A man was found dead inside a burning trailer in north Houston overnight, according to fire officials. Houston firefighters responded to a fire at the Shady Oak Village mobile home park at 5711 Yale St. around 2:40 a.m. Video from the scene shows flames and smoke rising from the roof of the charred trailer home. Firefighters made a fast attack and got the fire under control quickly. When they went inside the trailer home, they found a man dead just inside the door. HFD said it's unclear if the 67-year-old victim was burned or was overcome by the smoke. Houston police said there are no obvious signs of foul play. An HFD arson investigation is underway to determine what sparked the flames.  

The Port Arthur Fire Department recently received additional lifesaving equipment for Fire Station No. 3, which services the Port Acres area. According to Fire Chief Benson, new AutoPulse devices have been beneficial in managing patients in cardiac arrest. "Implementing the use of the AutoPulse increases survivability but must be done in a timely manner," Benson said in a City of Port Arthur release. "This will reduce time for implementation in the event of cardiac arrest incident in Port Acres and support an increase in lives saved." Engines 1, 6 and 3 are now equipped with an AutoPulse. "The commitment for quality services is expanding with new equipment and higher levels of training," Benson said. "The Port Acres Community is an area of focus for increasing safety as well."  

Austin emergency preparedness officials are taking newer steps to keep residents informed on what to do in the event of a weather-related emergency event. The City of Austin's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management launched emergency preparedness classes this year. HSEM will host 10 pop-up events at Austin Public Library branches across the city, said Billy Callis, public information officer with HSEM. "The intention is really to help get people prepared and aware, and thinking about how to prepare themselves, their home, their family, their pets and their community for emergencies," Callis said. The events feature HSEM staff alongside officials from Austin-Travis County EMS, the Austin Fire Department, Austin Energy and the Austin Watershed Department, among others.  

Aransas Pass officials said that now that this resident survey has been completed they feel confident moving forward on with a plan to build a brand-new fire station and to renovate the police station. The yearly survey asked residents to answer a number of questions concerning city services including whether they'd support a new fire station and the renovation of the police department. Aransas Pass City Manager Gary Edwards said that 80 percent of people backed the idea. "They're crowded and they have no place to put the equipment they have and the sleeping accommodations are crude at best," he said. Edwards is talking about the one small bedroom that firefighters have to share at the fire station.  

VIDEO: Every second counts in a trauma situation. Critical patients need critical care, and sometimes time isn't on your side. "I wanted to give our paramedics one more tool in the toolbox to take advantage of, and to hopefully save a life out there," said Coconut Creek Asst. Chief Tony Chin. A procedure typically reserved for emergency room hospitals is moving right out onto the field. It's called a finger thoracostomy and Chin said it's a game changer. "We open up the chest cavity with a small incision, about one inch, to let all the air out so that the heart can re-expand and also produce a pulse," Chin said. The goal is to try and relieve the pressure that can build up from blunt force trauma to the chest after a serious car crash, a shooting or even a stabbing.  

Sandy Springs is changing the inspection process for apartment communities. A new code of ordinances is requiring apartment complexes to hire a third party to inspect units annually. Before updating regulations, only 20% of apartment units were required to be inspected each year. The new policy will help the city better address water and structural damage, mold, fire hazards and other issues — particularly in older complexes that don't have sprinkler systems for apartment fires, a statement said. There are 98 apartment complexes in Sandy Springs and two more are under construction. The existing properties collectively have 25,000 units. Only 28% of the apartment building structures have sprinkler systems, according to Sandy Springs officials.  

VIDEO: John Gasper spent 23 years as a volunteer firefighter and that's what drew him to his unique current job title. Gasper, who is the owner of the namesake Gasper's Automotive Restoration in Manchester, brings old firetrucks back to life for a living. "We do everything from an oil change to a full truck restoration," said Gasper. "We preserve fire history, these fire trucks come in as antiques from the 1920s, '30s, or 40 and they want to get them restored or repaired, so we make that happen." Opened for seven years, the word is getting out about Gasper's Restoration and its niche services. Gasper said he's getting calls from across the country from either private collectors or departments looking to restore their antique firetrucks to their former grandeur.  

In movies, when we see fiery car crashes or flaming planes on runways, we know they are not real. But in the real world, fuel fires must be quenched with special kinds of chemicals, and the ones that have been most commonly used are known as aqueous film-forming foams (AFFFs). However, environmental and health concerns about AFFFs have launched widespread efforts to detect, monitor and eventually eliminate them. Now, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have released new reference materials to expedite these efforts. What makes the foams so effective are chemical compounds called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), enabling them to suppress fuel fires much more quickly and efficiently compared with other alternatives.