PHOTO: The Midland Fire Department is on the scene of a large tank battery fire in Midland County. Midland Fire says that the fire is east of 1379 along Highway 158. This is about 15 miles south of Midland and 5 miles southwest of Greenwood. Fire crews are waiting for the company involved to shut down high-pressure lines. No injuries have been reported so far, the public is asked to avoid the area.  

Tropical Storm Alberto, the first named storm of the hurricane season, rumbled ashore making landfall in Tampico, Mexico early Thursday morning. Texas began mobilizing Wednesday as South Texas and the coast received heavy rainfall and tropical force winds and coastal flooding. Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 51 counties, paving the way for local officials and emergency response to the impacts of Tropical Storm Alberto. The U.S. National Weather Service said the main hazard for southern coastal Texas is flooding from excess rain. As much as 5-10 inches of rain was expected in some areas along the Texas coast, with even higher isolated totals possible, according to the National Hurricane Center.  

PHOTOS: Fort Worth firefighters responded to an emeowgency situation in Fort Worth Tuesday. The Fort Worth Fire Department posted about the incident on Facebook Tuesday. A resident noticed that a black kitten had crawled into the frame of his car. According to the post, he knew he couldn't get it out on his own. With a high temperature of 91 degrees and the car parked on a blacktop parking lot, the resident knew this was an emergency, the post said. The Fort Worth Fire Department, Fort Worth Police Department and the Tarrant County Sherriff's Office courtesy patrol responded to the scene. The resident's car had to be lifted and its tires removed before rescuers could reach the kitten safely. The kitten was scared but unharmed, according to the post.  

Three pets were killed and a fourth is unaccounted for following a garage fire at a home on the city's far West Side early Thursday morning, according to the San Antonio Fire Department. The fire was called in around 4:45 a.m. at a home in the 700 block of Cypressbrook Drive, not far from Potranco Road and South Ellison Drive. Firefighters said they arrived to find flames showing from the home. They managed to put the fire out quickly and without incident. Fire officials said the homeowners got out safe, but that three cats were killed and a fourth pet, a dog, is currently unaccounted for. The homeowner noticed smoke coming from the garage door, where firefighters believe the fire originated. A fire investigation team is now working to determine the exact cause of the fire.  

A large fire creating huge amounts of smoke broke out at a building on Chicago's West Side Wednesday evening, the second massive fire in the city within two days—and even within 24 hours. Fire crews sprayed water from multiple angles at the building in 2800 block of West Grand Avenue, near the intersection with California Avenue in the Humboldt Park neighborhood. Large amounts of smoke were visible from the air. Chicago Fire Department 1st District Chief Jim McDonough said the first companies were at the scene at 6:06 p.m. They found heavy fire in the cluster of structures, and everyone had evacuated by the time they arrived. The front part of the building, carrying an address of 2810 W. Grand Ave., is a three-story office building—which survived the fire, McDonough said.  

In 2023, 89 firefighters in the United States died from traumatic injuries, heart attacks, strokes, or aneurysms while on duty or within 24 hours of duty. This fatal injury count is a decrease over the 97 fatal injuries the previous year, but it is otherwise the second highest since 2013, during which there were 98 on-duty deaths. The increase in recorded fatalities over the past two years has been substantially influenced by the inclusion of deaths that occurred within 24 hours of duty. Prior to 2022, these deaths were not included in the study unless victims expressed a specific physical complaint while on duty. Of the 89 firefighters who died of on-duty injuries in 2023, 80 were municipal firefighters and nine were non-municipal firefighters. The municipal firefighters included 48 volunteer firefighters, 30 career firefighters, and two paid part-time firefighters.  

VIDEO: Video calls with 911 dispatchers may soon be a reality in Albuquerque. The city's fire rescue agency is looking to launch a new online video platform that they hope will help free up firefighter paramedics in the field. "This would give our dispatchers the ability to actually see the patient on scene," said AFR's EMS Division Chief Chris Ortiz. Ortiz said the department hopes to adopt a program that would allow dispatchers to see a 911 call in real time before crews even arrive on the scene. "They can't see the dispatcher on the other side, but the dispatcher can see them and in that, it will give a frame that will give the patient's heart rate and respiratory rate," said Ortiz. With a smartphone, the 911 caller would get a link to a website from a dispatcher. That link would then launch a live video call inside of the browser.  

The U.S. Senate passed S.870, the Fire Grants and Safety Act of 2023, sending it to President Biden to be signed into law. S.870 incorporates language from H.R. 4090, the Fire Grants and Safety Act of 2023, introduced by Science Committee member Tom Kean (R-NJ). The bill will support and advance firefighter and first responder services across the nation, providing a five-year reauthorization for the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), the Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) Program, and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Grant (SAFER) Program. "I look forward to President Biden swiftly signing this bill into law to ensure the safety and well-being of our communities nationwide," Chairman Lucas said.