A welder started a 200-acre wildfire that threatened 16 homes, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. Troy Ducheneaux with the Randall County Fire Department said "strong gusty winds" pushed the Hugh Bob Fire towards the villages of Timbercreek, Palisades and Lake Tanglewood. Houses on Palomino and Cactus drives in Timbercreek were evacuated as a result. Amarillo Fire, Canyon Fire, Palisades Fire, Timbercreek Fire, and Tanglewood Fire also helped fight the wildfire. The National Weather Service issued an elevated fire risk from 2 p.m. Sunday to 7 a.m. Monday for Armstrong, Carson, Collingsworth, Deaf Smith, Donley, Gray, Hemphill, Lipscomb, Oldham, Potter, Randall, and Wheeler counties.  

VIDEO: The Silsbee Fire Department welcomed community members to check out their newly constructed fire station with an open house. The firefighters gave speeches and a tour of their new home. They officially moved into everything as of Friday, October 20, 2023. The 1600 square foot space will serve as a command center during the emergencies and will withstand up to 140 mile per hour winds. "I would like to say these volunteers will come in the middle of the night and work all night long putting a house fire out, go home, take a shower, then go to work to support their family the next day. What more could you ask for, that's a true volunteer," Matt Dulaney, ESD #6 Board President said. Silsbee Fire Department's next goal is to get their 40 staff members on a pay-roll.  

With more electrical vehicles on the road, Diboll firefighters have a new tool that could save a life in an emergency. A report from Autoweek shows the actual number of EV fires is quite low, 25 out of every 100 thousand EVs. But regardless of how rare, putting out an EV fire can require special equipment. Diboll Volunteer Fire Department Chief Aaron Smith said with more people driving electric vehicles, they wanted to stay ahead and be ready. "We knew that it would just be a matter of time before we wound up either having an accident involving an EV or a fire itself," Smith said. Smith said it cost a little over $5,000 to purchase the equipment. "A big portion of that was taken care of due to the generous donation of Hexion here in Diboll," he said. Smith said one of the purchases includes a nozzle they can hook to the fire truck.  

PHOTOS: The Bonham Fire Department and the Fannin County Museum of History welcomed lots of visitors to the Museum and Museum grounds on Saturday to celebrate the 130th anniversary of the Fire Department and the 150th anniversary of the first train to arrive in Bonham. Bonham Mayor H. Compton welcomed the crowd from the restored caboose, praising the Fire Department for its service to the citizens on Bonham. Sparky, the Fire Department mascot, was also there for the greeting. The Mayor was taking a break from participating in Bonham's Great Day of Service, which was also taking place on Saturday morning. The Fire Department, including Chief Scott Ridling, cooked 350 hot dogs which were provided free to the crowd.  

A third person has died after a fiery three-vehicle crash involving a tanker truck on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. It happened late Saturday morning in the northbound lanes of the Northeast Extension (I-476) in Worcester Twp. between the Mid-County and Lansdale exits. Police say a vehicle was stopped in the right lane of the multi-lane highway due to a flat tire. Another driver, with its hazard lights on, pulled up behind the car to help. But police say a tanker truck carrying jet fuel was unable to stop in time and slammed into both vehicles, which caused a large fire. The driver of the tanker truck and the driver and passenger of the second vehicle died from their injuries. The driver of the first vehicle with a flat tire remains hospitalized. Footage captured by passing motorist Hector Lucena shows the scene soon after the crash, as emergency services were arriving.  

"Attention wives, girlfriends, and all significant others: Need some alone time? Drop your man off to us at 9765 Bel Alton Newtown Road. We have something for everyone, it's free of charge, open 24/7, and you get some nice perks (free training, tax credits, and some fun too, of course). Email us if interested." That post was the brainchild of Sarah Hammett, President of Bel Alton Volunteer Fire Department. "I was actually scrolling TikTok and saw a sports bar advertising ‘Husband Daycare – Football and Beer' and thought to myself that would be a funny recruitment post if I tweaked it to fit the fire department." Hammett says that since firefighting is a male-dominated field, it can be hard to find things that can catch a female's attention or post something that would make them laugh.  

PHOTOS: The history of fire protection in Monroe provides a snapshot of the people, traditions and events that shaped the city beginning in the mid-19th century. As was profiled on the city of Monroe website, fire service began officially in 1837. "The Pageant of Historic Monroe" talked about some of the early locations, including on the northwest corner of Public Square facing east (near where the current Michigan historic plaque is located at the corner of East 1st Street and Washington Street). The engine house was moved to what became the Hubble Block on Washington Street. Many of the locations throughout Monroe that emerged were identified as Germania fire houses. Throughout the U.S., Germania fire departments formed as German immigrants sought to organize fire brigades for their neighborhoods. Monroe was no exception.  

Lithium batteries typically aren't allowed in landfills, but many still make it into the garbage stream. Exploding lithium-ion batteries are leading to more fires in Oregon's landfills and recycling centers, prompting action from state and local governments. Deschutes County Solid Waste Director Tim Brownell said his county's landfill has seen 21 lithium-related fires in the past three months. Staff went from seeing battery fires once a month to multiple times a week. "(Lithium batteries) are everywhere in the system," Brownell said. "It's a public safety concern and it's a concern for the infrastructure that are taxpayer investments." Lithium batteries can be found in a variety of household objects, ranging from cars to power tools and from e-bikes to birthday cards that play music when opened.