The City of Odessa announced Monday that the role of interim chief of Odessa Fire Rescue will be filled by current battalion chief Jason Cotton. Cotton has served the people of Odessa for 25 years with OFR. He will serve as chief until a permanent replacement is chosen. The news comes after the announcement of the retirements of both former chief John Alvarez and former assistant fire chief of administration Joey White. Alvarez and White both spent 30 years with OFR.  

Four workers were taken to the hospital Monday morning after being hurt in an explosion at an elementary school in Fort Worth. It happened around 10 a.m. at Parkview Elementary School in the Keller Independent School District. Keller ISD said contracted workers were doing demolition work in an old unoccupied building on campus. There was some type of electrical explosion that resulted in several injuries. Video from SKY 4 showed a burn victim being loaded into a medical helicopter on the school's soccer field. MedStar officials confirmed one person with burns was airlifted to Parkland Hospital. Three other people with less severe injuries were taken to area hospitals. There's no word on their conditions.  

A woman is in critical condition and has been charged with DWI after crashing into the back of a Dallas Fire-Rescue truck early Saturday morning. The wreck happened just after 2:30 a.m., in the southbound lanes of N. Stemmons Freeway, near Storey Lane. Firefighters were already on the scene for a previous crash and were using a blocker truck for traffic management. While DFR crews were still on scene, police said a woman crashed into the back of the blocker truck. The woman was taken to a local hospital in critical condition, where police said she was charged with driving while intoxicated. No firefighters were injured.  

Sherman firefighters quickly battled flames Monday afternoon at a vacant apartment complex next door to an elementary school. "It's kind of crazy because you never thought that was going to happen," said Andrea Mancia, who watched fire crews drown the flames at Southgate apartments on Travis Street in Sherman Monday afternoon. The fire happened just feet from Washington Elementary. "I was kind of worried about the kids at school, so that's why I took mine out," said Mancia. Sherman ISD said the smoke set off the school's fire alarms, but classes continued as normal. "Whenever I went inside the school, there was a lot of smoke," said Mancia. The fire department said the students were moved to the opposite side of the building.  

Athens Fire Rescue will be hosting its first-ever Citizens Fire Academy beginning in March, with limited registration available now. The hope is that the Citizens Fire Academy will facilitate communications between the Fire Department and the community and lead to increased awareness and knowledge to keep homes and workplaces accident-free. "We're hosting this academy so people can see what we actually do," said Fire Marshal Lance West, who is spearheading the program. "It will let people see all the hats that we wear, whether it is fire, EMS, rescue, or more." The purpose of the Citizens Fire Academy is to help residents learn more about their fire department and how it is organized and operates.  

On January 11th, 2020, the City of Lubbock mourned for the losses and critical injuries of our local first responders. Now, three years later, those first responders' families and friends are asking the community to be safe when they drive and leave their porch lights on in honor of them and to remind people to be smart when driving. Starting Tuesday night, January 10th, through Wednesday, January 11th, which marks the three-year anniversary of the crash, the friends and family of these three amazing men are asking everyone to remember them by turning their porch lights on the whole time. Showing the community and world that we will never forget those who laid their lives down for the protection of this area. If possible they ask to turn them blue or red. If you remember on that fateful day, Lubbock Fire and Rescue Lt. Eric Hill and Lubbock police officer Nicholas Reyna were killed, while firefighter Matt Dawson was severely injured in the horrific accident.  

Fire crews in Walker say no one was hurt after firefighters battled a blaze at an apartment complex Monday afternoon. It happened around 2:30 p.m., and according to a post online by the Walker Fire Department, the fire started on a balcony off Weatherford Dr. NW. Multiple fire crews could be seen tending to large plumes of smoke and flames at Green Ridge Apartments near the Green Ridge strip mall off Alpine Avenue. Two ladder trucks were seen helping out the cause. Authorities say the fire traveled up into the attic space. All told, it took about 45 minutes to knock down the fire initially, but crews stayed on the scene for several hours after to snuff out hotspots. The last crew on the scene left at 8:30 p.m.  

VIDEO: Thousands of Californians fled their homes as severe weather continued to batter the state, leaving one dead, a child missing and massive swaths of power outages on Tuesday. Moderate to heavy rains were expected to continue to hammer much of California on Tuesday as a fresh low-pressure system barreled toward the state as part of a "parade of cyclones" that prompted a string of rescues Monday. Homes were flooded, streets transformed into rivers and cars were swamped amid the deluge. One person was killed in Avila Beach, roughly 180 miles north of Los Angeles, when a vehicle was overtaken by water, said Anita Konopa, an official with the San Luis Obispo County Office of Emergency Services.  

A dozen East Point firefighters will be redeployed after a late-night fire destroyed one of the city's fire stations. The City of East Point's Fire Department says the blaze broke out shortly before 11:32 p.m. Friday, Jan. 6 at Fire Station #3, which is located on the 3800 block of North Commerce Drive. The fire, which started in the Bay area of the station, resulted in massive damages including the destruction of the Bay area and the loss of one of the fire trucks. The station's living quarters was mostly unaffected by the blaze, only receiving some smoke and water damage. According to officials, a passerby noticed the station was on fire and called 911, who radioed the station. The station's firefighters and member of the other stations quickly started working at the scene and got the fire under control before it spread.  

Ocean City paramedics are bringing new equipment into the field to better treat trauma patients. Ocean City Fire Department (OCFD) says the Ocean City Career Fire/EMS Division is getting ready to add ultrasound technology to its crews. Officials say the equipment will help determine the extent of injuries in trauma and medical patients. The technology will allow paramedics to quickly and accurately assess how severe injuries are, say officials. Uses for ultrasound technology could include abdominal pain, cardiac arrest, and a suspected tension pneumothorax, according to OCFD. "We are excited to add ultrasound to our toolbox," said OCFD Public Information Officer Ryan Whittington in a release.  

With all of the benefits of pretend play, one toy company is aiming to inspire young girls with a new line of dolls, fashioned after female firefighters. Triple F, which stands for Fierce Female Firefighters, has launched a line of authentic firefighter plush characters, with the third character coming out this month. Developed by a real-life female firefighter, Triple F Plush dolls were designed to inspire, motivate and empower young girls while also honoring the women in the fire service and emergency medical services worldwide. According to the owner, Tina Guiler, this is the first line developed by an actual firefighter and "is more authentic than any other product on the market." "Triple F, which stands for Fierce Female Firefighters, aims to encourage and educate young women that they too can be a firefighter if they want to be," she said.