A Bastrop assistant fire chief was struck and a police sergeant was dragged by a DWI suspect's vehicle during a crash investigation Thursday night, city officials said. City officials announced the incident on social media Friday, saying the pair was called to a car crash investigation in the 600 block of West State Highway 71. According to officials, Sergeant Charles Sanford and Assistant Fire Chief Eric DeArmitt were investigating the crash when a man, identified as Kenneth Crawford, 53, abruptly entered the crash scene in his vehicle. Investigators said that as Sanford and DeArmitt tried to take control of the situation, Crawford reversed his 2020 Jeep Cherokee Latitude, hitting an emergency vehicle in the process. "He then pulled forward and struck Assistant Fire Chief DeArmitt, continuing to travel approximately 50 yards as Sergeant Sanford struggled to take control of the vehicle through the driver's side window and detain Crawford," city officials said.  

PHOTOS: A large fire Saturday night destroyed four Old East Dallas apartment buildings that were under construction, officials say. Dallas Fire-Rescue crews were called at about 10:40 p.m. to the buildings in the 4400 block of Scurry Street, near North Peak Street and Ross Avenue, where heavy fire was coming from the third floor of one building. The buildings were still under construction and no injuries were reported. Officials said the fire was in such an advanced stage that a second alarm was requested before firefighters arrived and a third alarm was called about 15 minutes later. Between 60 and 65 firefighters surrounded the blaze and brought it under control shortly after midnight, according to Dallas Fire-Rescue.  

An East Montgomery County firefighter died after being involved in a car crash Saturday night while off duty, the department announced on its Facebook page. Alex Chapa was a full time firefighter assigned to Firehouse 154 B shift. "There are few words to express the pain and sorrow our department is feeling with our sudden loss," the department wrote. The department said Chapa made a great impression on everyone during his short time with the station. "His smile would light up the world! His eagerness and love for the job would encourage even the most senior of firefighters. Our hearts and prayers are with Firefighter Chapa's immediate family during this difficult time. Rest easy, brother Chapa! You will be missed," the Facebook post read. This is the second death of an off-duty first responder in the area this weekend.  

A man led police on a chase in a stolen fire vehicle after allegedly setting fires overnight at an apartment complex. Around 11 p.m. Sunday, Webster police got a call that a man had broken into the Everwood Apartments leasing office on Medical Center Boulevard, started several fires and was holding an axe. He was using the axe to vandalize the office, police say. "He's using the pick-axe to hit on the floor. He's just now raising it up. I can't see what he's trying to swing at," fire responders could be heard saying on an emergency call. "OK, he has it to the side, standing up. Get ready, I think he's going to try to jump out of this window. Watch your crossfire." When police arrived, the man jumped out of the window and got into a Nassau Bay Fire Department SUV, police say. That's when the police chase started.  

Two people are dead after a house fire in rural Edinburg on Saturday morning. According to the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office, deputies responded to a fire on Tower Road south of Curry Road and east of Carricero Street at 3 a.m. While the Edinburg Fire Department extinguished the fire, firefighters located two deceased bodies inside of the house. Officials have not released the cause of the fire or announced victims' identities. This case is under investigation by the Hidalgo County Fire Marshal's Office.  

VIDEO: A family on the southwest side escaped their burning home in the early morning hours of Easter Sunday, but their dog died in the fire. According to the San Antonio Fire Department, four people made it to safety without any injuries. Firefighters responded around 4 a.m. to the home in the 5900 block of Bowsprit Street near Loop 410 and I-35. When crews arrived they found a home heavily engulfed in flames. They did not make entry because of that and instead fought the fire from outside, officials said. Two adults and two children made it out of the home safely, but the family's dog was unable to escape the flames and died. The home is a total loss with damages around $150,000. So far, fire investigator said the fire appears to have started in the family's living room.  

VIDEO: A destructive four-alarm fire left a row of Queens businesses badly damaged and two firefighters with serious injuries by the time officials got the blaze under control. The commercial fire started on Springfield Boulevard in Queens Village early Saturday morning, prompting the response of dozens and then eventually hundreds of firefighters. FDNY Assistant Chief of Department Joseph Jardin said investigators believe the fire started around 2 a.m. in the center structure of three commercial businesses. The fire had quickly moved into the roof of the structure and extended to the cockloft, the space in the building between the ceiling and the underside of the roof level, causing the fire to easily spread between the businesses. "They were operating about ten foot inside the rear of the building when a portion of the root collapsed, trapping two of our members initially," Jardin said. One of the firefighters was briefly trapped under a 20x20 foot section of roof, he said.  

PHOTOS: The last thing he remembers is someone offering him a doughnut. The next few days are a blank for a Green Township firefighter who was poisoned with cyanide while fighting a fire in Alpena County two weeks ago. Matt Cohoon, the 37-year-old chief of the Green Township Fire Department, was a mystery to doctors when he showed up at MidMichigan Medical Center-Alpena on March 16. A blood test revealed he had cyanide poisoning — a complication sometimes faced by firefighters as they work in the black smoke produced by burning plastics and other household products. His health future is uncertain, and the poisonous gas has taken pieces of his memory. Still, Cohoon said, it's all just part of the job of a firefighter. His colleagues knew something was wrong as Cohoon slumped outside the burned home on M-32. "It went from bad to worse real fast," said Assistant Chief Tim Wade, who was at the fire.  

VIDEO: In March, a truck carrying two people crashed on Interstate 84 near Malad Gorge State Park. The truck would up going over the edge of the interstate, where it was left suspended over the interstate's rail, kept above the gorge floor by only the chain connecting its trailer and the car's right front axle, which was perched on the interstate's ledge. KMVT was the only station on the scene as Southern Idaho's first responders sprung into action. The Magic Valley Special Operations Rescue Team successfully saved a couple and their two dogs from the vehicle. They were one of over 20 operations that responded. "We've dealt with multiple vehicles in the canyon," said Magic Valley Paramedics Special Operations Supervisor Chad Smith. "The car hanging off the bridge was a definite first for us, though." They stressed every second counted, so being quick to act was a priority.  

PHOTOS: For an hour midday Thursday, the pond behind Bass Pro Shops was the safest body of water in Denham Springs. Anyone who might have been unlucky enough to find themselves in distress in the water would have quickly been pulled aboard a brand new, bright red rescue boat Livingston Parish Fire Protection District No. 5 was testing on the lake. The polymer boat, filled with foam and fitted with a 50 horsepower engine, will soon patrol the Amite River and conduct water rescues on the popular tubing destination. "This boat is pretty much unsinkable," Chief Joe Koczrowski said. "You can lay this boat almost on its side in the water. Plus, if we get, God forbid, another flood, we can use it during the flood." Koczrowski said his department made six rescues on the Amite River during the summer months last year, including a baby that wasn't breathing on the river and a woman who broke her leg. Lacking a dedicated boat, the department had to rely on the city of Central's rescue boat when responding to calls, he said.  

VIDEO: A firefighter with the Birmingham Fire Department has started a new business with the hope of connecting with more kids in the community, a mission that was partly inspired by his late mother. James Patton's new business, Gamez on Fire, is a mobile gaming trailer that started a few months ago. It has just about every gaming system, including the new PlayStation. Up to 24 people can play in the trailer at once. Patton said that as a firefighter, he often sees kids on their worst days. Through Gamez on Fire, Patton has a chance to see them at their best. "Being able to see kids, and see kids at their best, it was like ‘This is it,'" Patton said. "I just have fun with them." Patton said he wants to use Gamez on Fire to talk with young people in the community about the work he does, all while having interactions outside of moments of crisis.