Six people were taken to the hospital following a flash fire at a Port Arthur pipeline site Tuesday afternoon. The flash fire happened around 3:48 p.m. Tuesday when welders were working on a pipeline at the Explorer Pipeline site, according to Port Arthur Fire Chief Greg Benson. Four people were sent to the Medical Center of Southeast Texas in Port Arthur and two people were taken to the burn center in Galveston to be treated for their injuries. Benson says one person taken to Galveston was airlifted by helicopter and the other was driven. The Port Arthur Fire Department and City Ambulance responded to the scene with about four different ambulances.  

The Corpus Christi Fire Department is eagerly anticipating beginning work on its new Fire Station #8, which will be located a few blocks from their current site. The current station is situated on Kostoryz Road. CCFD Station #8 Fire Captain David Lopez stated that the new station's placement at the McArdle intersection aims to decrease response times significantly. "Since our location is pretty centered in the city, we'll be able to respond quicker, getting on the freeways of 358 and 186," he said. The relocation also comes at a good time because the building they're currently occupying is beginning to show its age, considering it was built in the 1950s. "Sometimes keeping up with the maintenance and the housekeeping with this station can be sometimes troublesome," he said.  

One person is dead after a fifth wheel camper caught fire Tuesday morning at the Crossroads Mobile Home and RV Community in Sherman. Amber Sanders-Cline and her husband were awakened at about 2:15 a.m. by the sound of popping. "When we looked out our bedroom window, we saw nothing but bright red," Sanders-Cline said. "It was hot by the window already … by the time he got to the door, it was absolutely engulfed and there was just loud popping. It was really terrifying." Sanders-Cline says they called 911 right away and while fire engines arrived quickly, the flames spread fast. "It didn't take long, maybe 5 minutes tops," Sanders-Cline said. "It was coming out of the windows and you could see it was really heavily on fire, but by the time they got here it was in the trees above, right next to the power lines just popping … it was the largest fire I've ever seen that close."  

VIDEO: The Lovelesses have some long-standing traditions and putting up Christmas lights is one of them. But, this year, that was all in jeopardy after a recent medical diagnosis. Tom Loveless is a long-time WFAA photographer who retired in 2016. Very recently, he was diagnosed with stage 1 lung cancer. He's thankful doctors found the cancer early but surgery to remove portions of his lung needed to happen. The surgery happened in November, meaning Loveless would not be able to put up his Christmas lights this year. It hurt him so much he decided to post about it on social media. "I was very depressed because I couldn't put up my Christmas decorations. I've been doing it for 43 years," he said. A friend and former news colleague, Yolanda Schufford, with the help of her husband Ray, helped find a company of firefighters who put up Christmas lights.  

Arson investigators are looking into the cause of a massive fire that tore through a home in Point Loma early Tuesday, according to San Diego Fire-Rescue Deputy Chief Brian Raines. Both San Diego Fire and San Diego Police were alerted to the fire at about 5:30 a.m. by a call reporting a burglary and a fire at the home on Liggett Drive just north of Point Loma Park. When crews arrived, the home was already overtaken by flames, Raines said. Firefighters immediately began tackling the blaze, which had started spreading to a large pine tree in front of the home. SDFD crews were able to keep the fire at bay, preventing it from spreading to other properties. The home, though, was likely destroyed, Raines said. The estimated cost of damage was still being determined.  

VIDEO: An FDNY firefighter who spent over a year recovering from injuries he suffered fighting a house fire returned to work Monday. Robert Velazquez was greeted as he walked back into Engine 257, Ladder 170 in Canarsie, Brooklyn. In a Facebook post, the FDNY said in part, "With the support of his family, friends, and his FDNY family, and through sheer determination and grit, Firefighter Velazquez is back at his second home, his firehouse. We are glad to have him back and the City thanks him for his continued service." Fellow firefighter Timothy Klein died in the April 2022 blaze when part of the home collapsed. A 21-year-old resident was also killed. A total of eight firefighters were hurt battling the fire.  

The D.C. Council unanimously passed emergency legislation Tuesday that could help solve an ongoing staffing shortage at the 911 call center. The bill, which had nine cosponsors, allows retired firefighters and police officers to work as call takers and dispatchers without losing any pay from their pensions. As recently as October, just less than half of all of the shifts were fully staffed, according to data published by the D.C. Office of Unified Communications. At-large Councilmember Christina Henderson believes the problem could be solved with this legislation. "I think by having retired firefighters and police officers who've been out on the field, they can assess a situation from a phone call and better help to get speedy responses and effective responses," she said.  

PHOTOS: A century-old fire engine once in the service of Las Cruces firefighters completed a long journey this week from a salvage yard, to a local home, all the way to Oregon and back again. It was briefly parked, looking shiny and new, in front of Las Cruces City Hall Monday, as LCFD Chief Jason Smith celebrated its donation back to the city at the regular city council meeting. Smith told the council it was the city's earliest known motorized fire engine – the seventh unit of its type manufactured in 1915, and one of just two still in existence from that model year. The engine had two 25-gallon tanks of water and used a soda-acid chemical system, which pressurized water through a chemical reaction in which acid was introduced into soda water to release carbon dioxide and force the water from the tanks.