The city's firefighters helped pick their new boss, Mayor Rick Guerra said Friday. Earlier this week, city commissioners appointed Weslaco Fire Department Lt. Efrain Bautista to serve as the city's fire chief, nearly six months after former Chief Danny Watkins died after suffering complications stemming from COVID-19. Bautista did not respond to requests for comment this week. For about 16 years, Bautista, who holds a bachelor's degree, has climbed the ranks at the Weslaco Fire Department, Guerra said, adding officials reviewed about six candidates for the job. "He's the one our fire department is leaning into," Guerra, a retired Harlingen firefighter, said. "He's got more higher education than the rest of the (candidates)." Bautista's got the experience to help further develop the city's fire department, Guerra said.  

The union representing Houston Firefighters has successfully collected enough signatures on a petition to propose a charter amendment that would change the way its leadership negotiates labor contracts with the city of Houston. "We would not have gotten to this point without the support of Houston voters," Houston Professional Firefighters Association president Marty Lancton said. The charter amendment petition lobbied by the firefighters union proposes a requirement that the parties enter binding arbitration. In this case, both parties present proposals to an arbitration board, which has the final say on the terms of the contract. In this process, both parties are legally required to come to an agreement, according to Texas Local Government code.  

Heroes come in many different forms, shapes and sizes. Which is why the San Antonio Fire Department is looking towards the future and training up some of the city's brightest young women at their its annual "Hero Like Her" summer camp. "I think anyone can be a hero if you try," Riley De La Cruz said, a participant in the program. It took just 48 hours for the all-day summer camp's slots to fill up. "I just want to come here every year and experience more and excitement and how they make it so hands-on," De La Cruz said. For two days, aspiring female firefighters from ages 6 to 17 got to see, up close and in person, what it takes to wear the SAFD badge day in and day out. "It's important, this experience is authentic and real," SAFD Marketing Director Woody Woodward said.  

Houston firefighters say a fire at a CenterPoint facility is now under control on the city's northwest side. Flames and smoke are visible from Beltway 8 West. The fire was first reported at about 9:44 a.m. Friday near Kempwood Drive and Brittmoore Road. Fire officials confirmed it was a transformer that was on fire and that coolant oil is what is burning. They are using a foam to ensure that the fire is completely out and does not re-ignite. HFD officials said the shelter-in-place order was lifted at 2:17 p.m. Friday. Fire officials said there is no threat to the community. Houston police earlier said the fire is electrical and is located at the Centerpoint Energy facility on Kempwood. There were nearly a dozen HFD vehicles at the scene, including an ambulance, but no injuries were reported Friday afternoon.  

Montgomery County Emergency Services District No. 10, which contracts with the Magnolia Volunteer Fire Department to provide services, announced an upgrade July 9 to its Insurance Services Office, or ISO, rating. The district has upgraded its rating from a 3/10 to a 2/10, according to a July 9 news release, meaning the district has achieved the second highest classification—a 2—given by the ISO once notification is received from the state fire marshal's office. "The improved ISO rating indicates that ESD No. 10 has quality personnel, operations and the capability to effectively serve our 165-square-mile service area," Chief Jeff Hevey said in the release. "I am proud of the rating and look forward to making continued improvements to advance ESD No. 10 even further."  

PHOTOS: Flames engulfed the warehouse of a Fort Worth golf cart business early Saturday morning. Firefighters responded to a call Saturday morning at about 4:30 a.m. of a fire at Metro Golf Cars along the Interstate 35W service road, north of East Seminary Drive. When crews arrived they found heavy fire in a large warehouse and quickly requested more crews. No injuries were reported, and the fire was brought under control late Saturday morning, according to the fire department. Officials are investigating the cause of the fire.  

VIDEO: Firefighters responded to a fire at a business in Concord at Willow Pass Road and Waterworld Parkway. According to the Contra Costa Fire Protection District, they got a call regarding the fire around 2:40 a.m. Monday morning. When crews arrived on scene, they found fire shooting through the roof of the building. Video shared with ABC7 shows the site of a closed restaurant up in flames. As of 4 a.m., crews were still on scene of the 1-alarm fire. The fire is just down the street from Six Flags Hurricane Harbor. It's unclear if anyone was injured in the fire.  

On the corner of East Duval and North Fifth Street, city leaders and members of the Richmond Fire Department gathered for a ceremony celebrating the 71st hiring anniversary of the first Black career firefighters in the city. Out of 500 applicants, ten men were chosen to serve for the fire department under Engine Company No. 9 on July 1, 1950. They would go on to be the first Black career firefighters in Richmond and Virginia. Friends and family of these ten men, including Pat Whitfield, came up to the podium to share their memories about their impact. "I was three years old when my dad got inducted into the fire department," Whitfield said. Pat Whitfield's father, Arthur L. Page, was one of the ten men hired for the job. "He earned positions, but I remember him getting turned away," she said. "Not because of the content of his character, but because of the color of his skin."  

PHOTOS: Dedicated in 1975 and opened the following year, the New York City Fire Academy is a world-class training facility. Also known as "The Rock," the fire academy is the hub of training for the Fire Department of New York (FDNY). Indeed, every FDNY firefighter begins their career here in our probationary firefighter school. However, probationary firefighter school is only the beginning of a career-long learning experience. Most members typically attend one or more of our various classroom training programs at the fire academy each year. This is in addition to the daily training in our subway simulator, tactical live fire training, chauffeur training school, and a host of other hands-on scenarios that take place daily on our 27-acre campus.  

Three feet of water was in the basement of the Monongahela Fire Department after Thursday's rainstorm. Images posted to the fire department's Facebook page showed how bad the flooding was. Crews are now in clean-up mode and searching for answers. On Friday, restoration crews tore down drywall and pulled out soaked insulation. "It was just so quick and fast. We did lose some stuff but nothing too major," said Monongahela Fire Chief Aaron Leezer. "Absorbent, we use for fire calls, a couple of pumps we lost for pumping water in these situations to help out residents." The city said the fire department has been dealing with flooding for years and it's slowly getting worse. City officials are pointing to a collapsed storm drain as the cause. The problem is that the drain sits under a nearby Norfolk Southern rail line.  

A North Carolina firefighter is sharing his brutal battle with COVID-19, warning others to take the virus seriously and get vaccinated. 26-year-old Corey Spencer, a firefighter with the Pinecroft Sedgefield Fire Department, is now regaining strength in a rehabilitation center after spending 41 days hospitalized with 33 days in the ICU, on a ventilator, and in and out of a coma. "I was one of those that didn't wear a mask. I kind of took it as a joke. I thought it wasn't going to happen to me because I'm young," Spencer told WFMY News 2 from his room at the rehabilitation center. "I'm not in shape, but I'm healthy. I didn't think it would happen to me, but when it hit me, it hit me hard." Spencer said his nightmare began in mid-May when he began feeling sick and then tested positive for COVID-19 while at the fire station.