VIDEO: San Antonio firefighters rescued a man and battled massive flames that damaged three homes on the city's East Side early Thursday morning. The fire was called in around 6 a.m. in the 1900 block of Nolan Street, not far from North Walters Street. By the time firefighters arrived, they found a home fully engulfed. Two homes had heavy damage and a duplex on the back side also had exposure, fire officials said. Firefighters rescued a man from the house where the fire started. He suffered burns and was transported to a hospital. Officials did not say that man's condition.  

VIDEO: First responders, families, and friends came together to remember a Madisonville firefighter who recently passed away. "It is a really sad day here in Madisonville because we've lost one of our finest firemen," said Madisonville City Manager, Camilla Viator. A funeral and apparatus procession was held Thursday afternoon for Cory Heidler. Heidler died Friday night on Highway 105 in Washington County when his pickup truck left the highway and crashed. Troopers are still investigating the cause of the crash. To honor Heidler, citizens were invited to stand along his procession route through the streets of Madisonville. The city of Madisonville says he is a hero who will be missed. "As a wonderful fireman and a caring father, a great son, great friend, great brother, guy, all around, all American, a hero," said Viator.  

A local man is in the hospital after being hit by as many as eight train cars late Thursday night, the San Antonio Fire Department said. The incident occurred just before 10:30 p.m. on train tracks near Westfall Avenue and Nopal Street, on the city's Southeast Side. Firefighters said the man was run over by as many as eight train cars while he was on the ground between the tracks. Deputies said the man somehow was not seriously injured and was taken to University Hospital in stable condition. The San Antonio Police Department, the San Antonio Fire Department and EMS all answered the call. Officials did not say why the man happened to be on the tracks when he was hit.  

Facing a drop in volunteer response, the city of Jersey Village is looking to add four full-time firefighters to the city's department, a move that could be supported with grant funding. Jersey Village City Council voted unanimously May 11 to allow Fire Chief Mark Bitz to apply for a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide funding for the city to help bring on the firefighters. In a presentation to council, Bitz said volunteer response has been down for a number of reasons, including younger volunteers getting jobs with other fire departments and aging volunteers who are no longer able to fight fires or hold heavy equipment. The department has 37 volunteers on whom it calls when they are available, which Bitz said averages out to one volunteer who can respond during day shifts and four to five who can respond during night shifts.  

Hurricane season begins June 1, and while San Antonio is not in the direct path of hurricanes, they can spawn tornadoes and cause flooding in our area. San Antonio also opens shelters for coastal area residents fleeing from the storms. San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood told city council that this hurricane season brings new challenges in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. A training session Tuesday focused on both. "Social distancing is going to be a challenge for us as far as what we do in the future in sheltering people," said Hood. As the department's MIH, or Medical Integrated Healthcare program becomes more essential in the fight against coronavirus, he said he hopes to train 100 personnel in the department in the area of community paramedicine and testing.  

The flight plan on Wednesday afternoon had the Thunderbirds emerging out of the northwest over Leander and then making a tight loop around Cedar Park. The jets flew above the Regional Medical Center near Hwy 183-A and New Hope Road. An uncertain weather forecast forced an hour delay in the scheduled salute to honor healthcare workers and first responders. Before taking off, team commander Lt. Col John Caldwell explained why all their recent flights are unlike any they have done before. "It was something that kind of stopped us in our tracks and we had to really figure out how we were going to respond and react to COVID-19 and how we are going to execute our mission," said Lt. Col. Caldwell. The flight path covered much of the Austin metropolitan area, targeting areas with major hospitals from Georgetown to the north, to Kyle to the south.  

VIDEO: Firefighters battled a blaze that spread through an El Monte strip mall and resulted in a partial roof collapse Thursday night. Crews raced to the scene after getting a report of smoke coming from the strip mall in the 10100 block of East Valley Boulevard about 8:10 p.m., according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. The first arriving crew pulled out some of the structure's ceiling and noticed pressurized smoke throughout it, Fire Inspector Henry Narvaez said. The crews pulled back, going into defensive mode as they called for more manpower, he said. Aerial video from Sky5 showed a large firefighting response, with crews pouring water on flames seen shooting through the structure's roof about an hour after the fire was first reported. Eighty firefighters responded to the scene, according to the Fire Department. Parts of the structure's roof collapsed as the fire raged, fire officials said.  

St. Louis County has nearly $175 million in federal grant money to spend in response to the coronavirus, but the county has been charging local first responders for masks. As some St. Louis County police departments and fire districts have found themselves shorthanded on masks and other personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 outbreak, the County Council approved $1.8 million in funding specifically aimed at providing masks to local first responders. But the county is charging for those masks, which came as a surprise to the sponsor of that legislation. Third District Councilman Tim Fitch, R-Fenton, said during a council committee hearing Thursday that he received a phone call earlier in the morning from a local fire chief asking why the county is charging fire districts for the masks. The fire chief's district had picked up masks at the county's warehouse near Valley Park and was surprised to receive a bill.  

The nationwide public safety wireless network that Congress created in 2012 because of failures seen during and after the 9/11 attacks is helping connect first-responders and public safety experts across the country during the COVID-19 pandemic. The law created an independent authority called FirstNet, provided $7 billion for it, and allocated 20 megahertz of bandwidth within the 700 MHz spectrum to create a nationwide interoperable broadband network. The network has been used since then to connect first-responders during natural disasters including wildfires, hurricanes and tornadoes. Although the law gave states the freedom to choose FirstNet or build their own emergency communications network, all 50 states, territories and the District of Columbia chose to use FirstNet.  

Following House Democrats' proposal of the HEROES Act (H.R. 6800) on Tuesday, the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) outlined possible impacts of the latest coronavirus aid package, and called upon fire and EMS professionals to contact their congressional representatives to support the legislation. The bill would provide nearly $1 trillion in aid for states, cities and local governments, as well as aid to essential workers, and a new round of cash payments to individuals. Additional provisions involve PPE reimbursements, the repeal of the requirement to auction public safety spectrum in the T-Band, the use of the Defense Production Act, and clarification related to the Public Safety Officers' Benefits program. The House of Representatives is expected to vote on the $3 trillion bill on Friday.  

There might be no year where it is more vital to recognize the work of emergency medical services and paramedics, those on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. National EMS Week is May 17-23. Whether they work at a hospital, with a fire department, for a private service or a med-flight operation, these brave men and women put their lives on the line with every call they respond to, never knowing if the person they help might be infected with a virus they might catch and take home to their own families. Frisbie Memorial Hospital is the only hospital-based ambulance service in the area. Gary Brock, director of emergency medical services and emergency preparedness, heads the unit. In April, the Frisbie service celebrated its 40th anniversary, except it could not celebrate because of COVID-19. "We hope we can have a celebration when this is under control," said Brock.