VIDEO: Authorities are responding to a large fire and explosion in southeast Midland on Thursday morning. Midland County officials tell CBS7 that the scene is near Cloverdale Road and South Fairgrounds Road. Authorities have evacuated businesses and homes within a half-mile radius of the scene. According to City of Midland Public Information Officer Erin Bailey, the initial explosion involved a hot oiler and a frac tank and was first called in around 10:30 a.m. A worker was injured but only suffered minor burns. Firefighters with the Midland Fire Department immediately responded to the scene. Bailey tells CBS7 that fuel leaked onto the ground and spread to a firetruck which firefighters had to abandon. The truck caught on fire along with 4-5 frac tanks. No firefighters were hurt.  

A judge ruled on Wednesday Emond Johnson will not be granted a change of venue in a trial for the deadly 2017 Ingram Square fire. His attorneys were trying to get the trial moved, saying there is no way he could get a fair trial. They cited public outrage over his alleged actions. Johnson is charged with murder after San Antonio firefighter Scott Deem died fighting the massive fire in May 2017. Johnson was indicted by a Bexar County Jury in December of 2017 on arson charges related to the May, 2017 fire at Ingram Square shopping center that killed Deem and injured two other firefighters. Johnson was the owner of the Spartan Box gym, where the fire was started. The motion to move the trial was filed in October.  

WFFD firefighters and the Denton Bomb Squad have been working with explosives as part of their training at the fire training facilities near the Booker T. Washington Elementary school neighborhood. Their training has left some residents concerned. "We received no notification by school, by mail, nor knock at the door or anything," resident Alica Johnson said. Johnson said she just wanted to know what was happening. "Make us aware," Johnson said. "We have kids so just make us aware of what is going on around our neighborhood." The WFFD Chief spoke with News Channel 6 about why they have been detonating explosives. "So the last couple of days, Denton Fire has brought up their Bomb Squad and done some orientation, some training with our staff in terms of identification and proper response protocols for events that involve explosives or potentially explosive devices," WFFD Fire Chief Ken Prillaman said.  

A substantial improvement in the city's fire service rating means Mineral Wells property owners may soon see a reduction in their insurance premiums. Fire Chief Mike Pool on Tuesday told city council the city's ISO rating dropped two points, or classifications, from a 5 down to a 3. ISO is an acronym for Insurance Service Office, a New Jersey company whose recommendations are used nationally to make public protection classifications. The city's recommended Class 3 rating will go to the Texas Department of Insurance and the State Fire Marshall's Office for approval. "This is good news for the citizens and businesses of Mineral Wells, and for future businesses," Pool said. Pool said the two-classification improvement could result in as much as a 14 percent reduction in property insurance rates – though he and City Manager Randy Criswell cautioned that individual policyholders are not likely to see that much of a break.  

Nine firefighters from various Hopkins County volunteer departments attended the Reilly Springs Jamboree on November 16, 2019 to tell the audience why they serve as first responders. Their individual responses were well received and applause went up in appreciation of their courageous work. This visit was by invitation following a rough week of firefighting across the county, which included four separate structure fires handled by multiple units within a 12-hour period. Their fellow firefighters toil in all types of weather conditions and in dangerous settings to put out fires, prevent loss of life and damage to structures and surrounding property. It is risky and perilous work, and it's not for everybody. Hopkins County appreciates their fire fighters!  

It's a slice of small-town America that's disappearing across the country. Just like the mom-and-pop hardware store, the volunteer fire department is being replaced with big-city professional departments. In the Florida Keys, only two all-volunteer departments have managed to hang on, along with volunteers serving on paid departments. They keep busy tending to injured car crash victims on the Oversea Highway, and putting out boat and house fires. But Key Largo, the largest of the volunteer fire departments left in Monroe County and around since the 1950s, is struggling for volunteers. And major change may not be far behind. The department's leadership and the taxing board that oversees its budget said this week that the all-volunteer model is becoming unsustainable as the cost of living continues to increase in the Keys. A proposal to bring on more paid firefighters would mean a tax increase.  

Two former city firefighters, both African Americans, have filed a lawsuit against the city, claiming they were the victims of racial discrimination, retaliation and a hostile work environment, especially under the leadership of retired Fire Chief Joseph Dooley. The 15-page lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Superior Court in Union County, charges that Joseph Braxton and Mark Bullock were subjected to "racial comments and jokes" daily. Other retired firefighters, the lawsuit alleges, reported that Dooley "routinely made disparaging remarks about African-Americans, Jews, women, Hispanics, Poles and other groups," before and after he became chief. The lawsuit was announced Wednesday during a news conference by the New Jersey Clergy Coalition for Justice (NJCCJ).  

Kansas City's interim fire chief, Donna Maize, will become the first woman to lead the department, the city announced in a press release Wednesday. Maize, who was serving in City Manager Troy Schulte's office, took the helm as interim chief in September when Gary Reese stepped down. Schulte on Wednesday appointed her to the permanent position, which she had indicated previously that she didn't plan on pursuing. "I thrive on the positivity I receive daily from the department and see a renewed sense of purpose in our responders," Maize said in the release. The Kansas City Fire Department has long played a role in Maize's life. Maize joined KCFD in 1992, where her father was also a firefighter, and the two fought several blazes together.  

Lloyd Musick was driving south on Route 309 in Lynn Township on Tuesday night when he came upon an overturned truck that had just been in a crash. He stopped his vehicle and joined two others to help out the victims in the wreck, authorities said. Musick didn't know the people involved in the 5:30 p.m. crash at Route 309 and Mountain Road at the base of Blue Mountain, but he was the type of person who would help anyone in need, according to those who knew him. As Musick and others helped crash victims, a minivan driving south on Route 309 hit the three Good Samaritans, injuring two of them and killing Musick, 49, of Summit Hill, Carbon County, authorities said. On a GoFundMe page, Musick's daughter, Kaitlyn, describes her father as "a firefighter, a husband, a father, a brother, a friend to anyone who needed one, and a proud pappy."  

The sign on the door at Firehouse 7 says it all: "THIS PROPERTY CLOSED BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF HEALTH." Asbestos was detected on open surfaces inside the North Plymouth station, prompting the site to be locked down until further notice. Both the town manager and the Board of Health both issued declarations ordering Firehouse 7 closed. The latter order prevents anyone from entering the station until an environmental expert can assess the safety risk. "The town is engaging an environmental hygienist to go in there with the appropriate gear," said Birgitta Kuehn, chair of the Plymouth Board of Health. "That person will determine if it is safe to remove the firefighters' gear so they can perform their duties. All firefighters at Fire House 7 have been relocated to other stations."