VIDEO: One firefighter is injured after a fire broke out overnight involving two houses and one business. The main fire is out, after crews were called out at about 1:20 a.m. just north of downtown McKinney, near North Kentucky St. and West Heard St. Crews say no one was inside the business at the time. There were a few people inside their home and they made it out okay, without injuries. However, McKinney Fire Department Chief Paul Dow said there were still some challenges. "I think it's the way it was dispatched because it came in as an outside fire. The smoke was kind of hanging low in the area, so it made it real challenging for the firefighters to identify exactly which structure was on fire, what location was best for us to set up the initial units," he said.  

Three people, including two children, were rescued from a three-alarm fire late Monday night. The fire started around 11 p.m. off Farmingdale Drive near U.S. Highway 287. Arlington Fire Department Deputy Chief Todd Gittings said that after the initial call from a neighbor for a fire at the home, a second call came in moments later from a woman upstairs in the burning home saying that she and her children were trapped. When they arrived, crews found heavy fire coming from the garage, front door and all the front windows. Firefighters made an aggressive search and found three people - a woman and two children - upstairs. All three were unconscious, but firefighters were able to bring them all out safely. They are all at the hospital in stable condition. "The guys did a tremendous job going in," Gittings said.  

The Big Country has seen its fair share of 100° days. The hot, dry conditions have created the perfect weather for wildfires, and the Abilene Fire Department (AFD) has not missed a beat throughout the busy summer. AFD's Deputy Chief (DCI) for Support Services, Joey Kincaid, said the department has been busy responding to calls. "We try to be out of the station within 40 seconds after the tone hits. The fires do pick up when it's hot like this. Grassfires; we've been having a few more each day. They're kind of ticking up as things dry out," said DCI Kincaid. Not only are crews fighting fires and heat from those flames, but also the triple digit temperatures. "You're wearing, basically, a winter coat anytime you're out fighting fires. Its designed to keep heat off of us, but it also keeps heat in doing that. So, the guys get hot and that's a normal part of it, but in this extreme heat we have to be a bit more mindful of the guys," DCI Kincaid shared.  

As triple-digit temperatures continue to dominate weather forecasts and vegetation keeps drying out across the Lone Star State, the number of fires sparking has also increased, according to the Texas A&M Fire Service. "The dry conditions that we've seen across the state, particularly in the Brazos Valley area have really been conducive to wildfires and fast-growing wildfires," Texas A&M Forest Service Fire Chief Wes Moorehead said. "We've applied a lot of state resources to help local fire departments put those fires out." So far this year the forest service has mobilized 70 aircraft to help fight the flames, dropping nearly two million gallons of water and flame-suppressing materials on Texas Wildfires. "Every day, men and women throughout the fire service--whether it's local responders or state resources like the Texas A&M Forest Service--they are working hard to protect life and property to respond to fires as efficiently and effectively as possible," Moorehead said.  

VIDEO: Milwaukee firefighters have found another way to help the community, using their green thumbs to grow fresh food year round. It's part of a pilot program called "Gardens for First Responders," but fire crews aren't the only ones getting their hands in the soil. "I knew that our community needed growth; I knew we had food deserts," said Andre Lee Ellis with Community Agricultural Growing Experiences. When it comes to growth, the crew is coming together to plant the seeds. "We believe that everyone is a farmer. That is why we spend all our time developing technology that makes growing fresh food accessible," said Michael Hostad with Fork Farms. The technology, called "flex farms," will soon be found at fire stations across Milwaukee.  

Akron, like many state and local governments, has used recent federal stimulus windfalls to grow its cash reserves during a pandemic that didn't hurt income tax receipts in the city the way some had feared. Finance Director Steve Fricker has managed a cash reserve in the general fund that's nearly tripled since 2020. Mayor Dan Horrigan is on pace to leave the next mayor $25 million in a rainy day fund that had just over $3 million when he took office in 2016 and just 89 cents after being drained during the Great Recession more than a decade ago. Overtime funded today by a one-time federal stimulus, however, will eat into that pot of locally sourced revenue if not left unchecked. There are eight things the fire department is doing to rein in spending and give medics time to recuperate.  

VIDEO: Two volunteer firefighters in Laurens County are proving that age is just a number. Jean Swanson and Ann Jenkins have a combined 62 years of volunteering at the Hickory Tavern Fire Department. "Dedicated. Loving. Friends," said Chief Lance Roper. Swanson joined the department 44 years ago. Since then, her husband and son have served as chief. Jenkins came on board 18 years ago. "We feel like we've got to keep up the image for the community that these fireman would have," said Swanson. The pair have run 4,289 calls combined in the last seven years. "This is one of the best fire departments in the whole county and we all work together. It's not just me, it's not just Ann. It's all of us," said Swanson. Both in their 70s, Ann and Jean are usually the first ones on the scene at a call, no matter the time of day.  

U.S. auto safety regulators have sent a team to investigate a fatal crash in Virginia involving a Tesla suspected of running on a partially automated driving system. The latest crash, which occurred in July, brings to 35 the number of Tesla crashes under investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration since June of 2016. In all the cases, the agency suspects the Teslas were operating on a partially automated driving system such as Autopilot. At least 17 people have died. The safety agency said in documents Thursday that the Tesla ran beneath a heavy truck, but gave no further details. The Fauquier County Sheriff's office in Virginia said in a statement that on July 19, a Tesla ran underneath the side of a tractor-trailer pulling out of a truck stop, killing the Tesla driver. The department says the truck driver was charged with reckless driving.