A Texas A&M Forest Service spokesman said an estimated 96 acres were burned in a brush and grass fire off Rice Road south of Riesel Tuesday afternoon and into Tuesday night. Firefighters were on the scene until past midnight Tuesday night. The Forest Service and Marlin Volunteers were back at the site Wednesday morning watching for rekindles and knocking down remaining hot spots. The Forest Service took a bulldozer and cut a clear path around the perimeter of the fire to assist in keeping it from spreading further. James Adams, Chief of the Marlin Volunteer Fire Department reported one of his firefighter broke his foot when he got tangled in some vines in a brushy area. Other than that there were no injuries and no structures or livestock were lost.  

The City of Denison announced Tuesday senior leadership team transitions that will take place in the coming weeks. John Webb, the executive director of Planning & Community Development, resigned and will be replaced by Fire Chief Gregg Loyd. Loyd will serve as the Interim Director of Development. "We are blessed that Gregg will be staying on with Team Denison," city manager Greg Smith said. "This is a wonderful opportunity for the city to keep a valued asset on staff and for Gregg to expand his horizons. We look forward to working with him in his new role." Kenneth Jacks, from Tomball, Texas, has been named the Interim Fire Chief. After spending 27 years at Richardson Fire Department, Jacks was also fire chief in New Braunfels. The city says Jacks will start work next month.  

On Thursday, Sept. 23, just before 6 a.m., the Victoria County Fire Marshal's Office responded to a structure fire located in the 500 block of Northside Road in Victoria, Texas. According to Assistant Chief Fire Marshal Tom Legler, crews arrived while smoke was coming from the manufactured home. "We were able to get onto the scene pretty quick and identify all the hazards," said Legler. "We started to try and attack the fire to minimize the damage. However, there is a lot of contents to the structure, so it's hard finding all those deep hidden pockets." The Victoria County Fire Marshal's Office will continue to extinguish the fire completely and make sure all the hotspots are out. They will then assist with the investigation process, says Legler. "We immediately went into fire-fighting operation," said Legler.  

The Killeen City Council approved a budget of $268 million for fiscal year 2022 last week and in it are some big changes for the city's fire department. "It's all kind of finally moving in the right direction at one time, you know, it's not little dribbles here and there, instead of the the hose being cracked -- it's like wide open now," said Captain Tim Rabroker with the Killeen Fire. The City of Killeen is supporting the fire department through major investments that will help them grow as the city rapidly grows. "To know that support is there from the top down from are city leaders, all the way down to all the chief officers on the department here," said Fire Chief James Kubinski. "Even more exciting it was to be able to deliver the news to the men and women on the street."  

A Navasota firefighter's home was destroyed in a blaze Wednesday morning while he was on duty. Caney Creek Fire & Rescue, Conroe Fire Department, and Needham Fire & Rescue/ Montgomery County ESD#4 all responded to the home of David Kearney Jr. with the Navasota Fire Department. The home located in River Plantation, near Conroe, suffered significant damage in the fire. A GoFundMe page was created for the damages caused to the home, with the goal of raising $50,000. "Please help this firefighter and his family out," said the GoFundMe page organized by Rachael Crivelli. "Prayers going out [to] the Kearneys."  

The volunteer firefighters here at Central Bell Fire & Rescue are working with sub-par outdated gear, and they need the community's help to change that. The fire department is in a position that has left them with minimal gear that is outdated - and in some cases unsafe. "Some of our gear, we can't even let people go inside, but they can stay outside and fight a structure fire," said Douglas McKinney, chief of Central Bell County Fire and Rescue. "Only a few people can go inside with the gear that we have. If we have new gear for everybody, we can put that much more effort into saving property, saving lives, and so forth." The volunteer fire department does not receive funds like paid fire departments. "In order to get our gear at 30 sets, which is about how many firefighters we have, it's somewhere in the range of $70,000 to $85,000 to get 30 sets and that's with the latest and greatest technology," said Chief McKinney.  

VIDEO: Two people have been hospitalized with minor injuries after an early morning house fire in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Five people in all escaped from the home on Carleton Street around 3 a.m. Thursday before firefighters were able to arrive. Fire Chief David Moriarty said heavy fire was showing on the second floor when firefighters first arrived at the scene. "They had fire blowing out down the stairs from the attic area into the second floor. The entire attic was already blowing heavy fire 5 to 10 feet up in the air on arrival," he said. Firefighters attempted to beat back the flames but eventually had to retreat and battle the flames from the street due to unsafe conditions. "As you can see already, the third floor is completely missing, essentially," Moriarty said.  

Throughout his more than 30-year career as a firefighter, Bobby Duffus' mission was to save lives. It was a mission he was able to continue after his untimely passing. When the Richmond Fire Battalion Chief died on September 17 following a medical emergency, he gave the gift of life to others by donating his organs to those in need. His family and fellow firefighters lined the halls of Chippenham Hospital in Richmond on Monday to honor Duffus and his life-saving donation. "A heartbreaking moment for many of us," a Richmond Fire spokesperson wrote on social media. "Dozens of people came to see and salute Chief Duffus for the last time as we know him. His family joined doctors and nurses in moving his stretcher to an OR to begin his next chapter of saving lives."  

PHOTOS: Hardly any rain had fallen on Chicago for months, and the drought was getting worse. Over the 22 days leading up to October 8, 1871, it had rained only once—a measly 0.11 inches. "Under the burning sun for so many weeks, the whole city became virtually a tinderbox," recalled William Bross, one of the Chicago Tribune's owners. A mere 35 years earlier, Chicago had been a frontier outpost with a few thousand inhabitants, but now it was the commercial metropolis at the heart of the Midwest, growing at an astonishing pace as it drew people from around the country and from Europe, mostly German and Irish immigrants. By 1870, it was the United States' fifth-largest city, with a population of 300,000. And for the most part, it was made of wood.  

The Lexington council took its first vote Tuesday to set aside $15 million in federal coronavirus relief money for supplemental pay for up to 1,700 essential city employees who have worked during the pandemic. During a Tuesday council work session, Lexington city administrators did not have the full details on exactly how many people and departments qualify as essential workers, nor did it have an exact amount each of those essential workers would receive under the pay program. Public safety — including police, fire, 911 call center employees and corrections officers — would qualify as essential workers, city officials said. The council voted during the work session to move the proposal to its council meeting agenda, despite pushback from some members who said the issue of supplemental pay should be addressed at a Sept. 30 meeting.  

Tara O'Connor is a firefighter and EMT for Atkins Volunteer Fire Department. She's learned to overcome narcolepsy, and is using World Narcolepsy Day, held every year on September 22, to tell her story. O'Connor joined the department two years ago at age 22. She wanted to do it right after high school but had to figure out what was wrong first. "I just knew I couldn't right away, cause I was always tired," O'Connor said. "I got misdiagnosed with a lot of different things. I was misdiagnosed with ADHD, ODD, anxiety, depression." O'Connor was diagnosed with Narcolepsy in 2019. She takes medicine to sleep at night and to keep her up during the day and takes naps daily. She doesn't go on night calls with the fire department. "Just because people like me have narcolepsy doesn't mean you can't do what you want to do," O'Connor said.