VIDEO/PHOTOS: A Port Arthur church was consumed by a fire early Thursday morning but the pastor says they hope to rebuild. Firefighters from the Port Arthur Fire Department were battling the fire at the Endtime Deliverance Holiness Church on 19th Street at around 2:30 a.m. Thursday. The congregation hopes to rebuild the church, which is an older building, Pastor Richard Sweet told 12News Thursday morning. Currently it is unclear what may have caused the fire.  

VIDEO: The Amarillo Fire Department is seeing an increase in the number of structure fires caused by homeless people, including three just in the last week. "It is illegal, it is very dangerous, and if we continue along this trend, we are going to end up getting somebody killed," said Jeff Justus, Public Information Officer for the Amarillo Fire Department. According to the Amarillo Fire Marshal's office, they have been busy investigating the recent homeless-related fires, including an abandoned apartment complex, an abandoned residence, and an encampment on a vacant lot. In all cases, the responsible individuals fled the scene. "A lot of the problems are just caused by them starting their own fires. Sometimes there are drug and alcohol issues involved and they are just not thinking clearly," Justus said.  

The Lufkin City Council met Tuesday night and approved an application for FEMA assistance to purchase communications equipment for the Lufkin Fire Department. The Deep East Texas Council of Governments has installed an 800 megahertz system that provides more capacity with the ability to get through buildings better. The department has portable radios for that system, however this $200,000 grant will supply the trucks with the proper equipment for the system. "The mobile radios will be the same thing, so that we can communicate with any agency, any entity for any type of jurisdiction within the county or within the state of Texas," said Ryan Watson, assistant fire chief for the City of Lufkin.  

Two people have been displaced in a mobile home fire in Harker Heights. The Harker Heights Fire Department was dispatched at 10:22 p.m. Wednesday for a reported structure fire at 1110 Indian Trail. The Killeen Fire Department also responded to the scene. A single-wide mobile home with discovered to have heavy amounts of smoke and flames appearing from the front of it. The fire was extinguished within 15 minutes of arrival, and heavy damage was noted throughout the structure. Two adults were displaced by the fire. No injuries were sustained by either the occupants or firefighters on scene. The cause of the fire is unknown, and is currently under investigation by the Harker Heights Fire Marshal's Office.  

The Anderson Volunteer Fire Department is hosting a raffle to benefit a family that has mounting medical bills. The Burns family has five kids. Two of them have 1p36 deletion syndrome, including 7-year-old Cannyn. "[Cannyn's] break is smaller, so he seems to be more mildly affected, but where his break is, on chromosome one has greatly affected him," said mom Stephany Burns. "His deletion has caused dilated aortic valves. Right now it's stable. We just have to watch it every six months." It also caused Hypophosphatasia, a sometimes fatal bone disorder. "Basically, Cannyn does not make the enzyme alkaline phosphatase, and it means that his bones are extremely fragile. They don't harden and it requires three shots a week," said Burns. There is a raffle offered by the Anderson Volunteer Fire Department to try and rally behind the family.  

The Rusk County Office of Emergency Management and fire marshal have been at the scene of a fire on U.S. Highway 259 Wednesday night. This is near the intersection of 259 South and County Road 3152. According to Rusk County OEM, two people were taken to hospitals, one by helicopter and one by ambulance from the scene of the fire. Deputy Patrick Dooley with RCOEM says that the fire was in an RV trailer, but the cause is still under investigation. Mount Enterprise VFD, Mount Enterprise City Marshal, Eastside VFD, and Laneville VFD responded. The scene has been cleared, Dooley says.  

A three-story building that stood for more than a century in downtown Laurel was being taken down Wednesday afternoon following an early morning fire that damaged the brick structure beyond repair. No injuries were reported, and the State Fire Marshal's Office continues to investigate the blaze that destroyed the 113-year-old building located at 130 E. Market St. Martin Torbert, who was staying at his girlfriend's place, said he walked out to smoke when he noticed what he thought was a thick fog. The Seaford resident then realized the fog was, in fact, smoke from the fire. "The whole building was just engulfed in smoke," he told Delaware Online/The News Journal. "You can hear the window panes cracking from the heat, and as soon as those window panes came out, it was an inferno."  

VIDEO: A former firefighter who was badly burned on the job is turning his pain into purpose. Jake LaFerriere helped set up a first-of-its kind facility for families facing the same struggles. It was in 2010 when LaFerriere's life changed forever when he was on duty as a Minneapolis firefighter. "I was on fire and I jumped from the third floor, and by the grace of God I survived this experience because there was a porch overhand down here that caught me," LaFerriere said. "I knew my career as a firefighter was over. I was really struggling to want to live at this point." But he says he was inspired by kids he met in the burn unit, and he took his second chance at life to help others. He started a nonprofit called "Firefighters for Healing," and created a burn survivor camp.  

PHOTO: REV Fire Group has partnered with Daytona International Speedway to provide four firefighting trucks to the track ahead of the 2023 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona and Daytona 500. While these include standard pumpers, one will be an electric model called the Vector. "We are excited to provide the all-electric Vector for our Florida neighbor, Daytona International Speedway, to protect its employees, NASCAR drivers, and the many fans and spectators who attend The Great American Race and other events," commented REV Fire Group Vice President Mike Virnig. "Vector also protects the environment, making this a perfect collaboration with DIS and NASCAR and their many green initiatives designed to reduce the track and sport's carbon footprint and promote sustainability."  

Firefighters across the world risk their lives every day to protect citizen lives, properties and the environment from disasters. Rescue missions and other duties — such as saving a family from a burning building or pulling an injured person out of a vehicle after a collision — can prove to be extremely challenging, especially paired with the grueling schedules they are required to work. Often referred to as "tactical athletes," firefighters and other first responders encounter much of the same types of injuries that traditional sport athletes do. But, while the average professional athletic career in sports lasts five to seven years, professional firefighters end up exerting themselves physically and mentally for 25 years or more, with no "off-season" to recover from injuries and exertion.