Approximately 75 dogs died in a fire at the Ponderosa Pet Resort in Georgetown on Saturday, Sept. 18, the Georgetown Fire Department chief confirmed Sunday. The City of Georgetown confirmed all the animals involved were dogs. Twenty-five firefighters responded to the fire after the department received multiple 911 calls of flames at the resort at approximately 10:56 p.m. on Saturday. Crews arrived on the scene within 4.5 minutes and discovered heavy fire and smoke. Sullivan said the initial focus was to save as many lives as possible. Crews gained access to the building and were able to open some ventilation to try to control some of the smoke. However, they were unable to save any of the dogs inside the building. Sullivan said there were no humans inside.  

VIDEO: The pandemic has put more burden on first responders answering emergency medical calls. Dallas Fire-Rescue is hoping to cut down on burnout, response times and overtime with a new approach to staffing its ambulances. A new pilot program will run for six months. At first, DFR will use internal staff to determine if the model works. If so, they will begin recruiting and hiring single-role paramedics. According to the fire chief, the department averages 210,000 calls for EMS service every year. He says the numbers keep going up, especially during the pandemic. It's spreading EMS resources thin. "We have to think outside of the box see how we can be more efficient with the resources that we have," said DFR Chief Dominique Artis. That's how the Single-Role Paramedic Pilot Program got into motion.  

A military training jet crashed Sunday in a neighborhood near Fort Worth, Texas, injuring the two pilots and damaging three homes but not seriously hurting anyone on the ground, authorities said. Both pilots managed to eject from the plane before it crashed in Lake Worth, which is just west of Fort Worth, authorities said at a news conference. "This incident could have been much worse knowing that this plane went down in a residential area," Lake Worth Fire Chief Ryan Arthur said of the crash, which was reported to authorities shortly before 11 a.m. One of the pilots was electrocuted after being caught in power lines, Lake Worth police said in a statement, adding that "although badly burnt, the pilot was conscious, alert and breathing."  

The Alice Fire Department is saddened to announce that Firefighter Robert Liguez passed away Friday after a short sickness. Liguez was recently hospitalized after contracting COVID-19 . Robert Liguez dedicated 27 years to the City of Alice, 21 of those years as a Firefighter. Throughout his career he progressed through the department and earned his rank as a Fire Equipment Operator. Prior to beginning his career as a Firefighter he was a part of the cities Parks Department where he helped maintain our cities parks and playgrounds. He was currently a vital member of the fire department and in addition to serving his local city he also served his country with the US Army. Always positive, helpful, and dedicated to serving the community. Known by all in the department as a problem solver, there were not many things he could not fix or figure out.  

The family of an 8-year-old girl battling leukemia wants the community to know they are grateful for all the support they've received thus far. "She doesn't let it get her down, she doesn't let anything get to her," Jeremy Albright said. 8-year-old Maddie Albright has been through more than the average person. "Before this, she was the most talkative, most lively person in the room always making people smile," Albright said. Her father Jeremy, a Copperas Cove firefighter, said Maddie was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in February. Since then, she's had numerous treatments, procedures, and doctor's appointments. "She's been poked and prodded so many times that she's now an introvert," Albright said. Jeremy said the Copperas Cove Fire Department has done so much for his family since Maddie's diagnosis.  

PHOTO: Four people are without a home, and a pet, after a garage in North Austin became engulfed in flames Saturday afternoon. At just after 5:00p.m., the Austin Fire Department responded to the scene at 8907 Pointer Lane where a motorcycle had accidentally caught fire, setting the entire garage ablaze with flames extending through the roof. By 5:29p.m., officials provided an update that the fire had been knocked down with all occupants accounted for. A cat, believed to be the pet of the residence, was found unresponsive by firefighters who then attempted to resuscitate the animal. Unfortunately, their efforts were unsuccessful and the cat died at the scene. No other injuries were reported.  

VIDEO/PHOTOS: A famed church in the Far South suburbs went up in flames Sunday afternoon. Around 2 p.m., nearly a dozen fire departments responded to St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Beecher following reports of a massive blaze. Fire crews eventually extinguished the fire but the historic church was heavily damaged. Officials told WGN the fire may have started in the steeple. The church was hosting its annual Octoberfest. Todd Maehl told WGN News he was driving into town when he detoured down Church Street and noticed flames. "It was just an awful sight to see," he said. Beecher resident Zachery Wehling said he lives down the road. "I've seen it many times. My grandparents are buried there," he said. "It's really sad seeing the church like this." The Lutheran Church has deep roots in the Beecher community.  

Developed by the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) and the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA JPL), POINTER is groundbreaking new first responder tracking and location technology that allows first responders to pinpoint their colleagues more precisely in emergencies. "This is a very exciting technology that adds another dimension to firefighters' situational awareness," said Ed Chow, POINTER program manager. Only FOX 5 was there for the first live operation test ever with firefighters from Fairfax, Loudoun, and Stafford County. "We're trying to improve the safety of the first responder firefighters," William Stout, Program Manager for Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology. This new, 3D technology uses magnetoquasistatic fields to locate firefighters up to 229 feet on scene. There are existing tracking technologies that use GPS, but often fail inside buildings and when there's heavy smoke.  

With lessons learned from 9/11 so widely, recently and painfully recounted, the story of suffering and loss that continue for more than 100,000 fellow Americans must not be forgotten. We cannot lose sight of it as if seeing it through a rear-view mirror, fading in the distance. We need to keep these fellow citizens front and center. According to Time magazine, the World Trade Center Health Program, founded in 2010 as part of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, serves 112,042 members nationwide. Their membership includes 64,429 general responders, 17,031 firefighters and 30,582 survivors. Of these, 65,307 members have at least one certified debilitating health condition and remain badly in need of care. Some, even with treatment, will never recover.  

VIDEO: The pandemic has put more burden on first responders answering emergency medical calls. Dallas Fire-Rescue is hoping to cut down on burnout, response times and overtime with a new approach to staffing its ambulances. A new pilot program will run for six months. At first, DFR will use internal staff to determine if the model works. If so, they will begin recruiting and hiring single-role paramedics. According to the fire chief, the department averages 210,000 calls for EMS service every year. He says the numbers keep going up, especially during the pandemic. It's spreading EMS resources thin. "We have to think outside of the box see how we can be more efficient with the resources that we have," said DFR Chief Dominique Artis. That's how the Single-Role Paramedic Pilot Program got into motion.  

No clear culprit. No smoking gun. While COVID-19's origin story is currently defined by a lack of hard evidence and data, scientists around the world continue their search for answers to how the pandemic began. CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta speaks to leading virologists, epidemiologists and coronavirus researchers in "The Origins of COVID-19: Searching for the Source," premiering at 8 p.m. ET Sunday. As the world approaches the two-year mark since this novel coronavirus was first detected, there have been many twists and turns in the investigation into the origins of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that caused the pandemic. Some clues have led to dead ends, while others have spurred even more questions.