PHOTOS: Port Arthur firefighters rescued two people trapped in a burning home while a third person was able to escape with minor injuries. The Port Arthur Fire Department responded to the call in the 500 block of 19th Street late Saturday night, shortly before midnight. The battalion chief says heavy smoke was coming from the front of the house with a major fire at the rear of the house. One resident was outside and she was treated at the scene. She told firefighters two more people were inside. Firefighters rescued the pair from the burning home. They were transported to the Medical Center of Southeast Texas. PAFD called the Red Cross to help the victims. The Port Arthur Fire Department is investigating the cause of the fire.  

A precautionary shelter in place order which was issued by the City of Houston due to a chemical fire at a metal plating facility has been lifted. The blaze happened in the 6200 block of Royalton Street in southwest Houston near Bellaire, and it was deemed a three-alarm fire Saturday morning. The Houston Fire Department has been working on the fire since at least 4 a.m. No injuries were reported. Firefighters saw several chemicals at the facility, but officials did not mention what the chemicals were. The shelter in place only applied to the area from Royalton Street to 5th Street and Ashbrook Drive to Palmetto Street. People were encouraged to close their doors, windows, and turn off their air conditioning to limit exposure. No evacuations were made.  

VIDEO: After this week's fire at the Valero West plant, 3NEWS decided to take a closer look at how local departments prepare for industry fires. Portland Fire Department Fire Chief Jeff Morris said his department talks directly to local industries to plan for emergencies. He said they are prepared for industrial firefighting and hazardous materials and work with other departments to respond to incidents. "If they call for us, we'll go and assist and aid and help them mitigate situations that they have in their complex," he said. Morris said in the 5 years since he took over as chief, his department responded to some small-scale industry incidents. He said the more information they get about a fire, the better prepared they can be. "It's analyzing a lot of what we're going to be going to, because you know we, first we need to determine what's the size of the incident, what's the extent, the hazards that are involved," he said.  

PHOTOS: An Austin Fire Department crew recently recreated a famous historical painting for their battalion chief's bluebonnet photo challenge. In April, Battalion Chief Mark Bridges issued a challenge: the crew with the most creative pictures in the spring bluebonnets would be rewarded with his signature huevos rancheros breakfast. Station 31's C-shift members stepped up to the plate and recreated the famous 1851 painting by German artist Emanuel Leutze of George Washington and his army crossing the Delaware River. Chief Bridges chose their photo not only for its humor, but "its accurate depiction of the heroic nature of their water rescue missions," says AFD. The firefighters portraying George Washington and his army are Capt. Heath Haddock; Lt. Steve Hope; Fire Spc. Vernon Teltschick; and firefighters Alonso Rodriguez, Josh Garcia, Robert Whitehurst, and Leslie Lugo.  

On May 21, 2023 at approximately 7:23 p.m. the Washington County Communications Center began taking 911 calls reporting smoke and flame coming from Oak Creek Wood Products, which is located alongside I-41 south of Slinger in the Town of Polk. The first responding Deputy observed dark smoke coming from the area while still en route. Slinger Fire was subsequently paged to the scene. Upon the first deputy's arrival, a piece of equipment and a mulch pile were found to be actively on fire and spreading quickly in the rear of the business. The response was upgraded to the MABAS Box level. Due to the nature of the business and the amount of flammable material, the fire continued to spread rapidly on large mulch piles and stacked pallets, before also entering the building itself, which is located closer to the interstate.  

VIDEO: House bill 213 is being fast-tracked through the Alabama legislature right now. One of the main draws for the bill is it could help EMTs and paramedics be reimbursed for their college expenses in full, unlike previously where portions of their college expenses were paid for, according to Chauncey Wood, Governmental Affairs Legislative Liaison for the Alabama Rescue Squad Association. He says the funds would come from the state's education trust fund, and be paid out through the department or association the paramedic or EMT is affiliated with. However, he says the bill would do more than just pay for EMTs and paramedics schooling. "And it goes back even retroactive to take care of people that have gone through the course and already passed it, just excludes the fee" he said.  

VIDEO: Denver is home to one of the nation's largest populations of women firefighters. Through a group called Women Firefighters of Denver these women have joined forces. This month some of the dozens of women of WFFD spoke with CBS about what has brought them all together. Firefighter Rainy Santillanez has been with the Denver Fire Department for a little over a year now. She says being a firefighter has always been a dream of hers. "I was a bad kid. I set my grandma's rose bush on fire and actually believe (a Fire Station 20 crew) responded to that. They just kind of told me, 'Hey it's bad to start fires, it can hurt a lot of people' and from there, I was kind of hooked," said Santillanez. Santillanez says she's proud to be part of WFFD. It's an employee resource group geared to advocate and uplift women firefighters.  

VIDEO: Firefighters who serve and protect Walt Disney World overwhelmingly approved a new employment contract promising pay raises and more manpower. The union president says the team's been working under an expired contract for years. "Up until January of this year, we had gotten zero momentum in moving this thing any closer to being signed," said Jon Shirey, the Reedy Creek Fire union president. Shirey says members spent the week voting on a new contract. The votes were counted Friday, and 80% of 185 members voted yes. "There's a huge level of relief," Shirey said. "We have a level of open communication dialogue that we've never experienced before here." The agreement is with the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District that oversees the land where Walt Disney World sits.