The Houston Fire Department said its firefighters are running on empty as they try to keep up with the city's pandemic surge. HFD Chief Sam Pena said about 300 firefighters are in quarantine. Pena said the ones not in quarantine are overworked and there is no end in sight. "Yes, they're being stretched thin, and yes, they're being overworked and it is stressful for them," Pena said. "There's no question Houston firefighters are working long hours, they're working extra shifts, and it's all a result of the impact of the staffing that we're having to deal with right now." Firefighters who are able to work are facing an increasing number of emergency calls and work shifts that can last multiple days. "We have firefighters who have been at the station for two and three days at a time and cannot get relief," said Houston Professional Firefighters Association President Marty Lancton.  

Marshall Fire Chief Reggie Cooper recently completed the 18 month Public Manager Certification program through Stephen F. Austin University. Cooper started the program in January 2019, which he described as a detailed course that outlines all of the ins and outs of public service work. Seven other graduates will join Cooper in a graduation ceremony for the program this year at the Texas Capitol, though the exact date is current unscheduled due to the capitol being shut down due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus. "It really helped me to understand my own position better, as well as the positions of those who are below and above me," he said. Cooper said that the program has a number of instructors who are also City Managers, which allows the classes to address real life issues that those in public service face every day.  

VIDEO: The Harris County Fire Marshal's Office is investigating the cause of a fire at a building under construction near the Mission Bend area on the Fourth of July. Firefighters say fireworks may be to blame due to the amount found in the parking lot of the building. This happened at approximately 10:30 p.m. at what used to be the Mercado 6 Marketplace on Highway 6 at Empanada. The building is under construction to be transformed into a gym. The Community Fire Department said they received multiple calls about a large fire coming from the roof of the building. Firefighters said when they arrived, they were able to immediately put large amounts of water on the fire, saving most of the building. The Community Fire Department called for additional help from the Northeast Fire Department and the Houston Fire Department.  

Atascosa County officials are mourning the loss of one of their own after Emergency Management Coordinator, David Prasifka, lost his battle with COVID-19. The county posted on Facebook Saturday, July 4, announcing Prasifka's passing. He had been battling COVID-19 while he was also recently diagnosed with an underlying health condition that "severely compromised his immune system," officials said. County officials said Prasifka was leading the county through its COVID-19 response. They said he is and will continue to be missed by his community. "Prasifka worked diligently and passionately for Atascosa County and the citizens of Atascosa County for many years, not only as EMO, but as a volunteer firefighter in Jourdanton. Recently David had been leading Atascosa County through the COVID-19 pandemic. His humor, heart, and passion for not only his EM job, but his family will be missed by many."  

VIDEO: The rockets' red glare and bombs bursting in air apparently didn't get enough air before exploding at a professional Independence Day fireworks display in north Texas. Plano, Texas' All American 4th celebration was cut short Saturday night as a volley of fireworks exploded prematurely, sending fireballs and sparks toward a crowd of spectators and igniting a number of grass fires. The malfunction happened during the show's finale, according to Dallas Culturemap. Sandra Gray was recording when it happened. "They were doing such a good job," Gray said. "I don't know what happened. We were screaming and running." Despite the disastrous interruption, no injuries were reported, and no structures were threatened according to Plano Fire and Rescue.  

VIDEO: A couple of residents were treated after a fire broke out at the Palacio Del Sol Housing apartment complex Friday night. According to an official with SAFD, a fire broke out in the 400 block of N Frio around 11 p.m. At the scene, fire crews located heavy fire on one side of the building. A second alarm was declared and additional crews arrived. The fire crews made a quick interior attack, sparing most of the building from fire damage. Everyone was safely evacuated from the structure. A couple of residents were treated at the scene by EMS and released.  

The Houston Fire Department said its firefighters are running on empty as they try to keep up with the city's pandemic surge. HFD Chief Sam Pena said about 300 firefighters are in quarantine. Pena said the ones not in quarantine are overworked and there is no end in sight. "Yes, they're being stretched thin, and yes, they're being overworked and it is stressful for them," Pena said. "There's no question Houston firefighters are working long hours, they're working extra shifts, and it's all a result of the impact of the staffing that we're having to deal with right now." Firefighters who are able to work are facing an increasing number of emergency calls and work shifts that can last multiple days. "We have firefighters who have been at the station for two and three days at a time and cannot get relief," said Houston Professional Firefighters Association President Marty Lancton.  

VIDEO: An Oakland fire crew was delayed on making an emergency medical call July 4th evening when an unruly mob near Lake Merritt blocked its path and climbed onto the engine. The incident was captured on a video released Sunday night on the Oakland Firefighters Facebook page. The video showed a crowd gathered around an Oakland fire truck at the intersection of Lakeshore and Brooklyn Avenues on the east side of Lake Merritt. The post said the crowd "was jumping, dancing and banging on the fire engine." Oakland Fire spokesman Michael Hunt said that engine was one of two assigned "roving patrols" stationed near the lake to respond to an expected barrage of calls on July 4. Hunt said the crew shown in the video had been called at 11:31 p.m. Saturday to a medical call near the lake.  

Four Beech Grove firefighters are recovering after a drunk driver drove a car into the fire engine and then hit the officers. Five firefighters were responding to a trash fire Saturday night in the 5900 block of East Troy Avenue near North 25th Avenue just after 10 p.m. As the firefighters were deploying the hose line, a car crashed into the fire engine and hit a light pole and four of the firefighters. Beech Grove Mayor Dennis Buckley said two of the firefighters were thrown between 10-15 feet away from the fire engine. All four firefighters were transported to IU Health Methodist Hospital and were released with minor injuries. Buckley said IMPD has arrested the driver for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated.  

After consistently moving toward flattening the curve, positive cases of COVID-19 have been climbing in the last two weeks across several states. Florida had the most dramatic increase of cases, jumping from 3,235 daily new cases per 100,000 people on June 22 to 9,019 daily new cases June 27, according to the Johns Hopkins University & Medicine Coronavirus Resource Center. During a live-streamed press conference in Pensacola on Sunday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said that part of the reason for the rising case number was an increase in testing. "We've done more testing than we ever have by far," he said Sunday. "When you do that, you are going to find more cases because the detected cases are just a small fraction of the total amount of infections." DeSantis said that in March the state had seven testing sites, which were targeted for older and more vulnerable populations. Now, there are more than 40, he said.  

VIDEO: The fire believed to have been sparked by illegal fireworks that severely damaged a South Buffalo house Friday offered a pair of grim reminders. One was of the danger of fireworks. The other was of a tragedy that still resonates within the Buffalo Fire Department. "This fire was eerily similar to a fire that took the life of one of our firefighters, Michael Seguin, some 23 years ago," Fire Commissioner William Renaldo said. Seguin, 30, had been a firefighter for four years in 1997 when he and firefighter Harold Emerson, both of Engine 33, carried a hose to the attic of a Kehr Street house shortly before 11 p.m. Superheated gases had accumulated there and were ignited when the fumes were exposed to fresh air in a deadly phenomenon called flashover. Emerson was seriously injured. Firefighters tried to revive Seguin at the scene, but he was pronounced dead at Erie County Medical Center. The cause was smoke inhalation.