A new fire chief for the Westlake Fire-EMS Department has been selected. John Ard, formerly the assistant fire chief, was sworn in at the September Westlake Town Council meeting, according to a town news release. Ard takes over following the tenure of Richard Whitten, who retired in August. Whitten had been the fire chief for 14 years. Ard has been serving as interim fire chief since Whitten's departure, according to a news release. He served as second in command and fire marshal for the town of Westlake for the past seven years and has nearly three decades of public service experience. Before coming to Westlake, Ard served in Arlington and Southlake, according to information from the city. His fire service career began in 2002 with the city of Southlake as a fire inspector working in the fire marshal office.  

The Jarrell Fire Department is mourning the loss of 25-year-old Engineer Jake Owen who died after a hard-fought battle with brain cancer on Monday, Oct. 2. According to a Facebook post from the department, Owen was hired in October 2018 and was fully dedicated to serving his community. The department stated, "Engineer Jake Owen was not only a remarkable firefighter, but also a beloved colleague, friend, and family member. His commitment to protecting our community was evident in every action he took, and his selflessness was an inspiration to all who had the privilege of knowing him." The department also extends their condolences to Owen's family, friends and colleagues during this tough time.  

A fire at the Hobbs Bonded Fibers warehouse in the 200 block of Commerce Drive has been contained. According to Robby Bergerson with the Waco Fire Department, the call came in at 8:05 p.m. after equipment in the warehouse caught on fire. Crews were on the scene with two minutes. The flames spread upward prompting a second response. In total 15 units and 36 firefighters responded. No injuries were reported at this time.  

A house fire in Kingsville left one elderly woman dead on Monday according to the Kingsville Fire Department. The call came in at 1:55 a.m. Monday morning for a house on West A Avenue. Firefighters were dispatched and arrived at the scene two minutes later at 1:57 a.m., only to find fire coming through the roof. After making entry, firefighter crews discovered 78-year-old Pam Talip, owner of the house, deceased in the bedroom at the front of the home. Neighbors said Talip lived alone and her son lived across the street. Many neighbors who grew up with Talip said they are saddened and shocked by the news because they had just seen her hours before the fire. Kingsville Fire Chief J.J. Adame said the fire started at the back end of the house and the State Fire Marshal is investigating the incident. There is no cause yet as to what caused the fire.  

A Wayland business complex became an inferno Tuesday afternoon after a large fire broke out, spreading to a parked car and setting off multiple explosions. The fire sent a cloud of oppressive, chemical-filled smoke over the area before sunset on Tuesday. Hours later, firefighters were still on scene around 9 p.m., spraying down hotspots and assessing damage. SKY7-HD flying over the scene soon captured video of the fire as firefighters sprayed water from multiple angles shortly after 4 p.m. Within 45 minutes, much of the auto body shop had collapsed. Everyone inside the complex was able to get to safety on their own, according to Wayland fire officials. One firefighter suffered a leg injury after tripping over a fire hose. Wayland's fire chief said the fire started shortly before 4 p.m. in an auto body shop bordered by a restaurant and a dry cleaning facility.  

One Central Illinois fire department is considering the implementation of fees for one of its services. The Village of Savoy is set to vote on a new ordinance that would specifically affect non-emergency calls at assisted living facilities within the village. The non-emergency service would primarily be lift assistance. Village President John Brown said that the Savoy Fire Department has already responded to over 100 of these non-emergency calls this year — a number they hope to limit in 2024. Eddie Bain, the department's Public Information Officer, explained that several reasons prompted this decision, including being short-staffed on equipment. "We'd like to keep that equipment 100% available for emergency responses," Bain said.  

VIDEO: The City of Fort Worth's fire department is training its largest-ever recruiting class, in an effort to keep up with the city's population growth. Chief James Davis said he'd been trying to boost staffing for a couple of years, and the city council granted the budget after recent studies highlighted the need. "They reflected that we weren't making good use of our people and that we were becoming dependent upon overtime in order to keep up with the growth," Davis said. He said Fort Worth is growing at about 20,000 new residents per year. The budget increase allows for 70 new firefighters. "This increase in our authorized strength will help us to maintain-- to keep up with that growth and provide that level of service," Davis said. The current recruitment class, 60 people, is twice the size of the usual academy class.  

The Superior Fire Department will offer fire prevention training for home-schooled children in first through fifth grade from 1-3 p.m. Oct. 17, Oct. 18 and Oct. 19. Training held in 2022 , the first offered by the department, welcomed 103 children to the headquarters fire station over two days. "We actually ended up having to turn down a couple of families — we didn't have enough space — so we've opened it up. We're going to do three days this year," said Lead Fire Inspector Caleb Sorvik. The education is what Superior firefighters provide to students in public schools every October during Fire Prevention Month. It will include presentations, demonstrations, a visit by Sparky the fire dog, a chance to see fire trucks, fire prevention handouts and goodies, as well as a tour of the fire station.  

PHOTOS: For some, the pressure of serving as a first responder is too overwhelming. But for others, running toward danger instead of away from it is a life mission. No matter the time of day, firefighters are ready to stop at any moment to serve their community. And some of them are even willing to accept more pressure to serve their communities in a different way. Many firefighters in the Phoenix and Glendale fire departments also hold a second job title: high school football coach. Sandra Day O'Connor football coach Brian Cole has been coaching for 33 years while also working as a firefighter since 1986 before retiring last July. He was a captain in the Phoenix Fire Department and around 30-40 of his former players have joined the fire department.