Multiple families are forced from their homes after a fire consumed an apartment building in East Fort Worth Wednesday morning. Firefighters were called at about 1:15 a.m. to a 2-story apartment complex along the 1400 block of Vanderbilt Street West, where they found flames shooting from one of the buildings. The fire was so heavy that crews were forced to call in for extra help, Fort Worth fire spokesman Mike Drivdahl said. Drivdahl said a total of 12 units were damaged by the fire. The Red Cross is helping the residents whose homes are no longer accessible. Despite the severity of the fire, no injuries have been reported, Drivdahl said, noting that the residents were likely sleeping when the fire ignited. "That's why smoke detectors are so important. Those extra seconds can make a big difference," he said.  

Volunteer fire departments around Texoma are feeling the burn as they work on rebounding from COVID-19 impacts and budget concerns. "Every county is seeing a significant financial impact," said Wichita West Assistant Fire Chief Michael Albert. "We haven't been able to fundraise since early March. Many are in jeopardy of losing buildings, fire trucks, and equipment. We are blessed that we are not having that issue yet." Some departments are finding it hard to get new members. "Recruitment, as far as I know, is down and fundraising is at a minimal, if any, so right now funding is pretty, pretty important," said Wichita county Emergency Management Coordinator Lee Bourgoin. This is no easy job and requires dedication and flexibility.  

Multiple agencies teamed up Tuesday morning to rescue three people after their boat started sinking in Cedar Creek Lake. According to a post on the Payne Springs Fire Rescue Facebook page, multiple agencies were alerted to be on the lookout for a boat on Cedar Creek that was taking on water at about 8:45 a.m. Tuesday. At the time, the winds were strong, and the three passengers had life vests on, the Facebook post stated. "One of the passengers was able to stay on the phone with 911 which allowed for their cell phone location to give us an approximate location," the Facebook post stated. The Gun Barrel City and Log Cabin volunteer fire departments launched boats to assist. Tarrant Regional Water District already had a boat on the lake, and TRWD employees were able to get the three people onto their boat with help from Log Cabin VFD firefighters, the Facebook post stated.  

Fulshear's new fire station broke ground at 33301 FM 1093 on June 9. "This station and future training facility have been in the planning stages for some time. We are excited to see the building process begin, and it comes at a great time as development along FM 1093 in Fulshear is progressing," said Gilbert "Herc" Meier, the chief of the Fulshear Simonton Fire Department. The 30,000-square-foot building will be the fourth location for Fort Bend County Emergency Services District No. 4 by its completion date in summer 2021, he said. ESD No. 4 covers 106 square miles with a population of about 60,000 people. The facility will include a training facility, administrative offices and an internal training room, which will also serve as an emergency operations center when needed.  

A 3-year-old boy was recognized as a hero Tuesday night by the Boerne Fire Department for his quick thinking that led to the rescue of his father and his young sister from high water. Miles Butry was puddle jumping with his 6-year-old sister, Ella, and their father, Blake Butry, near their home on Windsor Drive on May 12, when something went wrong when we're getting ready to leave. "When I looked over, my daughter was sliding down the drain," said Butry, who then chased after her, but the water was swiftly pouring into an underground drainage ditch. "I could see her pink jacket disappear into the pipe and I just went after her," he said. Blake Butry was able to find his daughter in the dark ditch and they rode the water about 250 feet into a culvert.  

An older couple and their two dogs are safe after evacuating their Far North Dallas home Tuesday morning when they spotted flames spreading through the back of the residence. Dallas Fire-Rescue said they notified of a fire at a home on the 17600 block of Woods Edge Drive shortly before noon and arrived minutes later to find smoke and flames shooting through the two-story residence's roof. The residents told officials one of them said they spotted flames coming from the back of the home and that they quickly grabbed their dogs and got out of the house before calling 911. Fire officials said the flames quickly spread into, and throughout, the entire attic before making its way down the frame of the home, leaving behind significant damage.  

A large, early morning house fire destroyed a home on Hazel Drive in Putnam Lake on Thursday. With no fire hydrants in the area, water was carried in on tanker trucks. The family living at the Hazel Drive home were all able to get out safely, with no injuries reported. Putnam Lake Fire Department responded to the scene, with mutual aid from Patterson, Brewster, Croton Falls, and New Fairfield and Danbury, Connecticut. The Putnam County Fire Investigation Team was called in and are currently investigating a cause for the fire.  

Emergency medical dispatchers across North America can now quickly direct 911 callers during time-critical cardiac emergencies to the closest automated external defibrillator (AED), thanks to the implementation of an AED geolocation plan by Priority Dispatch and the PulsePoint Foundation. The partnership between Priority Dispatch and PulsePoint allows 911 dispatchers to inform callers of the location of AEDs while using existing medical dispatch protocols within Priority Dispatch's ProQA® software, with no changes to workflow—saving critical time during life-threatening emergencies. Each year in the U.S., there are approximately 360,000 Emergency Medical Services (EMS)-assessed cardiac arrests outside of a hospital and on average, less than 10 percent of victims survive. The keys to survival are early recognition, early CPR and early defibrillation.  

The US surpassed 2 million confirmed coronavirus cases as experts predicted Thursday that tens of thousands more people will get infected and die in the months ahead. Nearly 113,000 people have died from COVID-19 nationwide, according to Johns Hopkins University. An influential model cited by the White House issued the dire prediction, saying the US death toll could reach 169,890 by October 1, with a possible range of about 133,000 to 290,000 deaths. Daily deaths are expected to decrease through June and July, then remain relatively stable through August before rising sharply in September, the model forecasts. "If the US is unable to check the growth in September, we could be facing worsening trends in October, November and the following months if the pandemic, as we expect, follows pneumonia seasonality," said Dr. Christopher Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington School of Medicine.  

Researchers at the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) have updated and extended the U.S. COVID-19 forecasts through Oct. 1. Researchers are forecasting nearly 170,000 deaths. Deaths are predicted to remain level through August but may start to rise in the fourth week and increase during September, according to an IHME release. Some states will see an increase earlier due to increased mobility and relaxed social distancing guidelines, researchers said. The model includes data through June 6, 2020. The states expected to have the earliest uptick in deaths, according to current modeling, are Florida, Arizona, Georgia, and Colorado. Increased travel in some states, as well as the overlap with the flu season, may affect hospital demand in the fall and winter, the release stated.