The City of El Paso has announced the appointment of Jonathan Killings as the city's fire chief. Killings has been serving as Interim Fire Chief since May 2022. He graduated from the El Paso Fire Academy in 1998 and has served all ranks within the fire department. Killings was promoted to Battalion Chief in 2016 and has proven himself in key assignments over his career serving as a member of the El Paso Fire Department's ComSAR Mountain Rescue Team, the Urban Search and Rescue Team, as well as HazMAT and Fire Training Captain. He has also worked in Emergency Operations, Professional Development, the Office of Emergency Management, and 911 Communications. Chief Killings has a Bachelor of Science in Management from the University of Phoenix, a Master of Public Administration from Sam Houston State University, and has been a Licensed EMT Paramedic since 2009.  

PHOTO: A Cy-Fair firefighter is recovering at a hospital after being electrocuted while putting out a fire in northwest Harris County. The huge fire destroyed a mobile home at about 6 p.m. Sunday on Saddlewood Drive in the Katy Country Estates subdivision, the Cy-Fair Fire Department said in a Facebook post. Thankfully, everyone got out safely. The firefighter was electrocuted but at last check, officials said was in stable condition. The Harris County Fire Marshal's Office is investigating the cause of the fire.  

Crews have found the body of a fourth person who died in an explosion at a San Antonio construction company and investigators worked Monday to determine the cause and origin of the blast. The blast happened late Friday at K-Bar Services and could be heard miles away, the San Antonio Express-News reported. Responders immediately found one person dead when they arrived, then two more bodies were discovered on Saturday. The San Antonio Fire Department said a fourth victim was discovered Sunday. "This is an extremely active case," SAFD spokesman Joe Arrington said Sunday. "The fire department's Arson Bureau has taken the lead on this case and are working with SAPD, the FBI and ATF to confirm what happened that night."  

The Corpus Christi Fire Department responded to a fire that came in as a 'car fire' around 9 a.m. on West Wood Dr. in Annaville. Upon arrival, fire crews noticed that the fire had actually started in the home and made its way to the cars. A German Shepard in the home did not make it out and died in the blaze. Fire captain, Ted Vicha told 3NEWS it appeared the fire could have started from a dryer in the laundry room. He wants to remind everyone to turn appliances off once they leave their home. "It's the holiday season we leave our houses alone often, unattended wouldn't be running your dryer while you are gone it has the potential to cause fires with lint build up always make sure your lint is taken out, we are doing a lot of cooking this time of year, be careful with your stove." Vicha said.  

One person was killed and two others injured in an overnight house fire in Amarillo. The fire started around 2:10 a.m. in the 1600 block of N. Fairfield Street. The first crews arrived three minutes after the 911 call. They reported heavy fire showing from the front of the home. It took 17 minutes to get the fire under control. Firefighters then entered the home to search for anyone who might still be inside. Three people live there. One made it outside on their own. Firefighters pulled the other two out. Two people were taken to local hospitals. Unfortunately, despite efforts to resuscitate, one of the three victims did not survive. The Amarillo Fire Marshal's Office is investigating the cause of the deadly fire.  

It has been almost a decade since the Hewitt Fire Department added a new firefighter position. The city's fire call volume this year is almost triple what it was then, the emergency medical service call volume is almost double, and the already growing city is poised for a growth spurt in the coming years, officials said. The Hewitt City Council approved the $841,000 purchase of a new fire engine last month, fulfilling the first step of a strategic plan put forward by Fire Chief Jonathan Christian that could bring new staffing, then a new fire station with a price tag of something like $4 million to the city by 2025. The plan outlines a number of reasons Hewitt's fire department is overdue for upgrades, and how it can achieve more efficient workflow and better response times.  

Firefighters extinguished a Four-Alarm fire at a strip mall in Long Beach Sunday morning. According to Long Beach Fire Department, crews were dispatched at around 3:40 a.m. after receiving reports of a structure fire at a strip mall. The fire, located on Anaheim Street and Olive Avenue, damaged the building, which was said to be vacant as it was undergoing renovations. "Defensive operations were used to extinguish the fire due to significant fire progression and wind conditions encountered during this incident," said LBFD officials. They also noted that due to the severity of the fire and the "drawn down of the fire resources in Long Beach," Los Angeles County Fire Department crews were called for assistance and to backfill their stations. There have been no injuries reported.  

VIDEOS/PHOTOS: A homecoming for a historic East Greenwich city service ladder truck was held on Saturday. The Ahrens-Fox fire truck made it's way back to the city, and its been nearly 65 years since it was last in service. The truck was used from 1931 to 1958. When it went out of service, it was sold to the South Meriden Volunteer Fire Department in Connecticut for use in ceremonies and parades. It was preserved and restored there for quite some time. Former firemen said it's a one-of-a-kind ride. The truck was retired at the East Greenwich Veterans Firemen's Association Museum.  

Santa Claus was briefly blamed for a Dec. 21, 1907, fire that destroyed the eastern half of the 600 block of East Adams Street. The final damage estimate, over $137,000, made the fire the most expensive in Springfield history up to that time. The blaze started in the Johnston-Hatcher store on the southwest corner of Seventh and Adams streets. Johnston-Hatcher sold home furnishings of all kinds, including horse-drawn buggies and carriages. It operated from 1905 until 1949. The fire demolished five buildings on the south side of Adams –another furniture outlet, a men's clothing store, a shoe store and a restaurant as well as the Johnston-Hatcher store itself. The blaze stopped when it reached the Bressmer department store farther west on Adams, but two hotels, a bookstore and other businesses were damaged on Seventh Street, and heat and smoke broke windows in buildings on the north side of Adams.  

Acting State Fire Commissioner Charles McGarvey issued the following statement today on the recent increase in firefighter line-of-duty deaths: "Yesterday afternoon, our office learned of the recent house fire in West Penn Township near Tamaqua, Schuylkill County during which three individuals unfortunately lost their lives. Two of the individuals were firefighters that were actively fighting the fire when they became trapped. While eventually rescued, they later succumbed to their injuries. We would like to extend our condolences to their colleagues and families for the loss of their loved ones. Our office has reached out to the appropriate local authorities to offer assistance. These most recent deaths, along with two others across the state in the last week, draw attention to a deeply troubling trend of rising line of duty deaths.  

VIDEO: When Meridian Fire Department Chief Kris Blume got into the career almost 25 years ago, he did not think about the health risks. "I never had even an awareness that cancer was something that we needed to be aware of," he said. But cancer risk is definitely something he is aware of now. A recent 2022 study from the International Agency for Research on Cancer found occupational exposure as a firefighter causes cancer. Previously, the IARC believed firefighting was "possibly" carcinogenic. Blume said he is trying to minimize exposure to harmful chemicals, especially as the city builds new fire stations around Meridian and orders more trucks. He said the dangers of the profession are not limited to breathing in diesel exhaust from the fire vehicles, working in burning buildings and being exposed to soot.