VIDEO/PHOTOS: The City of El Paso held a grand reopening ceremony Wednesday for its newly renovated Fire Station No. 10 in central El Paso. Central El Paso's Fire Station No. 10, the oldest fire station in the El Paso Fire Department, officially reopened with a ceremony Wednesday following the completion of a $2.3 million reconstruction project that was funded through a 2019 voter-approved Public Safety Bond. "Thanks to our community's support, Fire Station No. 10 underwent a complete renovation to enhance emergency response operations," said Deputy City Manager Mario D'Agostino. "The City is investing in El Paso and delivering on its steadfast commitment to safeguarding lives and property thanks to the voter-approved 2019 Public Safety Bond program."  

The Del Rio Police Department said Wednesday night that a service outage affecting an unspecified "major cellular carrier" was preventing residents from being able to call 911. Authorities in the South Texas border city emphasized in a Facebook post that the "issue is with the carrier and not the City of Del Rio systems," urging the public to call 911 with a landline or through a functioning carrier if they have an emergency. Various other U.S. communities were reporting similar issues Wednesday night, including Spearfish, Nevada, were police said the entire state was experiencing 911 service outages. Officials in Henderson, Nevada, and Aberdeen, South Dakota, were also reporting the problem, and in Las Vegas – a city of more than 650,000 people – residents were warned of the 911 outage before police said around 9 p.m. that calls were functioning again.  

A house on Avenue H behind Wichita Falls High School suffered damage in a Wednesday morning fire. The Wichita Falls Fire Department responded to the 2100 block of Avenue H around 7:40 a.m. Wednesday, April 17, for a structure fire. Firefighters observed flames and smoke coming from the second story windows of the house. The fire department was able to get the fire under control and confirmed that no people were inside the residence. Assistant Fire Marshal Jody Ashlock said the fire is believed to have started in a room at the top of the stairs on the south side of the house. Lieutenant Ashlock said the vacant house showed signs of inhabitants staying there. Furniture was found upstairs, including mattresses, chairs and sleeping bags, and trash was found all over the inside of the house.  

VIDEO: Fire Chief Jason Mays first got the idea to create a citizens academy about four years ago when he became fire chief. It was one of his goals. Chief Mays says his goal was to increase EMS and the capabilities of providing emergency medical services and let the community into the AFD world. "So how do you do that? You know, we can have station tours, we can let people do ride alongs, which the citizens academy will get to do that, but rather than tell you what we do, at maybe some public event where we're giving a presentation, let's bring you aboard for a few weeks and let you go through it and let you do some of these things," said Chief Mays. "It's not just a job, it's a calling. And it's a calling where you're serving your neighbors," said Chief Mays.  

PHOTOS: A fireball shot into the sky Thursday evening as an apartment house went up in flames in Pilsen. Firefighters were called to the scene at 8:15 p.m., and found flames raging at the two-and-a-half-story, multi-family frame house at 1355 W. 16th St., Chicago Fire Department Assistant 1st District Chief Jim McDonough said. The building was vacant and was being remodeled at the time, he said. Firefighters immediately launched a blitz attack – directing two hose lines on the house while protecting nearby homes. The Fire Department raised a 2-11 alarm for additional equipment and manpower. A 2-11 alarm brings 32 pieces of fire equipment and just short of 100 firefighters, McDonough explained. The fire did spread to two nearby buildings to the east and west – both of them constructed from a wood frame with a brick veneer, and both of them occupied, McDonough said.  

VIDEO: Firetrucks in Pigeon Forge now have dash cameras, recording how crews respond to calls and helping them improve how they approach emergencies. Fire Chief Tony Watson said crews and fire department leaders can watch videos to learn how to better fight fires. He said the cameras cost around $130,000 and they help expand the station's training opportunities. "A picture's worth 1,000 words," he said. "I don't think there's a better thing that we can do than to be able to share some of the stuff that we're seeing out here on a daily basis." He said the videos can help save the lives of firefighters, making sure they approach emergencies prepared with vital information. "We can look at how we position our apparatus. We can look at the actions our firefighters do. You got to tell them, 'Okay, this is non-punitive, we're not gonna get you in trouble. Let's talk about how we can do this better,'" he said.  

VIDEO: San Francisco is marking the 118th anniversary of the 1906 earthquake and fire that nearly destroyed the city. Every year on April 18, a moment of silence is observed at 5:11 a.m. at Lotta's Fountain on Market Street to remember those who lost their lives in the 7.8-magnitude tremor. More than 3,000 people died in the quake and fire, and hundreds of thousands lost their homes. Lotta's served as a meeting spot for citizens to reunite with their loved ones after the quake. It is the oldest surviving monument from that day. The ceremony also included 30 seconds of fire engine sirens at 5:12 a.m., during the exact moment the earthquake hit. As part of the ceremony, many who attend dress up in Victorian-era outfits. Former Mayor Willie Brown, SFFD, SFPD, San Francisco Sheriff's Office were there as well as the Emergency Management Department.  

VIDEO: Law enforcement agencies across four states were left scrambling following reports of major 911 outages that saw millions unable to contact authorities late Wednesday. Many of the outages — reported in Nebraska, Nevada, South Dakota and Texas — were restored by the late evening. So far, there's no indication that the outages were caused by a cyberattack or other malicious act, law enforcement officials told NBC News on Thursday. While the Federal Communications Commission continues to investigate, the outages appear to be related to Lumen Technologies, a spokesperson for the communications and telecom company said. On Wednesday, some customers in Nevada, South Dakota and Nebraska "experienced an outage" when a third-party company, unrelated to Lumen, "physically cut our fiber" while "installing a light pole," company spokesperson Mark Molzen said.