The City of Sweetwater welcomed its new fire chief Wednesday, more than six months after its previous chief retired. Former fire chief Grant Madden retired in early January, after 23 years of service. Now, the Chief of Sweetwater Fire Department and Ambulance Service will go to Chief Dewey Coy, a tenured firefighter and chief. According to a Facebook post from Sweetwater Fire Department and Ambulance Service, even though Chief Coy has been away for a while, he is a Big Country native. Originally from Snyder, Chief Coy graduated from Zephyr High School and began his career with the Zephyr Volunteer Fire Department in 1989. Come 1998, Chief Coy moved on to the Jacksonville Fire Department in Arkansas, where he earned the rank of Battalion Chief. After 22 years of service, Chief Coy retired in December 2020.  

VIDEO: Police said they've taken two children into custody in a fire that engulfed a school playground in Providence Village in Denton County. The Aubrey Police Department posted a picture of the aftermath of the fire on social media. The fire happened at Providence Village Elementary School on Tuesday. "The playground was fully engulfed in flames," Aubrey Police Lt. David Bruce said. "I'm sure that it's going to be a significant loss." Police said they found evidence at the scene that suggests the fire was set intentionally. By 10:45 p.m. Tuesday, police posted an update that two juveniles were taken into custody. They haven't been identified, but Aubrey police say they've been taken to the Denton County Juvenile Detention Center. It wasn't known what, if any, charges the children will face for allegedly setting the fire.  

VIDEO: The Woodsboro Volunteer Fire Department moved into its newly rebuilt fire house this month, five years after Hurricane Harvey destroyed it. In nearby Refugio, firefighters there are also enjoying their new fire station. Lee Riemenschneider has been the Woodsboro fire chief for over 40 years and worked for the volunteer department since 1962. He is still moving into the new fire station. "It was tough luck. I say we are still moving stuff from over there. Most of it's going in at THE 10 building right now, so we've got our bunker gear and racks and stuff in there to hang our gear in, and it was tough really." The Refugio Volunteer Fire Department moved into its newly rebuilt fire station last August. It, too, was destroyed by Hurricane Harvey.  

As of late Wednesday, three wildfires that sprung up at Fort Hood last week were 95% contained, Fort hood officials said. Fort Hood officials said the Wildland Management Area fire burned an estimated at 250 acres. The Clabber Creek Multi-Use Range fire burned an estimated 100 acres and the fire on the firing ranges near Blackwell Mountain burned around 90 acres, officials said. Around 440 acres were scorched in total. "All three areas are under continued observation by the Fort Hood Fire Department in order to readily address any flair ups," said Josh Gillis, Fort Hood's deputy fire chief, in a statement to the Herald. Gillis said fire and range officials continually monitor the range for pop-up fires and respond accordingly if one is spotted. "Fort Hood officials work hand-in-hand with on/off post agencies to provide the best mitigation efforts available in order to combat wildland fires as they are reported," Gillis said.  

Travis County court records revealed arson charges against a minor from a June 1 incident in Manor. The teenager was named in an affidavit and arrest warrant application Friday. A fire was reported on June 1 around 12:41 p.m. at the former Manor Downs grandstand and observation tower in the 8900 block of Hill Lane. First responders with the Travis County ESD No. 12 said the structure was partially involved and reported a partial collapse of the structure within 15 minutes of the fire being reported. The fire was upgraded to a second alarm fire by 1:18 p.m. Records said the structure and property were vacant and in the process of being redeveloped by the owner. According to court records, a group of students from Manor High School was "caught by school officials as they were coming back to the school campus from the property where the fire occurred."  

Drug overdoses killed more people in Travis County in 2021 than homicides and vehicle collisions combined. It's the leading cause of accidental deaths, according to the Travis County Medical Examiner's Office. Out of the 891 accidental deaths in Travis County, 308 were due to drug toxicity, 170 were from vehicle collisions and 110 were a result of homicides. In 2020, there were 246 deaths from drug toxicity. In 2019, that number was 182. It was 210 in 2018 and 168 in 2017. Austin City Council members joined Travis County Commissioners on June 16 and declared drug overdoses a public health crisis. But one public safety agency is already tackling the issue. The KVUE Defenders took a closer look at the opioid program started by Austin-Travis County EMS (ATCEMS) to see how well it's working.  

A family of six and two other people are without a home this morning after a fire in a Franklin County home this morning. Franklin County firefighters say the fire began around 3 a.m. Wednesday morning at the intersection of Metcalf Rd. and Sagemoor Rd. When crews arrived they said the fire had spread to a nearby power pole and crews had to tend to the pole before the house. The fire spread to a shop and several trailers in the backyard of the house before reaching the house. Several propane tanks ignited and exploded during the fire. Franklin County Sheriff's Office helped the eight people displaced call Benton/Franklin Housing and the Red Cross to accommodate a current living situation.  

Wednesday, Gov. Andy Beshear ceremonially signed House Bill 562, relating to mental health for first responders. The bill establishes 48 hours of time off for police officers and firefighters following critical incidents. The bill also redefines a critical incident. It includes officer-involved shootings, serious vehicle crashes, the death of a colleague or partner and other circumstances. Brian O'Neil, president of the Louisville Professional Firefighters, said bills like HB562 are working to address a longstanding stigma among first responders. "You're supposed to just suck it up and be tough and deal with everything. And certainly, we do," he said. "We've done a lot better over the last several years with trying to do away with the stigma." Not addressing the root traumas of the job though, can lead to dire consequences.  

UT Health East Texas EMS paramedics will teach roughly 20 EMTs from Guam this summer about specialized clinical training to become accredited in advanced life support techniques. "They're going to experience high performance 911 training through UT Health East Texas EMS and receive training from paramedics who are actively working in the field," said TC Howard, chief operating officer of the School of EMS, which helped coordinate the effort. According to the announcement from UT Health East Texas, the Guam Fire Department officials contacted Howard over two years ago to transition from basic care to a paramedic level. Guam is an island territory of the United States in the Pacific Ocean. Paramedic intern, Patrick Flores, didn't think twice about traveling 24 hours to East Texas to become a paramedic.  

One hundred years ago, on a distant Feb. 16 evening, a blaze erupted at the Prospect School. The tragedy that occurred during the blaze has become a part of village lore. And the firefighter who gave his life was memorialized during a Tuesday evening ceremony at the location. It was freezing cold outside when the village's firefighters responded. Fireman Milton Meisner, along with Arthur Underwood, had climbed a long extension ladder to battle the fire that had moved to the building's attic along a ventilation shaft. The ladder broke as the two young firefighters were working their way down to the ground. Underwood was halfway down when the ladder broke, and severely broke his left ankle and leg as a result of the fall. Meisner was near the top and fell about 25 feet. He succumbed to his injuries while being driven to a Batavia hospital.  

PHOTOS: Usually, looking up while walking around Boston is the way to go. But if you find your eyes turned to the ground in the coming days and weeks, be sure to keep an eye out for a handful of delightful mice-sized storefronts that have popped up around the city. AnonyMouse has so far revealed two Boston installations on Instagram — a bookstore and a fire station — but there are a handful more still out there, according to the group. "We started back in 2016 in southern Sweden, a couple of us met up and started discussing just creating something together and the dialogue shifted towards our childhood love of the works of Walt Disney, Don Bluth, Beatrix Potter and Swedish author Astrid Lindgren," the collective told Boston publication in an email. "After a while we kind of centered around these small shops, since it was something we, ourselves, would have loved to stumble over as kids."