VIDEO: A grand opening was held Monday for the new Dallas Fire Station 36, located at 2300 Singleton Blvd., less than a mile away from the original fire house on North Hampton Road. The new building is twice the size – 13,000 square feet – with all the up-to-date tools needed for emergency response. The apparatus bay was filled with people on Monday, celebrating the new landmark in West Dallas. Elaine Page was at the grand opening, standing at the new station because her husband can't. She is the widow of a Dallas firefighter. "I wish he were here to see it," Page said. In 2018, Lieutenant Dennis Page died of colon cancer caused by his job. Occupational cancer is the leading cause of death among firefighters, according to the CDC and the International Association of Firefighters.  

A METRO light-rail train hit an ambulance in the Medical Center overnight, causing several injuries, according to Houston police. A Houston Fire Department ambulance was making a turn at Fannin Street and Dryden Road when the METRORail collided with it, HPD said. Police said several people on the train were hurt, and a firefighter who was in the ambulance had minor injuries. Investigators estimated about five people were on the train during the crash, but did not have an exact number. HPD did not provide any information on the condition the passengers were in when they were taken to area hospitals. Police said the ambulance was transporting a patient to the hospital at the time of the crash. The METRORail red line runs through the Texas Medical Center.  

The explosion at the South Fork Dairy Plant is under investigation by the Texas State Fire Marshal. According to the Castro County Sheriff Sal Rivera, the dairy plant has around 60 employees. Mayor Roger Malone says firefighters rescued one person who was in the building at the time of the fire. "We are grateful for our volunteer firefighters. When we need them, they show up," said Mayor Malone. Sheriff Rivera says this was the biggest fire he has ever seen. "It was very big, I was north of Dimmitt and was able to see it heading this way, coming to the location you could tell the magnitude of it, it was really big. I've seen buildings fully engulfed with fire and smoke, it was just big," said Sheriff Rivera. Sheriff Rivera says part of the investigation is what caused the fire to become so big, however, he believes it was due to the insulation catching fire and spreading.  

VIDEO: Like many states, Texas still faces a shortage of people in emergency medical services. As a way to help get more to join the field, Acadian Ambulance is offering a short 11-day, entry-level course. "The more credentialed individuals that we have on the street means that there's more trucks on the street. We can get to our community a lot faster," Kristine Koerner, a recruiter for Acadian Ambulance, said. She said since the pandemic, there has been a nationwide problem with finding people to join the EMS field. "With the economy the way that it is, I think that it's going to be a battle that we see for the near future at least," Koerner said. In December, KSAT 12 News reported about the Texas legislature setting aside $21.7 million for EMS education and retention as a part of Senate Bill 8 to help combat the shortage.  

PHOTOS: More than 2,000 residents are under an evacuation order after a large fire broke out at an Indiana recycling plant on Tuesday afternoon, officials said. Any resident within a half-mile radius of the plant in Richmond, Indiana, has been ordered to evacuate due to the "large industrial fire," local officials said. The evacuation zone impacts approximately 2,011 residents, according to a representative from the Wayne County Emergency Management office. Anyone downwind of the incident should shelter in place, according to officials. "The smoke is definitely toxic," Indiana State Fire Marshal Stephen Jones told reporters during a press briefing. "We don't want the residents in the smoke. As the wind changes we may change the direction of the evacuations."  

VIDEO: A legacy FDNY firefighter took his final ride with his Brooklyn firehouse after 40 years on the job. Throughout his career, 65-year-old Robert Thomas broke barriers and turned his job into a family affair. "I said when I'm leaving I'm going to have claw marks on the floor," Robert Thomas said. On Monday, his journey with the New York City Fire Department 40 plus years in the making came to an end after reaching the mandatory retirement age. He's leaving a mark in more ways than one with three adult sons following in his footsteps as members of the FDNY. The Thomas family is believed to be one of the largest legacy families of color on the force. "The single most important memory was having my boys on the back step," Robert Thomas said. "The things we did that entire day are priceless."  

VIDEO: A new alerting system has been installed across all Spokane Valley Fire Department stations, with the goal of reducing response times and improving overall firefighter health. "It's easy when you love the job. We love what we do, certainly there are stressors," SVFD Station 7 Firefighter/Paramedic Jeff Smetzler said. Being a firefighter isn't an easy job, you must love it entirely to stick with it, and that's something Smetzler knows well – he joined the SVFD team in 2001. After a few months of installation, a new alert system is up and running across all ten valley stations. It's called Phoenix G2; the difference between the previous system and this new one is that instead of speakers and lights coming on abruptly when dispatch calls come in, they are gradually increased under the G2 system.  

VIDEO: Like many states, Texas still faces a shortage of people in emergency medical services. As a way to help get more to join the field, Acadian Ambulance is offering a short 11-day, entry-level course. "The more credentialed individuals that we have on the street means that there's more trucks on the street. We can get to our community a lot faster," Kristine Koerner, a recruiter for Acadian Ambulance, said. She said since the pandemic, there has been a nationwide problem with finding people to join the EMS field. "With the economy the way that it is, I think that it's going to be a battle that we see for the near future at least," Koerner said. In December, KSAT 12 News reported about the Texas legislature setting aside $21.7 million for EMS education and retention as a part of Senate Bill 8 to help combat the shortage.  

A November investigation by the United States Department of Labor has uncovered that a Pennsylvania Dollar General willfully exposed workers to dangerous safety standards. The store, located in Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania, subjected workers to safety hazards that included blocked emergency exit routes and electrical panels. "Exposing employees to these hazards can be dangerous, especially in an emergency," said OSHA Area Director Mary Reynolds in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. "Dollar General Corp. has a substantial history of the same violations and hazards found at stores all around the U.S. They must end their repeated failures to correct these violations before an emergency turns tragic." Findings like this aren't new to the retail chain as Dollar General has generated nearly $15 million in penalties since 2017.