PHOTOS: An apartment fire in northwest Austin is "under control," according to the Austin Fire Department. AFD said the fire started Monday evening on a second-floor balcony and spread to the attic. The fire went to a third alarm for "additional relief crews." Around 10 p.m., AFD said the fire affected eight apartment units and displaced 13 adults and one child. Two firefighters were injured and transported by Austin-Travis County EMS for evaluation, AFD said. The fire was in an apartment building at 11215 Research Blvd., Austin. This is near Balcones Woods Drive. In an update Tuesday morning, AFD said the fire was accidental. Total losses are estimated to be around $4 million with $300,000 worth in lost content.  

A home explosion in Garland led to a fire and sent a family of six to the hospital with serious injuries, according to the Garland Fire Department. Family members said the mother died Sunday night from her injuries. Firefighters said the call came in around 10:47 a.m. on Sunday for a house in the 600 block of East Ridgewood Drive, that partially exploded and was on fire. "It sounded like a bomb. It was, it was like 'boom' it was very hard," said Jose "Ramiro" Rodriguez who was outside doing yard work when he witnessed the side of the home explode and burst into flames. "There was a boy, about 15 years old, and he asked for help (in Spanish), 'ayuda, ayuda, ayuda.' I ran there to the room and I found the two little kids on fire, [their] shirts and everything. I took off the shirts, I burned my fingers," explained Rodriguez who also had to receive treatment for his burned hands.  

Temple Fire and Rescue is bringing in a new class of 12 cadets for its 11th fire academy. The academy takes 16 weeks being a closer step for cadets to become firefighters The cadets started in the classroom today learning the history of firefighting and what they'll be doing on the job. Cadet Maddison Tamez says being a firefighter will fulfill her life purpose. "Bravery and the courage to go in burning buildings, or even go and try to help people that might be panicked or anything like that. I think that's amazing and super honorable," said Smith. Tamez grew up in Temple and has lived here her entire life. After hearing about firefighters in middle school, she knew it was something she wanted to pursue. "They just had a really good impression on my life, and so I figured I'm old enough to go ahead and pursue that now," said Tamez.  

Polk County fire crews and the Texas A&M Forest Service have fully-contained a 14-acre wildfire reportedly started by illegal burning. According to Polk County Emergency Management officials, firefighters responded Monday afternoon to a tract of land near Pine Grove Road and Farm-to-Market Road 62, between Corrigan and Chester. The flames destroyed a house and a travel trailer, officials said. Sam Houston Electric Co-op had cut power to the area as firefighters worked to put out the flames. Power was restored to all customers by early Tuesday, according to the utility provider. Post on the Polk County Emergency Management Facebook and Corrigan Volunteer Fire Department Facebook pages stated the sheriff's office had taken one person into custody for starting the fire. Additional details were not immediately available.  

A man trapped for more than 12 hours on a train was rescued by firefighters early Tuesday morning, according to the San Antonio Fire Department. The fire department received the call around 4:30 a.m. from a worker at a Union Pacific rail yard near the 1700 block of Quintana Road on the city's Southwest Side after hearing someone inside one of the freight cars screaming for help. Firefighters said they arrived to find a man stuck inside one of the cars with his feet caught in heavy wire coil. They spent more than an hour trying to free him, officials said. A batallion chief said the man is from Guatemala and climbed into the train in Eagle Pass, crawling into the car through a small space. The load however shifted, causing the heavy coil to fall onto his feet, fire officials said.  

VIDEO: Bruno the German Shepherd is lucky to be alive. His dad pulled both he and Beanie, a Corgi mix, out of their burning apartment, just as the entire building went up in flames. Both people and pets were hastily evacuated from the Sedona Square Apartments in Alief just after 12 p.m. on Monday. The fire began in an upstairs unit in Building 7, but quickly spread to all eight units in the building. About six of the units were occupied by tenants, authorities said. "This morning, my wife and I were shopping and they called to say the house was on fire," Charles Ireland, who lives in one of the downstairs units, said. "We rushed back. The apartment on top of us was on fire." Ireland was able to rescue both Bruno and Beanie. "I dragged them out of there," he said. The dogs were among at least three or four that were pulled out of the units.  

A fire at a chemical plant in Madison Village caused massive fireballs to shoot into the air Monday night. The fire took place at ChemMasters located at 300 Edwards Street. According to Madison Village, dispatch crews were called to the scene about 9:50 pm. The fire chief at the scene told 19 News that the fire initially started in a storage unit where plastic containers were housed. There were no chemicals in the units at the time, but melted plastic covered the grounds in the area. Several area fire departments provided mutual aid. There are no known injuries at this time. The Ohio State Fire Marshal is expected at the scene to determine the cause.  

VIDEO: Some local police and fire departments have a new employee at the station. Just like a football or basketball team, there's now an athletic trainer working full-time, embedded at the police station or firehouse. It's a program that's growing throughout central Indiana, keeping first responders healthy and saving taxpayers money, too. White River Township paramedic Brittany Chisholm is three weeks out from bicep surgery, after getting injured on the job. But she's getting better faster and not missing a day of work because rehab is right at the firehouse. "Really appreciate having it right here," Chisholm said. "It makes it easier for us and we've had great results from it." White River Township Fire in Johnson County is one of six local departments to partner with Forte Sports Medicine and Orthopedics in the past two years.  

VIDEO: An increase in fires caused by lithium-ion batteries has sparked a call for better education and enforcement efforts from New York City leaders. There were 104 fires caused by lithium-ion batteries in 2021, leading to 79 injuries and four deaths, according to the FDNY. This year, that number is already up to 126, with 74 injuries and five deaths. That includes one at a NYCHA complex in Harlem that left a 5-year-old girl and a woman dead. Council Member Gail Brewer was joined by other city officials Monday to call on NYCHA to create a plan that accommodates people who depend on e-bikes for work while protecting residents. Brewer's office said there are a number of bills being drafted to address issues of safety and regulation of lithium-ion battery-powered e-bikes and other mobility devices.  

The HELPER Act is a bipartisan legislation bill and home loan assistance program backed by Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff to allow law enforcement, firefighters, EMS and educators of grades K-12 to purchase homes in the communities they serve. The HELPER Act, or Homes for Every Local Protector, Educator, and Responder, would provide civil servants a one-time-use home loan at a 3.6% premium fee to the federal government without requiring a down payment. This fee populates an insurance fund that houses money in case of foreclosure from a recipient of the loan. "That kitty right now, I think, is 300% overfunded," said Samuel P. Royer, Marine veteran and National Director of Heroes First Home Loans.  

VIDEO: A new tool to treat those suffering from trauma-related injuries in Brevard County is now available as they fly to the hospital. Health First was the first hospital in the state of Florida to begin using what's known as "whole blood" on its air ambulance helicopters. Rob Spivey, the trauma program manager at Holmes Regional Medical Center and First Flight nurse manager, said there is a growing movement in the U.S. to shift from using blood parts, which began in 2001, to now whole blood. "What we used to carry then was packed red blood cells," Spivey said. "We have a blood transfusion and we have blood products that are able to spin down and separate into different components of whole blood — into packed red (blood) cells, into platelets and plasma and so forth."