Numerous fire departments have been battling a wildfire less than 10 miles east of the small Hill Country town of Mason. The "North Art Complex" fire was at an estimated 3,000 acres and only 10% contained as of 6:45 a.m. Friday, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. Lightning Thursday night started multiple fires in the area, according to the Brady Standard-Herald, causing volunteer fire departments from Brady, Voca, Placid and Rochelle all to be dispatched to help the Mason Volunteer Fire Department. No information has been reported about evacuations or damage to structures. A community organizer with Rancher Navy, a fire relief group for ranchers, said the Mason County Rodeo Association is opening up its facilities for people that need somewhere to take their livestock.  

VIDEO/PHOTOS: From Hurricane Beryl to the wildfires in the Panhandle, Texas has experienced the impact of natural disasters in 2024. During large-scale incidents in the Big Country and beyond, the Abilene Fire Department has the right vehicle for the job. An ambulance bus known as an Ambus has been stationed at Station 4 since 2021. The Ambus is 43 feet long and 11 feet high, and it can accommodate 20 to 27 people. Aaron Maxwell, AFD EMS Coordinator, said the bus is particularly useful in rural areas like Abilene. "There's a limited number of ambulances here in Abilene as well as in other counties, and then the other jurisdictions around here are all small and may only have one ambulance available," Maxwell said. The Abilene Ambus service operates alone within a 100-mile radius, with the next closest vehicle located in Fort Worth, Lubbock, or El Paso.  

Two members of the Denton County Emergency Services District #1 have recently upped their firefighting game, having attended an exclusive nozzle training in the Windy City. The specialized course, offered only three times per year, spans a busy three-day period and aims to fine-tune firefighters' ability to handle one of their most critical tools: the fire nozzle. The training held last week in Chicago was much more than a simple tutorial. Attendees were immersed in a curriculum filled with product development insights, problem diagnosis, and the nuts and bolts of repairing various nozzles and appliances. According to the Denton County Emergency Services District #1, participants also worked to actively learn how to assemble these critical components on the assembly floor, an essential hands-on experience.  

One person was killed and another injured in a house fire in Pampa. The fire happened at about 4:15 p.m. Thursday at 902 E. Browning. The Pampa Fire Department responded, along with the Hoover Volunteer Fire Department. The house was occupied at the time of the fire. One person was killed in the fire and one person was taken to Lubbock with severe burns. The Pampa FD Fire Marshal and the State Fire Marshal are investigating the cause of the fire.  

PHOTOS: A fire broke out at a boat anchored to a Wildwood, NJ, fuel dock that had the fire department working on the scene for three and a half hours. Firefighters were dispatched to a 42-foot vessel engulfed in flames, and the fire partially spread to the dock. The boat eventually sank from the large amount of water used to put out the fire, and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.  

VIDEO: An Inglewood woman was arrested after she was seen on video yelling and swatting at a Los Angeles County firefighter in Gardena before crashing her car into the firefighter's. It happened around 1 p.m. Wednesday. Frank Rojas said he heard an argument outside his Gardena home before he took out his cell phone and started recording. In the video, the woman, who police identified as 36-year-old Jessica Chavez, was seen yelling at the firefighter. The Gardena Police Department said this all started when the firefighter, who handles mental health cases in the area, saw Chavez in "an altercation" with a man, and went over to help her. In Rojas' video, the firefighter is heard saying "we're with the fire department, but we called the police."  

VIDEO/PHOTOS: From Hurricane Beryl to the wildfires in the Panhandle, Texas has experienced the impact of natural disasters in 2024. During large-scale incidents in the Big Country and beyond, the Abilene Fire Department has the right vehicle for the job. An ambulance bus known as an Ambus has been stationed at Station 4 since 2021. The Ambus is 43 feet long and 11 feet high, and it can accommodate 20 to 27 people. Aaron Maxwell, AFD EMS Coordinator, said the bus is particularly useful in rural areas like Abilene. "There's a limited number of ambulances here in Abilene as well as in other counties, and then the other jurisdictions around here are all small and may only have one ambulance available," Maxwell said. The Abilene Ambus service operates alone within a 100-mile radius, with the next closest vehicle located in Fort Worth, Lubbock, or El Paso.  

VIDEO: The Northwest Allen County Fire Department held a safety training session on Wednesday, providing multiple area fire departments the opportunity to observe how to respond to a hot air balloon crash. For the safety training session, the Northwest Allen County Fire Department reached out to a hot air balloon pilot with more than 30 years of experience to provide education on specific hot air balloon safety measures. The training was led by experienced hot air balloon pilot Chris Smart and included a simulated hot air balloon crash where first responders with the Northwest Allen County Fire Department treated weighted mannequins. "A lot of people have not been around ballooning, let alone a balloon accident. I thought it'd be a good training program, and I decided to help them out," Smart said.