Kevin Leago, the trailblazing Houston firefighter with cancer who fought City Hall to provide workers compensation benefits for his illness — and won — died Thursday. He was 40. Leago's victory in court over city lawyers who argued his illness was unrelated to on-the-job carcinogen exposure set a precedent for dozens of current and retired Houston firefighters stricken with cancer, Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association President Marty Lancton said. "Kevin's legacy will go well beyond his excellent service as a firefighter," Lancton said. "By working for insurance reform, Kevin and his family fought the good fight even while he was sick. He recently asked us to carry on the reform efforts so other firefighter families could avoid what he's gone through."  

PHOTOS: A fire destroyed a house early Thursday in an area of Pearland where firefighters were hampered by a lack of hydrants. Crews were called to reports of the house fire in the 1900 block of Mustang Lane around 1:15 a.m. When they arrived, they found the two-story, 1,100-squarefoot home fully engulfed in flames. On HoustonChronicle.com: Slain Nassau Bay officer was 'the rock' of police force The small, rural road had no fire hydrants, so firefighters had to call in special tanker trucks filled with water for firefighting efforts. No one was inside the structure as it burned. The home was built in 2012, according to property records. Pearland fire crews declined to speak with media on scene. What sparked the blaze remains unclear.  

Teamwork was the theme of the Beckville Volunteer Fire Department's annual banquet on Saturday. Chief Carl Anderson told his firefighters that working together means learning and drawing strength from each other — one of the first things taught in fire school. "One of the things they teach you is to buddy up and watch out for your partner, take care of each other," he said. Anderson also gave out several awards during Saturday's banquet. Chief's Choice went to Chuck Davis, a person Anderson said fit the question he kept asking himself: "Who can I depend on and who can I call on anytime?" Davis, Anderson notes, helped him out tremendously while he was adjusting to his new job as chief. Anderson also pointed out that Davis frequently takes those 2 or 3 a.m. calls and then gets up and goes to work in Gilmer.  

VIDEO: A massive fire destroyed a Portland home Tuesday night and for the folks who lived there, it's a lot more than just a property loss. Bruce and Cheri Collier owned their home on Grace Drive for nearly 40 years. Don Mayo is the brother-in-law of the Colliers and was at the scene. "It's a pretty helpless feeling," Mayo said. " You just stand here and watch it burn. "I mean they've been in the house I think they said 36 or 37 years and it's a lifetime of stuff going up in smoke." Two people were in the house at the time of the fire, Bruce and his older brother, Tommy, who is handicapped. Cheri Collier was not home at the time of the fire. "They lost their two dogs, Tara and Tyson. So that's really been the biggest thing for them right now. " Mayo said.  

You may know the 100 Club for their bumper stickers, often one stacked on top on the other. It was started in Houston in 1953. Back then it consisted of just a few members who decided to each donate $100 to help families of Houston police officers killed in the line of duty. Today, the non-profit covers 32 counties around Houston, making it the largest in the country. "We have grown now to over 31,000 members," said William Skeen, executive director of the 100 Club. It also expanded who it helps. State game wardens, state troopers, TDCJ peace officers, DPS, TABC and service animals are all included; some 35,000 individuals in Houston's surrounding counties.  

They say heroes can be found anywhere… and Stephenville's is a 15-year-old autistic teenager named Merritt Ragsdale. It all happened on Saturday afternoon. Merritt's family was alerted about a grass fire heading straight to their house. Merritt did not hesitate, started filling buckets with water, and he began putting the fire out. According to Erath County's Fire Coordinator, Chris Brooks, Merritt's efforts stopped the fire from spreading under the house. "…that probably saved the house," said Fire Coordinator Chris Brooks. Merritt was awarded by the Erath County Fire Department for his bravery. According to the teenager, he now wants to be a firefighter in the future. Stephenville's hero wants to remind people that even though he was awarded, he only wanted to help.  

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms on Wednesday announced that the city would provide firefighters an average raise of nearly 20 percent. The raises will go into effect this January.Fire Chief Randall B. Slaughter called the raises historic. "This pay raise represents the single largest pay enhancement to firefighters in this city in my 29 year career," Slaughter said.Wednesday's announcement capped years of tension between firefighters and the city leaders that at times became public. Firefighters did receive a 3.1 percent raise in the city's 2020 budget but that amount is dwarfed by the 30 percent raises for police officers that Bottoms announced last year.The city agreed to the police raises after a study found that Atlanta Police are paid below the median amounts at almost every level and rank.  

Phoenix Fire Department Chief Kara Kalkbrenner announced in a message to the department Wednesday that she has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Kalkbrenner, who was sworn in as the first woman to lead the department in December 2014, said in the message she will undergo a double mastectomy and reconstruction surgery this Friday. "While this is unfortunate news, I have a positive outlook and feel confident that I will beat this,'' Kalkbrenner said in the message, which was posted on the Phoenix Fire Department's Facebook page on Wednesday evening. "The diagnosis came after I discovered a lump in my breast several weeks ago,'' she said. "Our department is fortunate to have the exemplary team from the Vincere Cancer Center in our court. The physicians used state of the art diagnostics to determine the best course of treatment."  

Never far from the busy engines of Los Angeles's Fire Station 9 on Skid Row is a man known by everyone in the area as 'Mango.' Even though he can often be found wearing an LAFD cap and jacket designating him as the "Fire Traffic Officer," he is not an official member of L.A. City Fire. But when the calls fire off at Station 9, Mango springs into action, just like the crews. "This is the number one busiest fire station in the nation," said Mango. "My job is helping my guys here." The biggest way he knows how to help is clearing a safe path for the fire engines and ambulances to get where they need to go. "What I do is I stop the traffic, so they can have enough time to get off the truck, secure themselves," Mango said. Whether it's late at night or early in the day, Mango is there to offer a hand or sometimes even a hug to the crews.  

Chattanooga Fire Department Capt. Skyler Phillips fought back tears Tuesday as he told City Council members the story of a nearly blind woman with broken glasses who used to regularly call 911 seeking help after tripping and falling. This fall, the department launched a new program, CFD Connect, that seeks to connect frequent non-emergency 911 callers with social services that proactively address their problems before they turn to calling for emergency help. Since outfitting that woman with a new chair and glasses, she hasn't called 911 a single time, said the emergency medical services coordinator for the fire department. The saddest part is how common these cases are, Fire Training Chief William Andrews told the council. When they get the calls, first responders recognize the addresses. They know the callers by name.  

Local first responders are talking about ongoing issues they face when responding to 911 calls. Fire and EMS providers now rely on GPS systems that sometimes take them far from where they need to go. Fire Chief Jerry Hanson says it's an issue for East Prospect Fire Company about once a month. "There was a fire last month on Otter Street, which is literally two miles from here, but the way it came up on mapping, it wanted me to go to Columbia," Hanson said. The problem is the mailing addresses people give to 911 dispatchers don't always match up with the new GPS systems used by nearly all fire companies in York County. "We have a lot of people here that have Wrightsville mailing addresses," Hanson said. "In the borough, there are things like Cherry Street. Well, there is a Cherry Street here and a Cherry Street there, and it can get pretty confusing." EMS providers say they have the same issues. Like the fire department, they bring on volunteers who don't know the area well.