The City of Victoria held a swearing-in ceremony for its new fire chief. George Gamez has 30 years of experience in firefighting and rescue. He took the oath of office Monday morning as the new fire chief for Victoria. City leaders said he brings a wealth of expertise to the Victoria Fire Department. Chief Gamez said the professionalism, leadership and community care within the department have deeply impressed him. Gamez has 16 years of field patrol experience and 14 years in leadership and administrative roles within the Dallas Fire and Rescue Department. He officially assumed his new role on February 1. Gamez's family has a strong firefighting tradition. He has two sons who serve as firefighters in North Texas.  

VIDEO: Police are investigating what led to a Fort Worth fire truck losing control and flipping over. Police say it happened just before 2:30 a.m. Feb. 6 at the intersection of Village Creek Road and Wilbarger Street in southeast Fort Worth. The crew on the fire truck were on their way to a house fire in the area when it lost control and flipped. Another fire truck responded to the call after the accident. There were four firefighters on board. They were all taken to a local hospital – one with critical injuries was transported via CareFlite. Later Tuesday morning, one firefighter remains in critical condition, one is in stable condition and two have been released from the hospital. The names of the firefighters have yet to be released. Police are still investigating what could have caused the accident.  

No injuries were reported after a house fire in Tornillo Monday afternoon. The fire was reported on Oil Mill Drive. The El Paso fire chief and El Paso fire marshal said no injuries were reported. A neighbor in the area described what he saw. "Well first, I could hear some fire so I was thinking of my clippers 'cause they're pretty expensive, and then I thought of my roosters," said the neighbor. According to fire chief and fire marshal Roger Esparza with El Paso County the cause of the fire is unknown. He also said the fire extended to six cars and a shed that were also damaged. The owners were not home at the time of the fire. Another neighbor said he is relieved the fire didn't extend to his home. "Yeah I was worried that it was going to come to our house but I'm glad it didn't," said Joaquin Cevallos.  

While many recent high school graduates ponder if they'll go to college and what their majors will be, Blayne Adams, at just 19 years old, has already passed his Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) certification, completed all the necessary fire academy training, and has been licensed by the State of Texas as a certified fire protection professional. "I've been around the Mabank Fire Department (MFD) my whole life, basically," he said. "My grandpa has served for about 38 or 39 years. He's been a judge for Kaufman County, and for the longest time I wanted to be an attorney and eventually become a judge just like him. Then, when I was about 14 or 15, I got heavily involved with the fire department, riding along with them, seeing how it is, and just hanging out at the station."  

PHOTOS: A North Shore landmark has been reduced to rubble by a major fire reported early Tuesday. The operators of Lutsen Resort say their historic lodge is a total loss after burning to the ground. The Cook County Sheriff's Office confirms that staff members called 911 just after 12:30 a.m. reporting smoke coming from the floor in the lobby of the lodge. Fire crews from Lutsen, Tofte, Grand Marais and a number of other local departments rushed to the scene and found the lodge building engulfed by flames. All staff members made it out, and the sheriff's department reports there were no guests on site. The resort posted on Facebook Tuesday morning, mourning the devastation to its facility. "The Historic Lutsen Lodge has been taken by a devastating fire this evening…. A total loss to the lodge building…. Fires in 1949, 1951 and 2024."  

Bob Beckwith, the former New York City firefighter who famously stood alongside President George W. Bush atop a charred fire truck in the rubble of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, has died, according to the union representing New York firefighters and former US Rep. Peter King. He was 91. The cause of Beckwith's death was not immediately released. He had malignant skin cancer, along with other health problems, he told Focus on the Family last year. Beckwith was already retired when terrorists hijacked two commercial planes and crashed them into the twin towers of the World Trade Center, killing 2,753 people. Another hijacked plane crashed that day into the Pentagon, killing 184 people, while 40 passengers and crew aboard a fourth hijacked plane died when their plane crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.  

VIDEO: Police are investigating what led to a Fort Worth fire truck losing control and flipping over. Police say it happened just before 2:30 a.m. Feb. 6 at the intersection of Village Creek Road and Wilbarger Street in southeast Fort Worth. The crew on the fire truck were on their way to a house fire in the area when it lost control and flipped. Another fire truck responded to the call after the accident. There were four firefighters on board. They were all taken to a local hospital – one with critical injuries was transported via CareFlite. Later Tuesday morning, one firefighter remains in critical condition, one is in stable condition and two have been released from the hospital. The names of the firefighters have yet to be released. Police are still investigating what could have caused the accident.  

VIDEO: A fire at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Davenport killed 40 patients and one nurse, all of which were women. It was the deadliest disaster in Quad Cities history and the third largest hospital fire in United States history. Up until last month, nobody had ever written about it. That has changed with Bettendorf author Dr. Bret Grimes, who tells the story about what happened at the site where Genesis West Hospital stands today. In the cold and early morning hours of Jan. 7, 1950, a patient at St. Elizabeth Hospital is said to have hallucinated and believed she needed to get out of her locked room. "She started a newspaper on fire and then took that to the curtain and started the curtain on fire," Grimes said. "That created a cascade of events that led to the death of 41 people and that building burning to the ground."  

On Feb. 28, female first responders and other local, state and federal public safety professional women from across Oklahoma will gather for a symposium in south Oklahoma City. It is believed this is the first such statewide gathering in the history of the state. Women police, firefighters, deputies, troopers, marshals, investigators, dispatchers, prosecutors, corrections officers, probation/parole officers, emergency medical personnel, and military and tribal public safety personnel are all encouraged to attend. Called "Oklahoma Women in Public Safety," the symposium will feature lunch, networking and speakers on "Public Safety & Shift Worker Strategies for Coping with ‘Mom Guilt'" as well as "Recognizing and Responding to Domestic Abuse in Coworkers and the Community You Serve."