VIDEO: Wharton County firefighters responded to reports of a large fire at a chemical plant late Tuesday night, according to the fire department. The fire ignited around 10 p.m. at the Prime ECO Group Plant located at 2933 S. SH 60, according to firefighters. Officials said the fire started in building 3 of the plant, causing major damage to the building. The plant fire is reportedly under control by 1 a.m. A shelter-in-place order was issued for residents in the area but lifted by early Wednesday morning. No injuries have been reported by firefighters. The cause of the fire is unknown. The Fort Bend Hazmat team was requested to assist, monitor the air and test different chemicals, according to the Fort Bend County Fire Marshal's Office.  

VIDEO: A fast-moving fire damaged four structures and threatened others along U.S. 69 near Denison on Tuesday afternoon. The fire was centered along the highway's intersection with Frosty Hollow Road, about three miles southeast of downtown Denison. The first call for help went out around noon as a grass fire spread to fully engulf one building as the heat index reached 100 degrees. Grayson County Emergency Management advised voluntary evacuations as firefighters from almost every Grayson County community attacked the flames. Denison Fire Chief Kenneth Jacks confirmed that four buildings were damaged. "Three structures on the original side, on the south side of [U.S.] 69, and one on the north side," he said. "We're lucky we kept it from jumping the road just north of 69 into that neighborhood. Awful big houses... nice houses... so we kept it from going over there, which was a big win for us."  

An Abilene man has been arrested in connection to an overnight fire that completely destroyed one home and burned another. Jay Hunter Pace, 33, has been charged with Arson in connection to the fires on the 1600 block of Chestnut Street. A police report reveals Pace, "admitted to intentionally starting the fire." In a new report from police, the home where the fire began was rented out by Pace and another man. That home caught fire around 2:00 a.m. Tuesday. First responders arrived on scene to find a home fully engulfed in flames with fire also showing at one of the homes next door. After a second alarm was sounded, crews were able to extinguish the fire at the first residence and stop the fire from spreading even further at the second residence.  

According to the Prosper Fire Department, firefighters battled a 3-alarm fire at a Prosper church Tuesday afternoon. After the fire was extinguished, the four walls of the First Presbyterian Church were still standing--but the building, which has been around since the 1890s, now faces extensive renovation or possibly a complete rebuild. Around 1:45 p.m., crews were called to a fire that began inside the back of the church, which sits at 400 S Coleman Boulevard. Upon arrival, firefighters reported visible smoke billowing from the building. Prosper Fire-Rescue crews, along with the assistance of Frisco, Celina, McKinney, Little Elm, and Aubrey Fire Departments, worked quickly to get the fire extinguished. Officials said no injuries were reported, and no one was inside when the fire began.  

Fire crews across Central Texas are battling three separate wildfires as a result of continued hot, dry conditions. One fire, which the Texas A&M Forest Service has named the Smoke Rider Fire, started on RM 165 in Hays County on Tuesday. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) reported just before 3 p.m. Tuesday that RM 165 was closed between FM 2325 and US 290 due to the fire. At 9 p.m. Tuesday, TxDOT said US 290 remained closed between RM 165 and US 281 due to the fire. On Tuesday, the Hays County Office of Emergency Management said the fire was moving north. As of 9 p.m. Tuesday, the Texas A&M Forest Service said the Smoke Rider fire was estimated at 800 acres and was 30% contained. Fire activity had significantly diminished at that time.  

PHOTOS: Several Coastal Bend fire agencies were busy this morning as they responded to a large cotton bale fire near Taft. Crews with the Taft Volunteer Fire and Rescue were called to County Road 1906 near Taft around 5:45 a.m. and found several cotton bales on fire. Portland, Gregory, Odem and Sinton crews were also called to the scene for tanker and brush truck support, a post from the Taft Volunteer Fire Department said. Due to limited water and personnel, crews decided to let the fire burn itself out, officials said. Officials said the area around the fire remains "active with heavy smoke and can be smelled in town." "Dispatch has been notified and personnel will be rotating shifts to keep an eye on the area," a post by Taft Volunteer Fire and Rescue said.  

VIDEOS/PHOTOS: The site of an unusual and dangerous discovery in West Philadelphia has been decimated by fire less than 12 hours after the initial investigation began. More than 150 jugs of gasoline were found in the vacant home on the 100 block of 59th Street near Arch Street around 8 p.m. Monday. At 9:50 a.m. Tuesday, the home was on fire. Chopper 6 over the scene showed smoke coming from the home. Several firefighters could be seen battling the fire on the roof.Photos taken earlier from the scene showed flames shooting from the front of the house. The fire was placed under control just after 10:30 a.m. Officials said no one was inside at the time and there was no word on the cause of the fire. Neighbor Malachi Allen lives two doors down from the home.  

VIDEO: Last week's Kentucky flood disaster was America's deadliest non-tropical flash flood in 45 years. At least 37 were killed in eastern Kentucky after 6 to 9 inches of rain fell in just 12 hours last Thursday, triggering record flooding on the North Fork Kentucky River in Jackson and Whitesburg, and damaging flooding in several other towns. Some homes were swept away by the raging floodwaters, and many more in valleys were flooded. In the five days that followed, over 1,300 people were rescued, but crews were still pushing to reach those still cut off by mudslides and washed-out roads or bridges, according to the Associated Press. By a flash flood, we're referring to a flood that happens quickly on the order of minutes or hours, with rapid rises in streams, creeks, rivers or urban areas due to torrential rain over a smaller area.  

Truckee Meadows Fire & Rescue (TMFR) announced Tuesday that one of their fire stations will be temporarily closed due to a bat infestation. Fire Station 30 located at 3905 Old Highway 395 will shut down for an undetermined amount of time. Bats have been found in the living quarters and apparatus bay of the fire station, causing a health and safety risk to fire crews. The District is working with experts to determine what preventative and remediation work is needed to eliminate the bat colonies and associated hazards. Fire personnel and firefighters including paramedics will be relocated to Station 32 and Washoe Valley Station. In addition to rabies, bats can transmit viral, bacterial, fungal and parasitic infections to humans. The Fire District tried to alleviate the infestation problem in 2015, only to have the bats return.  

With degrees in chemical engineering, and graduate study at Princeton University's Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Maximillian Nguyen thought that becoming a volunteer firefighter was out of his "normal wheelhouse." But he considers himself "a resident of the town of Princeton and not just a University student," so he decided to give back to the community in appreciation for enjoying what Princeton has to offer. Nguyen is one of four Princeton University graduate students who recently became members of the Princeton Fire Department, and who continue a longstanding cooperative effort that has helped the municipal department supplement its ranks through the University's staff and students' desire to serve the community. The four are the largest group of graduate students to join at one time, according to Princeton University.  

Canton firefighter Maureen Stoecklein has switched gear from public safety to professional sports as the Detroit Tigers nutrition coordinator. She was invited to become a crucial member of the professional baseball team's support network in late 2021 and officially retired from firefighting duties this summer to focus on the Tigers' fuel from food. Baseball followers will tell you the Tigers could be playing better on the field. Off the field, Stoecklein is working with a team of chefs and dieticians to make sure they're eating and enjoying the right combination of foods throughout the day. "First of all, I am honored to be working for the hometown team. That is like the coolest thing, because I grew up watching the Tigers (and) going to Tiger Stadium for games," she told Hometown Life in June, during one of her last shifts as a Canton Township firefighter.