code, creating stricter fire precautions for pet care facilities. Round Rock City Council also recently approved changes to the fire safety requirements for dog daycare facilities.  

Two Dallas firefighters are seeing their coffee business take off. Firegrounds Coffee Co., a company founded in 2019 by Dallas firefighters Paul Clark and Kyle Lund, will expand into more than 326 Walmart stores in Texas in late July. Clark and Lund are both veterans of the U.S. military. Clark said he got the idea for the company while he was deployed in Iraq, where he was frustrated with the subpar coffee that was available to service members. "I just got tired of all the substandard coffee that they were sending us," Clark said. "So I decided when I got back to my civilian job as a Dallas firefighter, I was going to start my own coffee company." Clark said that the pair first agreed to move forward with the idea while at the firehouse. "We're throwing the football in the parking lot in the back of the fire station, and I was telling him about my idea, and he said, 'I'm in' and I said, 'Well, what, what do you mean you're in?' He goes, 'No, I'm going to help you, I'm going to help you launch this company.'  

Flames lit up the sky over southwest Phoenix Thursday night as firefighters battled a massive blaze that broke out at a wood pallet facility near 35th Avenue and Lower Buckeye Road. According to Captain Todd Keller with Phoenix Fire, crews were called to the area around 8 p.m. after receiving a call about a fire coming from the business. When firefighters arrived, heavy smoke and flames were already engulfing most of the business. The fire was quickly upgraded to a 3rd-alarm response, allowing for additional help from neighboring cities. The owner of Javier Pallets confirmed with Arizona's Family that his business is involved in the fire. All nearby businesses, including a Circle K store, were evacuated as a precaution, Captain Keller said.  

VIDEO: The Dickinson Fire Department has been actively engaged in a series of rigorous training activities this summer. While their schedule is not atypical for their firefighters, the number of eyes witnessing the behind-the-scenes efforts is new. Throughout the year, Dickinson firefighters participate in a diverse range of training exercises, including bailout drills and downed firefighter CPR, which aim to enhance their skills and better serve the community by ensuring their readiness for emergencies. In recent weeks, the department has expanded its presence on social media platforms, showcasing training drills through video content. These posts have not only allowed community members to gain insight into the intricacies of firefighter training, but have also attracted international viewers, extending the department's reach beyond the streets of Dickinson and North Dakota.  

VIDEO: Twenty five years ago Thursday, what at the time was the world's larges grain elevator exploded southwest of Wichita, killing seven and injuring 10. The results and recovery efforts by emergency crews at the DeBruce Grain elevator went on for weeks. On June 8, 1998, Sedgwick County firefighters Ray Hensley and Robert Timmons responded to the hectic scene southwest of Wichita. Hensley as off-duty at a hospital with family when he heard the explosion. "We heard the explosion and kinda felt, heard the windows shake," he said. Hensley had no idea what happened until his chief called him. "I was like, What's going,' and he said, ‘DeBruce elevator blew up,'" Hensley recalled. When he did get on scene... "There was huge, massive chunks of concrete the size of cars hanging off the side of the building, and they didn't want us around there for the potential something might still collapse," Hensley said.  

VIDEOS: When Ina Garten, the celebrated host of Food Network's Barefoot Contessa, steps into the kitchen, culinary magic happens. But what transpires when she dons her apron not in her classic Hamptons home, but in a bustling fire station? In the episode "Drill Dinner," Garten combined her culinary prowess with a local hero to whip up a decidedly un-Barefoot Contessa meal for East Hampton's bravest. Prepare to embark on this captivating gastronomic adventure that goes beyond Garten's regular fare and ventures into the realm of sloppy joes and beef barley soup. Garten is no stranger to unconventional recipes. But in a 2012 episode of Barefoot Contessa, she got some extra help to create a dish a bit unusual for her style. In the second installment of season 6, titled, "Drill Dinner," Garten visited some local firefighters to cook them a special meal.