VIDEO: On Friday afternoon, Odessa city leaders and much of Odessa Fire Rescue honored a local hero. Assistant Fire Chief Rodd Huber called it a career after 27 years of protecting his community. The retirement celebration may have been all about Assistant Chief Huber, but the assistant chief's retirement speech certainly wasn't. He spent his time thanking his many coworkers who taught him many priceless lessons during the last two and a half decades. "I'm so proud of all the OFR that's helped me. We've been a good team, and it takes a team. One person can't do it by themselves. It always takes a team. You always get more done together when you work together," said Assistant Chief Huber.  

VIDEO: One person was found dead after emergency crews responded to an apartment fire early Sunday morning. LFR responded to the Madison Park Apartments in the 500 block of Martin L. King Blvd. just after 4 a.m. on Sunday, according to a release. Upon arrival, they found the single-story apartment building on fire. Firefighters managed to keep the flames mostly to one apartment unit. One person was found dead in the apartment. The cause of the fire has been classified as undetermined.  

Multiple fire departments were dispatched to a Nolanville house fire on Monday morning. Central Bell County Fire and Rescue, the Belton Fire Department and the Temple Fire Department responded to the incident around 6:54 a.m. The Bell County Fire Marshal's Office also assisted. The fire was started by a lightning strike to the home. A Belton Fire Chief reported heavy smoke coming from the residence. Central Bell County Fire and Rescue put two units on scene. Suppression efforts limited the fire in the attic space and in part of the kitchen. No injuries have been reported, and there was minimal property damage reported.  

On Sunday, the Hallsville Fire and Police Department hosted their second Code 3 Christmas event, where 27 underprivileged children from the community received breakfast, gifts and a visit with Santa. The first responders also took the children in their emergency vehicles to Walmart so they could pick out their very own gifts. It's the Hallsville police and fire departments' second year honoring 11-year-old Daisy Grace Lynn George who tragically passed in a hunting accident last year. First responders said community members were a huge help making Code Three Christmas happen once again. One of the attendees was feeling extra excited for one thing. "That we can ride in the cop car," said Dayton Robertson.  

Officials with the Amarillo Fire Department released information regarding a house fire Monday afternoon in west Amarillo. According to the department, units were called to a home near the intersection of Sunset Terrace and S. Maryland Street around 2:47 p.m. Monday. Officials said six units and 16 to 18 personnel from the department were on the scene. The department had the fire under control by 3:20 p.m., officials with AFD said. There were no reported injuries from the incident, stating that a resident from the home escaped safely. Officials said a fire alarm notified residents of the fire, but the source of the fire is unknown at this time. Officials with the Amarillo Fire Department said the incident continues to be under investigation by the Amarillo Fire Marshal's Office.  

VIDEO: A building under construction caught fire Monday morning at The Grove development in Austin. The Austin Fire Department first reported the incident around 10:49 a.m. at 4222 Elevator Drive, calling it a third-alarm fire. Upon arrival, firefighters noticed a heavy fire in a four-story building. The fire was contained to the one building and has since been knocked down. Officials said the cause of the fire was accidental, caused by a plumbing procedure with vapors too close to a space heater. No further information was immediately available.  

VIDEO: Two people were hospitalized Monday morning after swimming to shore to escape a massive fire that destroyed several boats near a marina in Hollywood. Hollywood Police said officers arrived at the scene at 700 Polk Street in the middle of North Lake just before 1:30 a.m. after reports of at least three boats in flames. "These boats were so engulfed, the only way to put the fire out was to … you know… they sunk," said Bill Muller, who watched the fire from his vessel. "Now they have a big mess, we have a lot of oil and debris in the water … it's a disaster." Officers said a man and a woman swam to shore to escape the fire. Both remained hospitalized, and the man was treated for burns at a trauma center. The cause of the fire is under investigation.  

VIDEO: A tractor-trailer hit a fire engine on Monday while crews were on the scene of a crash on Interstate 85, according to the Greensboro Fire Department. No one was inside Engine 61 when it was hit. No one was hurt, including the driver of the tractor-trailer. The fire truck was heavily damaged, but crews were able to drive it back to the fire station. The driver of the tractor-trailer was cited with failure to reduce speed to avoid a collision and careless and reckless driving.  

A Buffalo firefighter returns to work this week after he settled his wrongful termination lawsuit with the City of Buffalo and the fire department, which terminated him in 2021 for testing positive for cannabis despite being a registered medical patient. Scott Martin, an Air Force veteran who served two tours in the Middle East, was a Buffalo EMT and firefighter for over a decade, when he got suspended in December 2020 for testing positive for cannabis on a random workplace test. The collective bargaining agreement between the city and the fire department establishes the protocol for workplace drug testing, but it does not address registered medical users like Martin. Martin was deemed a certified medical patient in 2018 to help relieve chronic back pain, sleepless nights and post-traumatic stress disorder.  

PHOTOS/VIDEO: The block parties and judging contests in the SF Fire Department holiday decoration contest are scheduled for Wednesday, and these five SF Fire stations are decked out with gushers of yuletide razzle-dazzle that you won't want to miss. The last two holiday seasons have harked and heralded back to the late 1940s, as in that era, an old-time holiday decorations contest lit up San Francisco Fire Department stations all over town. The contest returned in 2020, and now the Chronicle has the latest on the 2022 SF Fire Department holiday decorations contest, as that paper notes that "The contest will be expanded in 2022, fire officials said, with stations encouraged to host block parties on Dec. 21, 2022, when the judging occurs, and prize money totaling $3,000 provided by the San Francisco Fire Credit Union going to the charity of the winning stations' choosing."