Local firefighters spent several hours early Sunday battling a blaze that destroyed the former Temple Beth Israel building that was used for storage. The Breckenridge Fire Department was called at 5:20 a.m. to the structure fire at 302 North Parks St., said Fire Chief Calvin Chaney in a social media update. When firefighters arrived, "fire was extremely heavy on east end of building and already through the roof at midpoint of the structure," Chaney said. Within about an hour, the heavy fire was knocked down. Breckenridge police officers were able to evacuate the occupants of a residence that was 4 feet to the east of the building, and firefighters saved the residence except for one window that was broken, Chaney said. Firefighters remained on the scene until 11 a.m., tackling hot spots and knocking down unstable brick walls for safety reasons, Chaney said.  

A Northeast Side home was destroyed after a fire broke out early Monday morning. The blaze started around 6:30 a.m. on the 6400 block of Jenny Drive. Residents told officials they smelled smoke and saw the flames in the attic, said Bexar County Fire Emergency Services District 10 Chief Robert Hogan. Two people were able to escape the home. A third person had not been accounted for but was later discovered to be at a friend's house during the fire, authorities said. The fire burned for more than an hour. Hogan said junk inside and outside the home has made the blaze more difficult to fight.  

VIDEO: This week's forecast calls for a wide variety of weather throughout the week. from strong winds and high temperatures in the upper 70s tomorrow, to a cold rain expected on Thanksgiving Day. after a chilly turkey day, temperatures will return to the 70s Friday. the big concern in our forecast comes tomorrow with very strong Southwest winds and falling humidity. The result will be very high wildfire danger, especially across our Western counties. Winds will be strong from the southwest at 15 to over 30 miles per hour. Temperatures will make it to the mid and upper 70s tomorrow afternoon. This afternoon is going to be very pleasant, with mostly sunny skies, light winds and high temperatures in the 60s. We're going to keep an eye to the Western United States for our next potential Rainmaker.  

The Klein Fire Dept. and the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable's Office welcomed their newest member on Sunday, a very special young man in the fight of his life. Ezra Menke was sworn-in as an honorary deputy constable and made an honorary firefighter at a surprise event on Sunday. Ezra's mother, Heather Menke, was overwhelmed by the support from first responders, friends, and medical staff that came out to the event. "This is unbelievable. First of all, I'm having a hard time not crying," Menke said. "This is huge for us because of everything Ezra's gone through." Ezra suffers from Gould Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder known to exist in only 200 people in the world, according to his mother. Ezra also has epilepsy, autism, and hemiplegia. Ezra's scheduled to undergo brain surgery in December, his fourth in an attempt to stop seizures from happening.  

Emergency crews responded to a structure fire Sunday in Coffee City. According to Coffee City Fire Chief Chris Moore, they responded to the mobile home fire near the intersection of Judy Ln. and Lindy Ln. in Coffee City. The chief said a car also caught fire. Firefighters said the owners were not at home when the fire broke out and no injuries have been reported. Coffee City Fire, Noonday, Bullard, Berryville, Frankston, and Westside Fire Departments responded to the scene.  

The FDNY-Uniformed Firefighter Association is criticizing the decision to shut down streets around Rockefeller Center for pedestrians during the holidays. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced last week that the city would expand pedestrian space in the area and close streets to traffic, saying the increasing number of people in the area is "creating a real safety issue." Gerald Fitzgerald, president of the firefighters union, put out a statement Sunday saying he believes there will be increased citywide gridlock as a result of the changes — and that gridlock could affect emergency vehicles. "The move to increase ‘pedestrian space' surrounding Rockefeller Center is misguided and makes this city less safe – plain and simple. As it is, traffic is interfering with our firefighters' abilities to reach the scene of a fire, but this new plan will have wide-felt repercussions in the form of traffic from river-to-river," he said.  

In view of the Nov. 13 house fire that claimed the life of 39-year-old Lt. Jason Menard, the department's second line-of-duty death in less than a year, City Manager Edward M. Augustus, Jr. Friday announced his intention to name a task force to look at firefighter safety. The task force will do its work alongside the typically yearlong federal review the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health conducts as a matter of course after a firefighter dies on duty. Augustus announced his intentions the same day a strongly worded editorial by Kathy Spencer was published in the Telegram & Gazette. Spencer is the widow of Lt. Thomas Spencer, one of the six city firefighters who died in the Worcester Cold Storage & Warehouse Co. fire on Dec. 3, 1999. She is also the mother of a current Worcester firefighter, Daniel Spencer. Spencer's piece, among other suggestions, called for better training.  

When buildings and vehicles are set ablaze, toxic chemicals are released into the air. Those chemicals can last by hanging on to firefighters' gear, even taken back to the station after fires are put out -- causing troubling consequences for health and safety to those in duty. According to a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health study, firefighters are twice as likely to get skin and testicular cancer and mesothelioma. Fairfax Fire and Rescue is looking to reduce those numbers with a new approach. The department partnered with the National Fire Protection Association Research Foundation on a four-phase study that aims to improve equipment that can filter through the carcinogens and make for healthier firefighters. The partnership aims at a "holistic approach" to improving that gear and reducing cancer exposure.  

Fast food chain In-N-Out was responsible for a 2017 grass fire in rural Arroyo Grande, a lawsuit filed by Cal Fire in San Luis Obispo Superior Court alleges. According to the lawsuit, a wildfire sparked Sept. 20, 2017 on a property owned by In-N-Out at 9815 Huasna Road in Arroyo Grande. The fire was caused by a tractor mowing grass on the property, Cal Fire says in the suit — noting that the property was covered in "dry annual grasses and scattered brush, which created a receptive bed of flammable vegetation." According to the lawsuit, chaff built up on the mower deck before being ignited by a hot clutch and then blown off the mower deck, landing in the dry grass below. It quickly spread to the surrounding vegetation, aided in part by warm and windy temperatures that day.  

Use an ambulance, don't pay the bill and face criminal charges. That is what's happening in one Westmoreland County community. EMS companies all over the area are facing huge debts. Rescue 14 in Adamsburg in Westmoreland County is no different. But the district attorney has signed off on its new groundbreaking method of bill collecting. So far, it's working and the unit has collected thousands of dollars. Over the years, Rescue 14 Operations Manager Don Thoma tried to get money from patients in civil court, but he said it took too much time and too much money. He came up with the idea to file criminal complaints for theft against them after he heard of another ambulance company doing it. Target 11's Rick Earle asked him if he ever feels bad about filing charges. "It's not like I don't care," Thoma said. "It bothers me that they don't care."