The Howard County Volunteer Fire Department Board of Directors announced Eric Barber as the new Fire Chief Wednesday morning. According to a news release, Eric has been the President of the Board of Directors since 2018 and employed by NuStar Energy as the Health and Safety Supervisor. Previously, he served as the Fire Chief of the Big Spring Refinery's Emergency Response Team and Lieutenant for the Big Spring Fire Department. Along with Eric's appointment, Kris Dokey was voted to serve as President of the Board of Directors. Kris is employed by SM Energy and has served as a Firefighter and Chaplain with Hawley Volunteer Fire Department prior to moving to Coahoma. Kris is married to Ashley and has four daughters. Kris has a deep passion for helping others and serving the community.  

The Waco Fire Department will celebrate its 150th anniversary with a community wide event on April 3. The celebration will be held at Fire Station #1 at 100 Peach St. It will feature a fire safe house and agility course for kids, historical displays, and free hotdogs, cake, and cookies. Firefighters will also give out limited-supply challenge coins. The posting of the colors will be provided by the Waco Fire Department Honor Guard. The Waco Firefighters' Pipes and Drums Band will provide live music. Waco Mayor Dillon Meek, Fire Chief Gregory Summers and Waco Fire Historian Sean Sutcliffe will all speak. "Our fire stations are extensions of the community," said Chief Summers. "We're excited to celebrate our 150th year anniversary with our retirees, residents, and visitors."  

Staff members and students at NeSmith Elementary in the Collin County city of Lavon were taken to the hospital after a gas leak near campus. Superintendent Tonya Knowlton says a construction crew working on a building addition hit a gas line. Lavon Fire Department responded, and the leak was contained within 15 minutes. No gas readings were found in the school by firefighters or Atmos, according to the city manager. In a letter to parents, the superintendent says the district "failed to update an increase in symptom reports." School continued after people became sick, but now school will be closed for the rest of the week to allow for a full inspection. "Atmos actually did two sweeps of the building checking air quality. Found no indication of gas inside the building," Knowlton said.  

With record attendance of more than 200 guests, including 72 of 81 department members, Kerrville Fire Department Chief Eric Maloney highlighted collective achievements, emphasized the family-oriented culture of the department and recognized individuals for outstanding accomplishments at last week's annual KFD Award Banquet. "This is a proud time to a be a firefighter, EMT or paramedic with the Kerrville Fire Department," Maloney said. Maloney said he is a 26-year member of the KFD and he is proud of the culture and the optimistic future of the department he leads. "We're no ordinary fire department, but instead have a ‘fire family atmosphere,' built by brothers and sisters of yesterday, molded by members of today, with a vision of a more resilient tomorrow," Maloney said.  

A North Texas fire department is praising a move by the FDA to approve an over-the-counter version of an opioid reversal drug. The FDA approved Wednesday an over-the-counter version of naloxone, currently sold by the drugmaker Emergent BioSolutions under the brand name Narcan. It has been available in the United States only as a prescription drug, but many states have created workarounds that allow people to get it directly from pharmacists. Narcan has already been available for purchase in Texas without a prescription, though Cresson Fire Chief Ron Becker said the move Wednesday can further expand accessibility. "I tell people about what we're dealing with out here, and I know some people who say ‘Hey, I stopped by the drug store and bought some of this. I carry it in my purse or car,' or something like that," Becker said.  

Fire crews battled a blaze at an apartment building early Thursday morning on Detroit's west side. A large, vacant apartment building caught fire in a residential neighborhood in the area of I-94 and Livernois on March 30. The entire building, which is multiple stories high, was fully engulfed in flames as crews worked to extinguish it. Billowing smoke could be seen in the nearby area. You can see footage from the scene in the video up above. Authorities shared few details about the blaze early Thursday morning. It is unknown what caused the fire, or if there were any injures.  

History was made in Connecticut Wednesday as state leaders and neighbors gathered in Hartford to celebrate Shelly Carter, the first Black female fire chief to serve any fire department in all of New England. "The goal is not about me. We celebrate me, but this is for every female out there, every female on the line who's working today," said Carter, who was sworn in as the Southbury Training School Fire Department Fire Chief under the state's Department of Developmental Services. "The role is to protect and serve those individuals that have disabilities on that campus and we are also moving statewide," said Carter. Carter's major achievement drew several rounds of cheers and applause at the ceremony. "Chief Carter, it's got a ring to it," said Gov. Ned Lamont.  

VIDEOS: An early morning train derailment has caused residents of a small town in Kandiyohi County to evacuate on Thursday. In a statement, BNSF Railway said approximately 22 cars derailed around 1 a.m. Some of the derailed cars were carrying ethanol and corn syrup and started on fire, the sheriff's office said. Part of the town near the crash site was evacuated to a school in nearby Prinsburg. The sheriff's office said travel is not advised in Raymond. According to the Minnesota Department of Transportation, Highway 23 is closed from Kandiyohi County Road 1 to Chippewa County Road 1 because of the derailment and fire. Raymond's assistant fire chief said crews are now letting the ethanol burn out after spraying thousands of gallons of water on the cars.  

VIDEO: One retired fire crew that has turned into collectors has been looking to tap into the little kid energy that often follows a field trip to a local firehouse. "My family had no problem buying for me at Christmas," said Bob Franklin, retired Little Rock captain. "It was always fire trucks." He has used that story to explain what drove him to more than 50 years in the fire service. Franklin shared that shopping for him these days is still just as easy— just tell him you're cleaning out a fire station anywhere in Arkansas. "We started having fire departments calling us and saying 'hey, we have this old stuff, you want it?' And so it just kind of going from word of mouth," he said. Those calls started coming in once word got out that Franklin and his retired buddies wanted to put together a museum that would build on the Historic Firehouse Museum and Hostel in Little Rock's MacArthur Park and go bigger.  

The IAFC is now accepting nominations for the IAFC Ben Franklin Award for Valor. Since 1970, the IAFC's most prestigious award has recognized the spirit of service, courage and heroism that is a proud tradition among the world's fire and emergency service. The program is named for one of the first fire chiefs in the United States, Benjamin Franklin. An inventor, statesman and humanitarian, Mr. Franklin was a prime contributor to the wealth of tradition that symbolizes the fire and emergency service worldwide. Presented annually at Fire-Rescue International (FRI) by the IAFC and Motorola Solutions, the award honors a firefighter(s) for their expert training, professional service and dedication to duty displayed in saving human life. More than that, the program helps raise public awareness and support for the fire and emergency service.