The Austin Fire Department is investigating a fire that broke out at a nightclub early Wednesday morning in southeast Austin. AFD crews responded to the Pantheon Lounge & Nightclub located at 1115 Old Bastrop Highway Service Road at around 3:27 a.m. This is just east of US 183. Fire officials say the fire went to a 2-alarm fire for additional personnel. The fire was put out by 5 a.m. One Austin firefighter sustained a burn injury to an arm and is being evaluated at an area hospital. No other injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.  

Abilene voters approved a new fire station on Election Day Tuesday, to be built in the far south side of the city. The ordinance passed in a 70% to 30% vote during the November 8 election. Abilene Fire Department's (AFD) Chief Cande Flores told KTAB/KRBC, back in July, that Fire Station No. 9 had been in talks for about seven years. Reasoning behind the new fire station stems from lowering response times to the far south and Wylie areas of Abilene. Chief Flores said the nationwide standard response times should be around five minutes or less. The new fire station would be located on city-owned property on the Lake Kirby side of FM 707, towards Tuscola. Fire Station No. 9 is slated to manned with a full staff, new equipment, and has an attached price tag of about $8 million.  

PHOTO: Firefighters are investigating the cause of a fire that damaged a home on the West Side. The fire started just before 9 p.m. Tuesday at a home along Harriman Place near U.S. Highway 90. Crews were initially concerned that someone might have been inside at the time, but they didn't find anyone inside. At this time, the cause has not been determined. Arson is investigating. After several hours, firefighters were called out to the same location for another fire. The second fire came from a part of the house that had previously undamaged. Officials say the fire is suspicious and they are having arson officials begin an investigation. Nobody was hurt, but the home is a total loss.  

While tax dollars cover just a portion of the operating cost of VFD's, most of the time they rely on fundraisers and donations to keep their facilities and equipment maintained. "Volunteer fire departments are always behind the curve financially so it's always a struggle with donations," said Central VFD Fire Chief, Dennis Cochran. Angelina County VFD's have faced high call volumes this year, most related to car wrecks. On Tuesday, they asked for commissioners assistance to help fill in the financial gaps. "Equipment we use is expensive and it's getting more expensive by the day... at the same time now that vehicle escalations is totally on the volunteers backs in Angelina County," said Cochran. The extra money received will go towards fuel, vehicle maintenance, and additional extrication equipment.  

One year after an arsonist attacked an Austin synagogue, Congregation Beth Israel wants to make sure no one forgets when hate erupted. On Halloween night in 2021, authorities said Franklin Sechriest of San Marcos drove to the Austin temple and set it on fire. He was indicted earlier this year on multiple federal charges. Congregation Beth Israel has not reopened the sanctuary space yet due to the damage. Mayor Pro-Tem Alison Alter is a member of the congregation. She's highlighting the attack, as a plea to people to call out hate and antisemitism in all forms. "This kind of bias and hate, being allowed to be pervasive, to be out there in our community unchecked, is a problem," Alter said. "We have to figure out how to respond to this darkness, and really move forward as a community and say it's not a part of who we are."  

For Wednesday's Breaking the Bias segment CBS4 On Your Side introduces you to Jacqueline Manriquez, an El Paso Firefighter who's not only fighting flames, but stereotypes also. "At the end of the day, when you bunker up, I don't think you can categorize yourself as a female or a male," Manriquez said. "You're just categorized as a firefighter. If you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life. Manriquez lives that motto every single day. "I started with the fire department back in 2012, so it's about to hit 10 years," Manriquez. It's been 10 years of hard work, dedication, love for her El Paso community and blood sweat and tears. "I was a regular trainee at my academy, it was a traditional academy, which is a six-month academy. I was the only female back then with about 50 males," Manriquez said.  

Several residents were forced out of their homes early Wednesday following a fire at a pedicab warehouse, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFD). The blaze was reported just before 4:30 a.m. at an alley on the 1400 block of Market Street. There, flames burned quickly due to lithium batteries in the warehouse and prompted officials to evacuate the neighboring Potiker Senior Residents complex, SDFD Battalion Chief Banker said. The warehouse was closed at the time and no injuries were reported in connection with the blaze. The warehouse appears to have been destroyed and the senior housing complex sustained exterior damage in the fire. Residents have since been given the all-clear to return to their homes. It is unclear what started the blaze.  

A recent nationwide study shows Maryland has an alarming level of "forever chemicals" in its waterways. The study, conducted by the national Waterkeeper Alliance, looks at the level of PFAS contaminants in U.S. surface waters. PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), often referred to as "forever chemicals," are manufactured chemicals that do not break down in the environment. The study says PFAs are "linked to harmful public health and ecosystem impacts" and commonly found in things like non-stick pans, food wrappers, and water or stain-resistant materials. Of the recent water samples taken across 30 states, Maryland's samples detected the highest level of forever chemicals nationwide. According to the study, 25 PFAS compounds were detected across 134 locations in Maryland.  

Today marks the 150th anniversary of the Great Boston Fire of 1872, which is remembered as the largest fire in the city. The fire began on the 80 block of Summer Street, and would go on to burn through 776 buildings, spanning 65 acres of Downtown and the Financial District. A series of unique circumstances came together to create a perfect storm for the fire to happen and get as bad as it did. In the years following the Civil War, the City of Boston had been undergoing major development, but upgrades to infrastructure — such as water mains — had not been done yet. Plus, the city's fire department was dealing with a disease impacting its horses, which negatively impacted the agency's ability to transport the heavy firefighting equipment, according to the Boston Fire Historical Society.  

A weekly report released Friday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention adds numbers to previous predictions of a troubling flu season. The number of hospitalizations reported by Oct. 29 has surpassed every recent year during the same week going back as far as the 2010-2011 season. While not a direct case count, the number of people hospitalized with a virus such as influenza or COVID-19 reflects the health care burden of a disease and shows how many people are being harmed. Experts have warned, though, that this season could produce more flu illnesses, based on how bad it was in Australia -- a country where flu viruses tend to develop first during the opposite winter season before migrating to the Northern Hemisphere . "It's hard to anticipate what trends we will see with each flu season, but we usually look to the Southern Hemisphere for clues," said Dr. Brittany Mueller, an internal medicine physician at Atlantic Medical Group Primary Care.