VIDEO: Port Neches, Groves and Nederland firefighters were sent to help fight a fire Wednesday afternoon at Lion Elastomers in Port Neches. The fire broke around 1:15 p.m. and was put out just before 2 p.m. The fire was burning in a warehouse at the plant according to a post on the Port Neches Fire Department's Facebook page. The fire did not pose a threat to the public and no injuries were reported according to the Port Neches Fire Department. "On arrival we noticed heavy smoke coming from the east side of the facility where our units from Port Neches, Groves and Nederland immediately responded to contain the fire with copious amounts of water and prevented it from spreading to other parts of the facility," said Port Neches Fire Chief Eloy Vega. A shelter in place was ordered briefly for Port Neches-Groves High School.  

Liberty Fire Department received a financial boost thanks to a generous donation from CenterPoint Energy. The energy provider gifted the fire department, represented by Fire Chief Brian Hurst, with a $2,500 grant to support its operations at the Nov. 14 Liberty City Council meeting. Further bolstering the Fire Department's resources, Council approved the purchase of a new pumper truck during its meeting. The new truck will be an essential addition to the fire department, replacing Engine 23, which was purchased in 2011. City Manager Tom Warner told Council that the fire department applies for grants each year and had applied for a grant from the Texas Forest Service in the hopes of replacing the pumper truck. However, the grant was not approved in the last round of grant funding.  

Soon 60 kids from Robstown Independent School District will get the once in a lifetime chance to "Shop with a Hero." Robstown EMS, police and fire department have come together to host their annual campaign "Shop with a Hero" program on Dec. 13. They all get together and go out to gather funds to provide kids in the school district with this opportunity. "Getting to choose whatever they want, that is every child's dream," Robstown ISD elementary counselor Melinda Peña said. Peña said faculty has to go through a selective process of choosing the child with the biggest need. "It's just something that they look forward to, especially when they get their permission slip, knowing that they are going," Peña said. Robstown Fire Chief Javier Zapata said the program has been going on since 2016 and the reaction on the kids' faces every year is special.  

Hidalgo County officials have joined forces with the city of Palmview to provide rural ambulance service to portions of the county's Precinct 3. County officials approved of the interlocal agreement with Palmview during a commissioners' court meeting on Tuesday afternoon. The Palmview City Council was expected to approve the agreement during a special city council meeting on Wednesday. It's a deal months in the making, according to Palmview City Manager Michael Leo. "We've been in discussions with Hidalgo County for a couple of months now," Leo said, adding that the small town he oversees is one of the few in the region that offers city-owned ambulance services. According to the terms of the interlocal agreement, Palmview will pay the county $10 a month for the use of the ambulance, which will be added to three already in the city's inventory.  

VIDEO: First responders described the scene of the deadly crash on I-70 Tuesday as something they have never experienced before and something they hope to never experience again. They said those hours were filled with tough decisions. Several witnesses called 911 to alert them of the crash. One of the 911 calls came from a woman who was riding on the charter bus filled with more than 50 students and chaperones from Tusky Valley schools. "We're in a van pool, yes we are. It's on fire, we need help and we have children still in the coach," said the woman. "Ok. Can you get the children out," the operator asks. "We're trying but the back of the bus is on fire," the woman said. On the call you can hear the woman taking a head count and consoling the students. The West Licking Fire District was the first on scene.  

VIDEO: The FDNY says fire departments worldwide are experiencing an increase in fires sparked by lithium-ion batteries. FDNY officials demonstrated just how much damage the batteries can do, showing an e-bike spark into flames inside the auditorium of its training facility on Randall's Island. Wednesday's demonstration was part of a new national campaign by UL's Fire Safety Research Institute's campaign (FSRI) named "Take Charge of Battery Safety." "This is not just a New York City issue. We are leading the way, as we so often do, with the most people, with the greatest density and certainly with the greatest and largest fire department in the country," Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said. "We have a chance to talk about electrification, modernization and technology and the dangers that it can face -- but also, the solutions," Kavanagh said.  

VIDEO: Military veterans and first responders are coming from all over the world to Tulane, for a special mental health healing program. Tulane is one of only seven places in the U.S. offering an intense healing program that gives patients the ultimate VIP treatment. "This program is the most phenomenal thing that has started a lifelong journey for me and my wife and my family. They saved my life and they saved my family," said Sean Gavitt, of Tennessee, who was an Army Specialist. Veterans and first responders are coming to the Tulane Center for Brain Health to learn to cope, and live with the chronic brain injuries sustained in training, and on duty. "I was hit by a truck, blown up a few times," said Gavitt. "I was injured on three different occasions, but the worst on March 1st, 2019. I was out of my vehicle. I was struck by a passing motorist," said Greg Peele, an Air Force veteran, who lives in Alabama and was injured during his years serving as a state trooper.  

Drivers who evade traffic laws live in every corner of the country, but these ten states are home to more rule-breaking motorists than anywhere else. When states issued shelter-in-place orders at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, many Americans saw the open, less congested roads as an excuse to drive more recklessly. Even as traffic levels have slowly returned to normal, drivers across the country are still practicing the bad driving habits they adopted during the pandemic's early days. Such behavior has led to significant spikes in traffic fatality rates, as detailed in Insurify's latest Insuring the American Driver Report. These trends are occurring throughout the nation, but certain states are experiencing higher rates of rule-breaking behavior than others.