VIDEO: Investigators are looking into the possibility that someone purposely started a fire in a shed behind a home in Dignowity Hill on the city's East Side. The fire broke out around 1 a.m. Monday in the 700 block of N. Palmetto Street. San Antonio firefighters found the structure in flames, then worked to keep the fire from spreading. Samantha Dyehouse, who lives in the home next door, says she and her boyfriend woke up to an orange glow outside their window. She says once they realized their neighbor's shed was on fire, they jumped up and called 911. "It was ablaze, I mean, just seven-, eight-foot flames," she said, describing the fire. "We tried opening our own door and it was too hot to even go outside." Before firefighters managed to put out the fire, the flames jumped to Dyehouse's fence, causing damage.  

The Wichita West Volunteer Fire Department was recently given six acres of land and six hundred thousand dollars to build a new station by a couple of anonymous donors. Assistant Fire Chief Michael Albert said this gift comes at the right time with changes being made by the Texas Department of Transportation. Albert said that will only make their job harder. "With the expansion of TxDOT of Highway 82 that's going to eliminate our safe zone for our firefighters to pull apparatus out. So if we do have to pull apparatus out and respond to calls and vehicle checks we would be almost in the roadway," Albert said. The current fire station has now run out of bay rooms, and its fleet is growing which means more space is needed to accommodate everyone according to Firefighter Rick Lasky.  

Firefighters responded to a house fire near Helotes Monday afternoon and were able to extinguish the flames quickly. Calls came in for reports of a fire just before 2 p.m. at the two-story home in the 14500 block of Windy Creek. San Antonio Fire Department Battalion Chief Terrence Lowe told KSAT the fire is believed to have started between the first and second floors of the home. "It looks like it was limited to the contents of one room," Lowe said. "However, there is some smoke damage as well." Lowe said an investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing, and the source is still unknown. Nobody was injured, and no pets were harmed, according to Lowe.  

One person has been displaced after a recreational vehicle catches fire. Temple Fire and Rescue was dispatched at 11:43 a.m. Sunday to reports of a structure fire, in the area of E. Garfield Avenue and N. 12th Street. Crews discovered heavy smoke and flames coming from an RV behind a business at this intersection. Firefighters were able to quickly extinguish the flames. An employee of the business was living inside of the RV. The person was not injured, but will be displaced from the vehicle due to the incident. Nearby equipment and materials being stored also received fire damage. Temple Fire and Rescue responded with nine units. The Temple Police Department and Temple EMS also responded.  

Boy Scouts Troop 550 created a new American flag retirement drop box at the Marshall Fire Department on Sunday. The box is going to be in the lobby of the station. There was a dedication ceremony, and the Boy Scouts and firefighters retired eight American flags. Devon Smith came up with the idea of the box for his Eagle Scout Project, so these important flags can be retired properly. Smith is a Life Scout with Troop 550, which is chartered by the Trinity Episcopal Church. He will soon undergo a Board of Review to join the Eagle Scouts. The following Boy Scouts were at the event: Devon Smith, Matthew Prater, Will Baldwin, Owen Hudson, Hart Hudson and Wesley Vasquez. Rex Brown, Scott Baldwin and Joey Hudson are on the Troop 550 Committee and also attended. Smith's family were also there to support their son.  

VIDEO: As lithium-ion battery fires continue to break out across New York City, Congressman Ritchie Torres is proposing new legislation to establish safety standards at the federal level. Torres, a Democrat representing parts of the Bronx, says that the proposal is aimed at preventing fires like the five-alarm inferno that tore through a borough supermarket on Sunday when an e-bike battery burst into flames. That blaze left seven people injured and took more than 200 firefighters to extinguish. The legislation would require the Consumer Product Safety Commission to establish federal safety standards for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries used in personal mobility devices, like e-bikes. Torres is set to introduce the legislation Tuesday morning.  

VIDEO: The FDNY is still putting out hotspots after a fire destroyed a supermarket and laundromat in the Bronx over the weekend. Investigators were working Monday to try to figure out if the lithium-ion battery responsible for a fire that burned through a supermarket and homes in the Bronx was not approved. "There is nothing left and it is all because of this one single bike," FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said. As the sun came up Monday morning, the light poured into the Concourse Food Plaza and laundromat next door, showing nothing but debris and charred rubble. Officials say it was the result of an e-bike lithium-ion battery fire that started Sunday. "We have seven injuries, five firefighters, one member of EMS and one civilian, everyone is stable but this really shows you how incredibly serious this can be," Kavanagh said.  

President Joe Biden made history March 6 when he addressed hundreds of IAFF members at the 2023 Alfred K. Whitehead Legislative Conference. It was the first time in 25 years that a sitting president spoke at an IAFF conference. Biden, a longtime supporter of the fire service, expressed his profound appreciation for firefighters and EMS professionals, remarking, "People don't appreciate you until they need you. When that bell rings … you jump in the truck, no matter what." Biden's commitment to firefighters has been evident throughout his career. During the COVID-19 pandemic, his American Rescue Plan helped cities hire firefighters and avoid massive layoffs. "You all know, the only thing that protects you is more firefighters," he said to a round of thunderous applause and a standing ovation.  

VIDEO: Mitchell LeRocque's 6-month-old son has a big smile on his face, and hair that's almost as red as the fire truck daddy rides in. He doesn't yet know how close he came to losing his father on Friday in those powerful storms that ripped through central Kentucky. "It's very unfortunate that it had to come to this with our station, but I feel very fortunate," LeRocque said 72 hours after his near-death experience. LeRocque was sitting inside Station 12 in Mercer County on Friday when the roof was blown off the top. "I heard a loud crack and initially I thought the building got struck by lightning. Then I looked up and saw bright light and saw there was no roof," he explained. The debris field from this damage stretches over several hundred yards.  

VIDEO: A St. Lucie County firefighter is breaking barriers and making history in the male-dominated sport of spearfishing. "I have been spearfishing since I was a kid," said Julie Higgs, a firefighter and paramedic with St. Lucie County. "I was 7 years old. I shot my first fish when I was 13." ulie Higgs comes from a family of first responders. "My dad is a retired fire captain from Palm Beach County. My mom worked for the fire department for a little while. My stepmom is a nurse. My sister is a nurse," said Higgs. She said what she learned on the water is what prepared her to be a firefighter. "When I grew up on the boat with my dad, I was his first mate. I did everything," said Higgs. "There are several things we do in our physical agility test, one being hoisting a rope over a rail, five stories tall; normally weighs about 45 pounds. I would watch people struggle with that, and I would think I've been pulling heavy anchors on a big sailboat my whole life. This is easy for me."