VIDEO: Jacksonville police and fire personnel have responded to a large structure fire near the intersection of Austin and El Paso Streets. The structure appears to be a hotel. A spokesman for the Jacksonville Police Department confirmed Sunday afternoon that there is a large structure fire near the intersection of Austin and El Paso Streets. The JPD officer said they have blocked traffic on Austin and El Paso Streets. "Thank you for your thoughts and prayers and special thanks to the multitude of departments who came to our aid," stated a post on the Jacksonville Fire Department Facebook page. "The department is still at the scene of a major structure fire on the corner of El Paso St. and Austin St., known as Hotel RITUAL." The Facebook post stated that most of the hotel's interior has been destroyed, and fire crews are still trying to extinguish the fire.  

PHOTO: A man is in custody for arson after San Antonio police said he set his rental car on fire near the San Antonio International Airport, causing it to explode. The incident happened around 10 p.m. Saturday in the 9000 block of Airport Boulevard. Police said the suspect, a 35-year-old man, set his rental vehicle on fire at a nearby gas station before driving toward the airport terminals. The vehicle went up in flames when it neared Dee Howard Way and the man got out of the vehicle and fled. Moments later, the vehicle exploded "as if it contained ammunition," according to SAPD. Firefighters arrived at the scene and were able to extinguish the flames. They determined no one was inside of the vehicle during the fire, and no injuries were reported.  

A fundraiser is in play this month for retired Fire Chief Joey Woolley, who is battling cancer again. This physical, mental and financial battle will be the fourth bout for Woolley, who retired earlier this year. The first time Woolley was diagnosed with cancer was in 1976, and the tumor was removed with no other treatment. In 2018 he was diagnosed with colon cancer and had the tumor removed with no additional treatment, but during his required check-ups, doctors discovered he had prostate cancer, which required nine weeks of radiation. Now, cancer has attacked his liver. Additionally, his wife Marie needed chemotherapy treatment in the 90s, and his son, Jacob also had chemotherapy in 2010. "Seems every time we started working our way out of the cancer hole something else would happen," Woolley said.  

Like many professions, fire departments across the country are facing staffing challenges. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates employment for firefighters is projected to grow eight percent by 2030. About 27,000 openings for firefighters are projected each year, on average, over the decade. The same goes for EMTs and paramedics. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates about 20,700 openings for EMTs and paramedics are projected each year, on average, over the decade. They say many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire. Facing a growing demand and a decrease in recruits departments are having to be more creative, proactive, and competitive in their recruitment and retention efforts.  

A massive fire destroyed one family's home and caused $100,000 in damage at another residence in a neighborhood in west Bexar County, according to fire officials. The fire happened around 3:30 p.m. Friday near Waterlily Way and Bluewater Cove. With three-digit temperatures and high winds, firefighters' said they faced more difficulties than usual when they began confronting the flames. Three adults were inside a two-story home, where the fire originated, and were able to safely escape. The flames spread to the roof of the home and the backyard. Firefighters deemed the home a total loss and the residents have been displaced. The family is receiving assistance from the Red Cross. A nearby one-story home was also impacted by the fire, according to fire officials. One person was inside at the time and escaped uninjured.  

VIDEO: Chaplains from the Bryan and College Station Fire Departments are getting ready to depart for Uvalde. They will help first responders talk through the nightmare that was on May 24. "I hope that we are able to help them, I hope that we are able to be there in support of them," Bryan Fire Department Chaplain, Ernest Upchurch, said. Law enforcement, firefighters, and EMTs experienced one of the worst days of their careers. They were on the front lines of one of the worst school shootings in U.S. history. "A long time ago, fire and police officers used to, they had this persona of being macho and whatever they came across they were just supposed to deal with it," Upchurch said. "We can't always handle things the way that people think we should so we need an outlet too." 19 children and two educators were killed when a gunman entered Robb Elementary School.  

VIDEO: People inside the Satanic Temple said they got notifications on their phones from their doorbell camera. Someone was on the porch, and the video showed he was lighting the place on fire. The video showed a man walking from Bridge Street onto the property at about 10 p.m. Friday. In the video, the man walked onto the porch, dropped a backpack and started pouring flammable liquid, according to police. The suspect, wearing a t-shirt displaying the word 'God' on the front, walked away. Lucien Greaves is the co-founder of the Satanic Temple and said two people were staying in the attached Airbnb at the time of the fire. "We've had some people stop by, we've gotten a lot of threats, but we have never had anyone do anything as blatant as throwing accelerant on our building and lighting it on fire," he said.  

A collaboration between three Butler County communities is the first in the region to provide a vehicle to be used exclusively to protect first responders at crash scenes. West Chester Township, Monroe and Liberty Township have agreed to terms of a memorandum of understanding establishing a traffic incident management safety unit that would be dispatched to crash scenes whenever requested. The agreement outlines the operation, costs, and responsibilities between the three departments. A 1999 Sutphen pumper will be used to serve as a "blocker" vehicle at crash scenes on high speed roadways. It would be positioned on the perimeter of the working area to protect first responders or victims from getting hit as they are working. Valued at under $8,000, the Sutphen would be less expensive to replace if hit, and less disruptive to a department than if a frontline vehicle used daily, were hit. "We're going to be the first in the region to do this,'' said Ethan Klussman, Liberty Township's fire chief.  

Responding to a fire or medical emergency often results in tense moments for firefighters as well as anyone who has called 911 for help if there is a language barrier. The situation can become overwhelming and scary for anyone who doesn't understand what is going on and can't provide information. That's the type of scenario that Richmond Fire Department Battalion Chief Bailey Martin hopes to rectify by getting help from the Virginia Commonwealth University Community Action Council and council member Anita Nadal, an assistant professor in the VCU School of World Studies and faculty fellow for community engagement in the College of Humanities and Sciences. "EMS is a big part of our workload. We field 35,000 calls a year, the majority of which are medical emergencies. It's very difficult if the people don't speak English," Martin said.  

Jeremy Oster awoke the morning of June 14, 2021 as his wife told him to go outside. What greeted him was a startling sight he would not soon forget. "There were pieces of black debris 5 inches long throughout my yard and I could see the burning Chemtool plant," Oster recalled. "I thought at first we were under attack." On that morning, around 7 a.m., citizens and area fire department crews were alerted to a huge industrial fire at the Chemtool lubricant manufacturing plant at 1165 Prairie Hill Road in the Town of Rockton. A black pillar of smoke rose hundreds of feet into the air, which could be seen for miles. About 40 fire departments in the area responded to the fire. The 70 employees of the plant were evacuated without any injuries. Residents within a one-mile radius of the plant were told to evacuate. Nearby businesses also were told to evacuate.  

Thousands of renters across the state will soon be getting new trashcans — with new regulations taking effect next month for valet trash services and new building codes aimed at reducing fire hazards. This comes after a deadly fire at the Aurella Cary Apartments in March, which was caused when cardboard and trash caught fire in the breezway. Baby Marlee Santiago, just 9 months old, died in that fire. Overflowing trashcans with no lids create a fire hazard. Family describes loss of 9-month-old in Cary apartment fire Report: Baby girl dies in Cary apartment fire while clinging to her mother's chest Some apartment complexes have already started giving out new trashcans to comply with the new rules. These are fire-proof cans with a self-closing mechanism – and the goal is make the entrance and exits to these apartments safer.