VIDEO: Being a firefighter and EMT is a tough job that calls for perfect communication skills. That's why a Kirby firefighter says people underestimate her and her extreme hearing loss. However, thanks to state-of-the-art technology, she can save lives just as well as her crew members. "There was something about wanting to have that challenge," Konstance Garner said. That spark of determination began at birth. "Being born with a cleft lip and palate and then, having to do 12 years of speech therapy and then over 20 surgeries I had to overcome," Garner said. Garner has profound hearing loss in her left ear and severe hearing loss in her right. With her passion for working in the medical field, general hearing aids wouldn't cut it.  

An off-duty Montgomery firefighter was killed in a crash after losing control of his motorcycle in the Sam Houston National Forest on Thursday, officials said. Montgomery Fire Department officials reported just after 2:30 p.m., they responded to a major accident on FM 149 near FM 1375. The victim, identified as 24-year-old Grant Neil Cherry, had reportedly been off work and was enjoying a ride on his motorcycle when he approached a curve between Osbourne Road and FM 1375 and lost control, leaving the roadway. Authorities said Cherry had been ejected from the bike, and CPR was performed. Officials said fellow firefighters also responded and tried to save their friend but could not. He was pronounced dead at the scene. His body was escorted by law enforcement and fire trucks from Montgomery, and a wall of honor was formed as he was taken into the Montgomery County Forensic Center.  

The Granbury Volunteer Fire Department (GVFD) has recognized four members for exceptional service. Lowell Ercanbrack was named the 2022 GVFD Member of the Year. The GVFD officers present this award to the member who sets an example of performance, dedication, and excellence above that of his peers. Jesse Slaughter received the 2022 Chiefs Award. The Fire Chief and Assistant Fire Chief selected Slaughter as the member who best exemplifies the selflessness and dedication necessary to serve the department and the Hood County community. Donnie Hurd is the 2022 Rookie Firefighter of the Year and Landon Drake is the 2022 Firefighter of the Year. The Fire Department membership selected these firefighters for setting an example of performance, dedication, and excellence above that of their peers.  

One person was killed, and two other people were left seriously injured after a trailer home became engulfed in flames Sunday morning, according to the Bexar County Fire Marshal and Sheriff's Office. At approximately 9:18 a.m. Bexar County received a 9-1-1 call about a structure fire in the 17900 block of Shepherd Road. Upon arrival, fire crews found the mobile home completely engulfed by flames. Firefighters also learned someone was trapped inside, according to the Bexar County Assistant Public Information Officer Tom Peine. Rescue attempts while the fire was being fought had to be delayed due to the intensity of the fire, which led to one firefighter's injury. He was treated at the scene. When firefighters were finally able to enter the residence, they found the deceased individual inside.  

A shelter-in-place advisory issued in suburban Houston because of a leak of ammonia gas from a refrigeration line at a warehouse was lifted early Sunday afternoon, officials said. Officials said at a news conference that while air monitoring would continue around the 99 Cents Only Store distribution center in Katy, there wasn't currently a health risk. No injuries were reported. Emergency responders were called to the warehouse just before 9 p.m. Saturday because of the leak of anhydrous ammonia from an overhead refrigeration line, Harris County Emergency Services District 48 Fire Chief George McAteer said. He said the refrigeration system had been undergoing maintenance. Initially, the leak was contained to the building, but around 1 a.m. Sunday, air monitoring showed it was leaking out of the 800,000-square-foot (74,322 square meters), Harris County Fire Marshal Laurie Christensen said.  

Officials with Dallas Fire-Rescue are now looking into what started a three-alarm fire at a South Dallas apartment complex Saturday evening. A DFR representative said officials got a call about the fire on South Murdeaux Lane at 7 p.m. Firefighters noticed smoke coming from the three-story building when they arrived. They then made their way inside and found the fire burning in the walls of the building. Around 60-70 firefighters were called to help at the scene. The DFR said overhaul companies were monitoring the building for any hot spots until 9:51 a.m. Sunday. It's not clear what started the fire at this time. The DFR said all residents were evacuated safely. On Sunday, officials said 36 people were displaced. Many are now working with apartment management and the American Red Cross to figure out living arrangements.  

Firefighters have made progress overnight in the effort to extinguish a huge facility fire in Wayne County, a spokesman said Sunday morning. First responders remain at the scene in Dudley and have been aided by rain throughout the evening and morning as they battle the enormous blaze at National Salvage and Service Corp., 430 Old Mount Olive Highway. Genoa Road reopened Sunday morning but Old Mount Olive Highway remains closed around the site. Authorities reported that there have been no reported injuries. "Incident command released all out-of-county teams this morning, and we greatly appreciate their assistance overnight to allow our local responders time off," Wayne County Public Affairs Director said in a release.  

VIDEO: Being a firefighter and EMT is a tough job that calls for perfect communication skills. That's why a Kirby firefighter says people underestimate her and her extreme hearing loss. However, thanks to state-of-the-art technology, she can save lives just as well as her crew members. "There was something about wanting to have that challenge," Konstance Garner said. That spark of determination began at birth. "Being born with a cleft lip and palate and then, having to do 12 years of speech therapy and then over 20 surgeries I had to overcome," Garner said. Garner has profound hearing loss in her left ear and severe hearing loss in her right. With her passion for working in the medical field, general hearing aids wouldn't cut it.  

VIDEO: A promise to never forget. Twenty-five years ago, Anthony Lockhart and Patrick King died in a four-alarm fire in the South Side neighborhood of Beverly. On Sunday, friends and family remembered the two fallen heroes. "We got that visit in the middle of the night that nobody ever wants to get ever, and it broke our family," said Gina King, Patrick's wife. An auto repair shop caught fire in 1998. The building collapsed as the fire escalated quickly. Fire officials at the time said there was only substantial smoke coming out. That was before it got much worse with flames bursting out. As crews escaped, they realized Lockhart and King never made it out. Their colleagues are now left with vivid memories of them. "Anthony Lockhart; he was a jokester. So, we call him 'Tony,' and he was quite a jokester. So, just by their service, and what they did to try to put out a fire here, not knowing what they were going into," said CFD Commissioner Annette Nance-Holtz.  

In the 1980s, rookie firefighters at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport endured a hazing ritual known as the "foam shower." Recruits stood some 150 feet down the tarmac with 5-gallon buckets and were told to catch firefighting foam shot out of a crash-response truck's water cannon. They would wear the usual helmet and heat-resistant gear, but still ended up drenched as the bubbly white liquid rained down on them. "It was a rite of passage," said Thomas Sanchez, a retired Port of Seattle firefighter who first went to work at the airport in 1980. The foam contained per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, and was long considered essential at airports for quickly smothering blazes. It was marketed as "environmentally benign." Today, the PFAS in these foams are known as "forever chemicals" and have contaminated aquifers across the country, including under Sea-Tac.  

PHOTOS: It is always an interesting article when we can find the "oldest" here in New Jersey. It's even more interesting when we can find the "oldest" in Jersey which is the oldest in America. That is the case with this article. First I want to commend all the men and women who served and continue to serve as firefighters here in New Jersey as well as around America and the world. These folks put themselves in harm's way every day to help us and this heroic effort deserves our appreciation and applause, "THANK YOU". The claim to the "oldest" firehouse in New Jersey goes to a station located in Burlington County and it is also claimed to be the oldest firehouse in America. The little yellow firehouse is located in Mount Holly, part of Relief Fire Engine Company #1.