VIDEO: Georgetown Fire Department firefighters extinguished a car fire last week. The call, along I-35 near the Leander Highway exit, was worked by the B-shift from GFD Station 1. Among those on the scene was firefighter Jeremy Love. "It definitely feels like it goes faster when you are there in the moment, watching it back over again you kind of see what everybody was doing at the moment, everyone has got their particular job depending on what seat you are wiring in," said Love. Firefighter Tyler Paulus broke the car windows and punctured the tires to prevent a roll off if the brakes failed. "First and foremost, I was thinking, is anybody in the car. There was no indication that everybody was out. There was nobody on scene, doors were locked, windows were up so, my first concern was making sure nobody was in the car," said Paulus.  

One person is dead and four are injured after several fire departments responded to the scene of a fire at the Firehouse 9 Farm event venue in Gilmer, officials said. Officials said they responded around 10:33 a.m. to the fire at 4101 Locust Road. Upshur County officials said the incident involved "fireworks explosions and other volatile incendiaries." Information released earlier from the scene indicated that an accident occurred as fireworks were being prepared for an event later on Tuesday, the release stated. According to Capt. Billy Williams with Gilmer Fire Department, officials were actively working to put out the fire around 11:55 a.m. Williams said that eight departments were on the scene working to put out the fire and an additional department was helping in the area. Nearby law enforcement agencies and EMS also responded to the scene.  

VIDEO: Bridge City firefighters spent Tuesday morning dealing with a marsh fire south of the city. Firefighters from the Bridge City Fire Department were sent to the fire on Lake St. at about 5 a.m. on Tuesday, July 4, 2023, according to a dispatcher. Once there, they called for help and firefighters with the West Orange Fire Department responded to help fight the fire. No houses or businesses were in danger, according to the dispatcher. As of 8 a.m. there were no active fires, but only a few hot spots a dispatcher told 12News. The cause of the fire is still unknown according to the dispatcher. It is also unknown if fireworks were involved the dispatcher said, adding that people should be aware of their surroundings if they use fireworks which are not legal in the city limits.  

PHOTO: Firefighters are crediting an Orangefield teen with saving his family following an early Wednesday house fire. Firefighters from three fire departments battled the house fire that left behind heavy damage before sunrise Wednesday in Orangefield. Orange County Emergency Services District Two firefighters were sent to the blaze at a home in the 10000 block of East Greenwood Dr at about 3:30 a.m. according to a firefighter. The family was asleep at the home when the Orangefield High School student woke up and smelled smoke according to Bridge City fire marshal Elgin Browning. He woke up his family and got everyone out of the house Browning told 12News. The neighborhood is just north of Orangefield Junior High School.  

First responders in Whittier rushed to a fire at the city's fuel dock just before noon on Tuesday. A call to the area's dispatch confirmed that multiple crews were called to the scene, with fire and EMT teams from Whittier, Girdwood and surrounding towns. The Whittier Fire Department and the Coast Guard were also called to respond. The Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel was closed to allow easier access for emergency vehicles, but reopened for regular service shortly after the fire was extinguished. While no large cruise ships were docked in Whittier at the time of the fire, the town was full of holiday visitors boarding and disembarking from boats at the Whittier Harbor. Whittier Fire Chief Richard Valentine said the department initially heard about the fire from someone who observed the fire and rushed to nearby fire department personnel.  

VIDEO: Twitter is one of the quickest ways for fire departments and other emergency services to alert you to fires. But changes with Twitter in the last couple of days means those tweets aren't being seen when it really matters. If you tried to use Twitter this weekend, you likely had some trouble. The app is starting to limit how many tweets people can view, which local firefighters say is troubling while we're in the middle of peak fire season. "So for us to be limited in the number of tweets that we send out to the community, it can put us in a really difficult situation," said Spokane's Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer. The Spokane Fire Department has used Twitter as a foundation for its communication with the public for over ten years. Its Twitter account has a direct feed from dispatch, sending out crucial fire updates in real-time.  

A Phoenix firefighter and three others were sent to the hospital following a crash in West Phoenix. It happened on Indian School Road near 70th Avenue just after 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Security camera video from someone living at the apartment complex right where the crash happened shows the moments unfold. In the video, you can see a dark-colored SUV traveling east on Indian School Road when it stops in the far left lane. The two vehicles behind it also stop. Then the video shows a black sedan crash into the back of one of the stopped cars pushing it into oncoming traffic. That's when you can see the Phoenix fire truck hit the car sending it several feet in the opposite direction. The fire engine then crashes into a concrete wall at the apartment complex.  

New equipment for first responders is defining the line between life and death. Nearly a year ago, the Tidewater EMS Council launched the Whole Blood Initiative which allows first responders to carry blood in the field to administer to trauma patients over the age of 15. The tool has been vital for Lt. Bobby Hoag with Chesapeake EMS when he's on the go. "Now that we've transitioned to giving whole blood, there's been a massive emphasis on how much we can do to not just stop the bleeding but now improve their outcome," Hoag said. David Long, the executive director of the Tidewater EMS Council, said the program was an opportunity to improve the trauma care they deliver. "When we started looking at our data, the impacts that we were having were rather limited because the loss of blood is one of those things that really dictate outcomes," Long said.