One person is dead, and another was left injured following a house fire that broke out on Sunday afternoon, according to the San Jacinto Sheriff's Office. The fire happened in the 100 block of S. Hill Ave in Shepherd, Texas, about 57 miles outside of Houston. According to officials, a preliminary investigation said a faulty electrical outlet may have caused the fire. Once officials arrived, one person was confirmed dead at the scene, and another was taken to a local hospital in stable condition. Investigators asked for all to avoid the area and yield to emergency personnel.  

A Texas A&M Forest Service employee was honored with the Current Achievement Award for Fire Protection during the National Association of State Foresters Annual Meeting in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Paul Hannemann, retired Texas A&M Forest Service chief of fire operations and incident response department head, was recognized for having been at the forefront of innovative and strategic response policy and program development for the first responder community. "Paul is a trusted leader in wildfire and all-hazard response efforts at the local, state and national levels and is respected throughout the country," said Al Davis, Texas A&M Forest Service director. "We are fortunate to have Paul's wisdom and experience in the agency."  

A commercial dyer exploded and caught fire injuring one person at a professional clothes-cleaning business just north of downtown early Monday morning, according to the San Antonio Fire Department. The fire was called in just after 7:30 a.m. at Kraft Professional Cleaners in the 300 block of West Josephine Street, not far from East Ashby Place and North St. Mary's Street. Firefighters said when they arrived, they found plenty of smoke in the building. The fire was put out quickly and without incident. Fire officials said one of the commercial dryer machines exploded, but the damage to the business was minimal. One person, however, was burned in the flash explosion. An ambulance took the man to a nearby hospital to be checked out. The extent of the injuries are unclear.  

PHOTO: A trail ride event has been shut down in Walker County after a fire broke out, burning several RVs and cars. According to the Walker County Firefighters Association, the fire happened at an event called "The Real Deal" on Roberts Road off FM 2550. Several RVs and cars were said to have burned and a grass fire was contained by county firefighters and the Texas A&M Forest Service, the association said. The association said law enforcement and EMS is at the scene and the event has been shut down. Walker County OEM said to avoid the area of FM 2550, FM 1696 and Roberts Road due to the fire and heavy traffic congestion.  

VIDEO: A four-alarm fire that sparked in Downtown Tulsa on Saturday damaged restaurants, apartments and some businesses, officials say. Two downtown Tulsa restaurants and bars burned, gutting an entire building with apartments on the second floor. Small puffs of smoke still rose from the ruins of the building, 24 hours after the fire started. It sparked by Hodges Bend, a popular coffee shop, and Lowood Modern Woodfire restaurant near E. 3rd St. and S. Lansing Ave., where crews including off-duty firefighters, responded at around 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. Both appear to be total losses, buried underneath the rubble of apartments. The Tulsa Fire Department said it started near the restaurant before spreading to the apartment units in the popular downtown area.  

Ronny J. Coleman, a revered nationally-recognized fire service leader for half a century, who served as California State Fire Marshal and as the chair of the CSFA Volunteer Committee, passed away Sept. 19 in Sacramento. Chief Coleman had been the Fire Chief of the City of Fullerton Fire Department when he was appointed in 1992 by Governor Pete Wilson to the position of State Fire Marshal, a position he held for 8 years. Prior to that, Chief Coleman was the Fire Chief with the City of San Clemente Fire Department, and prior to that was the Operation Chief with the City of Costa Mesa Fire Department. During his tenure as State Fire Marshal, the State Fire Marshal's Office was merged into the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, now known as CAL FIRE.  

Two more firefighters have died from illnesses related to their work at the World Trade Center during and after the 9/11 terror attacks, officials announced on Sunday. Their deaths bring the overall toll linked to 9/11-related diseases among members of the Fire Department of the City of New York to 343, which is equal to the number of FDNY members who died on the day of the attacks, the department said. This September marked 22 years since the attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people. Ahead of the date this year, the Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York said the number of FDNY members who had died of illnesses related to 9/11 was approaching the number of FDNY deaths recorded on 9/11 alone. It was 341 at the time.  

PHOTOS: Polk County Fire Rescue teamed up with A Safe Haven for Newborns foundation to encourage the safe harboring of babies throughout the county. To help get the information out that every fire station is a designated Safe Haven location where newborn babies can be dropped off, stickers were plastered on the fire department's vehicles that hit the roads every day. "The stickers serve as a reminder to the residents and visitors throughout Polk County that Polk County Fire Rescue is always here to help," the agency explains in a news release. The idea to work with the foundation was sparked after newborns were abandoned in the county at two different times. And according to A Safe Haven for Newborns website, there have been 10 newborn incidents reported in the Sunshine State so far this year – eight of them involving newborns successfully surrendered to designated locations.