If you saw a helicopter around the Brazos Valley Wednesday, it was most likely a training exercise from Disaster City. Two hundred first responders from 25 agencies or military units put themselves into a hurricane scenario, practicing what they'll do when the next storm hits. Crews used local bodies of water like the Brazos River, Lake Bryan and Lake Somerville. Hurricane season begins June 1 and these local, state and national responders are preparing for the worst. "This training is where all of that starts," Texas A&M Task Force 1 member, Trevor Stokes, said. "The big thing is, we are working with people that we haven't worked with previously, to build those relationships and ensure that we have those in place so that when we do show up to respond, to serve the residents of Texas, that we're not working through some barriers that may or may not even be there."  

This week marks the 50th anniversary of National EMS week. "We're pretty well appreciated, I feel like most of the year-round," said Fire Capt. Gerald Pilkilton. EMS week was authorized by President Gerald Ford in 1974. "But it's nice to have a set week that we can put a little bit more focus on EMS," Pilkilton added. Capt. Pilkilton has been at the Denison Fire Rescue for almost 10 years, "my mom has shown me a picture of when I was a kid, that one of my first Halloween outfits was a firefighter outfit, so I guess it's probably deep set in my mind it was always like a thing that I wanted to do." Pilkilton is both a paramedic and a firefighter. "Probably 75% of our responses here, in the city of Denison, are EMS related," said Mark Escamilla, Assistant Chief of Administration for the Denison Fire Rescue.  

VIDEO/PHOTOS: A tornado caused widespread damage in Central Texas Wednesday night. The National Weather Service will send teams to survey the damage in Temple, which is located about 35 miles southwest of Waco or 60 miles northeast of Austin. A tornado there damaged dozens of homes and businesses. It also flipped vehicles and snapped power poles. FOX 4 viewer Heidi Greensides shared a picture that shows missing walls and a buckled garage at her home. Another homeowner said she had to take shelter during the storm and now feels thankful the damage was limited to a downed tree in her front yard. "We could hear the wind, so we went to the bathroom because my husband said it didn't sound like normal because it had more of a roar to it. So we went to the bathroom and you could just hear it beating on the house," Laura Nitcher said.  

Firefighters returned to a Pawtucket neighborhood Wednesday evening to knock down a fire that reignited inside an apartment building. Pawtucket Fire Chief John Trenteseaux told 12 News that firefighters were first called to the East Avenue home several hours prior for reports of smoke and flames coming from the second and third floors. Trenteseaux said five firefighters were brought to the hospital to be treated for heat exhaustion while knocking down the initial fire. "It was just hot and [the building was] full of smoke. It was beating everyone up," Trenteseaux explained. "It was not a good day to have a fire." "One of the firefighters on the third floor had run out of air and he had trouble getting out," he continued. "We had to take him out through the window." 12 News was there as the flames reignited on the third floor and shot through the roof.  

Drug abuse has been an issue in the US for decades, yet despite efforts to curb it, substance use is still prevalent nationwide. According to the latest data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2020, approximately 40 million persons aged 12 years and older had a substance use disorder in the past year. Also, there were nearly 104,000 drug overdose deaths in the 12-month period ending in December 2023, according to the CDC. To determine where drug abuse is most pronounced in the US, a new report from WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 20 key metrics, including arrest and overdose rates and opioid prescription use. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the biggest drug issue.  

Multiple lithium-ion batteries charging on a shelf at the Stacyville Fire Department caught fire Tuesday night, leading to damage and an injured firefighter. It happened shortly before 9 p.m. at the fire station located at 370 Station Rd., the state fire marshal's office said in a release Wednesday. Fire departments from Sherman, Patten, Mt. Chase, Island Falls, Oakfield, and East Millinocket responded to assist Stacyville firefighters. They were able to quickly knock down the fire, but the building and several pieces of apparatus were damaged. The state fire marshal's office determined that the fire originated on a shelf inside the station where multiple lithium-ion batteries were charging. Officials said it's considered accidental. A firefighter was taken to a hospital, treated, and released for a non-fire-related leg injury, the release stated.  

VIDEO: A Denver museum has been fighting for the last 14 years to bring a piece of the city's history back home after a 140-year-old bell, which was presumed missing, turned up at a church in Pueblo. "The bell itself is a 1,600-pound bell, which is quite large and it's got a tone that even the bell company said is kind of a special tone," Dan Farley said. Farley is the executive director of the Denver Firefighters Museum, which highlights the history of the fire service since its beginnings in Denver. Part of the museum's exhibit features two photographs of Denver's Fire Station 1, located at Broadway and Colfax Avenue. Fire Station 1 was torn down in 1909. The bell was housed in a belfry atop the building. "Everybody was volunteer back then, so you ring the bell to bring it to the public's attention (that) something is going on (and) we need help," retired Denver firefighter Danny Perez said.