PHOTOS: Around 50 Austin firefighters worked to extinguish a fire at the Avery Ranch Golf Course in northwest Austin Monday morning, according to the department. The Austin Fire Department said the cart barn is the building that caught fire and collapsed. There were as many as 80 golf carts inside, AFD said. All were destroyed. The building itself was 10,000 square feet, AFD said. As of 7 a.m., the department said the fire is under control. One firefighter was burned, according to AFD. The arson team is investigating the fire. The fire went "defensive," AFD wrote in a tweet just after 6 a.m. That could mean the building wasn't safe enough for firefighters to go inside. AFD also said the building collapse made it difficult to reach pockets of fire still burning. Two aerial ladders were used in the process. Cedar Park and Round Rock crews assisted AFD.  

A firefighter passed away at his home in Sulphur Springs on Saturday. "Gun Barrel City Firefighter Micah Swanson, ID 4111, passed away at his residence in Sulphur Springs, Texas, on Saturday, December 3," said Fire Chief Joseph Lindaman in a social media post. "Micah joined the Gun Barrel City Fire Department in July of 2021. He was a valued member of the department and had a passion for serving the citizens of Gun Barrel City. Micah leaves behind his wife and three children. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at this time. We will provide an update once funeral arrangements have been made." The fire department has asked the public to keep Micah, his family, and the Gun Barrel City Fire Department in their prayers.  

A building fire in southeast Houston has caused major damage to a few units. Around 5 p.m., Houston Fire Department responded to a shopping center on fire in the 200 block of S. 75th Street. Reports say when crews arrived, there was fire and smoke coming from a furniture store. Captain Cedrick Robinett says after they extinguished the fire, an investigation began with an arson team, but they noticed smoke coming from another area of the center. Crews returned and worked to put that fire out. There have been no injuries reported. Captain Robinett says he's unsure of the property damage at this time, but there was a furniture store, a convenience store, and a possible storage unit that were connected to each other and sustained damage from the fire. An investigation is currently underway.  

Five people and two pets are displaced after their Southeast Side home went up in flames, according to San Antonio Fire Department. The fire happened just before 7 p.m. Sunday in the 1400 block of S Pine Street. Firefighters said when they arrived, flames were seen coming out of the roof of the home. There was a fire hydrant nearby and fire crews were able to keep the water going and put out the flames on the ground level. However, the fire was then contained in the attic and firefighters had to use chainsaws to gain access due to limited visibility, according to SAFD. All five people and their pets made it out of the home safely and no one was injured, fire officials said. They were all displaced and the Red Cross will be helping them relocate. The fire was put out but a transformer blew and knocked out the power in two structures total.  

Seven people are displaced and one dog is rescued in a Killeen house fire. Firefighters put out a fire in the 1200 block of north W. S. Young Drive on Saturday. The City of Killeen says the fire broke out about 3:25 p.m., and crews arrived within four minutes of being dispatched. Neighbors called in the fire after seeing smoke coming from the roof, and firefighters also saw smoke in the back and attic of the one-story home. Three fire engines, one tower ladder truck, one heavy rescue truck, two ambulances, two Battalion Chiefs and two EMS captains were on scene – for a total of 23 personnel. The fire was extinguished within 30 minutes, and the home has been deemed uninhabitable. No one was home at the time. There were no injuries, and the dog is okay.  

Midland High School senior Spencer Esquibel, 18, is celebrating this week after passing his state firefighter exam- he's now one step closer to realizing his dream and plans to become a firefighter when he graduates. Esquibel is among a handful of Midland ISD students participating in the Midland College Firefighter Certification Program- a course designed to prepare aspiring firefighters to meet and exceed all state requirements in preparation for a career as a firefighter. Students who complete all Midland College and TCFP eligibility requirements will be prepared to take the Texas Commission on Fire Protection Basic Suppression Exam that certifies individuals for entry-level firefighter positions statewide. Students like Esquibel are desperately needed in communities across Texas that have struggled to fill firehouse vacancies in recent years.  

Ten people, mostly firefighters, suffered minor injuries as a five-alarm fire tore through the top floor and roof of an apartment building overnight in Hamilton Heights. The fire started at around 1:30 a.m. Saturday, when most people who live there were fast asleep, CBS2's Christina Fan reported. Firefighters spent hours battling heavy flames on top of the six-story apartment complex on West 141st Street and Broadway. Families grabbed what they could before making a quick escape. "We have a sound machine on when we sleep and so it wasn't until like 20 minutes after everything started. I smelled smoke and I opened the door and saw firefighters running down our hallway, and I got my husband up and got our cats into their carriers, and got our backpacks on and got out," one woman said.  

VIDEO/PHOTOS: Many around Massachusetts paused Saturday to remember the Worcester 6. Twenty-three years ago, on December 3, 1999, six firefighters were killed in the Worcester Cold Storage fire. Lt. Thomas Spencer, Lt. Timothy Jackson Sr., Lt. James Lyons III, and firefighters Jeremiah Lucey, Paul Brotherton and Joseph McGuirk died after becoming trapped in the fire. It was determined to have been started by two homeless people. The firefighters died while looking for them inside the vacant warehouse. Lucey was actor and comedian Denis Leary's cousin. Spencer was a childhood friend of Leary's. Less than a year after the fire, the Worcester native created the Leary Firefighters Foundation which raises money and resources for fire departments across the country.  

VIDEO: The fire raised numerous questions. Among them is how Oakland conducts its fire inspections and just how many properties have been improperly converted into housing. KRON4 spoke with the area's city councilman about the challenges that continue to this day. This is what it looked like in 2016 years after when fire raced through this Oakland warehouse killing 36 partygoers. Six years later, the abandoned ghost ship still stands as a grim reminder of what can happen when a fire breaks out at an artist collective that's been converted into housing. "I would say some of it is still occurring but not at the level than it was before," said City Councilmember Noel Gallo. Gallo represents the Fruitvale district where the Ghost Ship warehouse stands. While there have been improvements, he says overcrowded and illegal housing has been exacerbated by COVID-19 and the economy.  

Two West Metro firefighters were taken to the hospital after a reported stolen Jeep crashed into the station ambulance, Lakewood Police said. Around 5:40 p.m., Lakewood agents approached a reported stolen Jeep to contact the driver and people inside at W. Colfax Avenue and Reed Street. The driver took off and the agents did not initiate a pursuit. Shortly after the Jeep drove off, it collided with a West Metro Fire ambulance at Reed and 14th Street, injuring the two firefighters inside. No patients were in the back of the vehicle and police said the firefighters were taken to the hospital to get checked out and have been released. Lakewood police said the Jeep was at fault. Lakewood agents took three people into custody after the crash and they were all taken to the hospital but their conditions were unknown.  

Junior firefighters will now have an earlier opportunity to access the training they need to become full firefighters across Pennsylvania, state Sen. Carolyn Comitta said. Act 155 of 2022 allows junior firefighters, age 17, to train on live-burn, interior firefighter modules. Currently, only those 18 and older are allowed to enroll in this training program. Comitta, who serves on the Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee, said the measure helps ensure that junior firefighters are immediately able to serve as full-fledged firefighters once they turn 18. "I hope this law helps bolster the ranks of our volunteer firefighters by harnessing the interest and energy young people have for the fire service and empowering them to hit the ground running once they turn 18," she said.