The City of Victoria's new fire chief brings 30 years of diverse fire and EMS experience to his new role. Chief George Gamez was selected as the sole finalist for the position of fire chief following an extensive search. His first day on the job will be Feb. 1. "I am excited to welcome Chief Gamez to the City of Victoria, and I am thankful for the efforts of the executive team, members of the VFD, stakeholders and elected officials who aided in the selection process," said City Manager Jesús A. Garza. "Our recruitment firm, SGR, identified many qualified candidates, and Chief Gamez easily rose to the top as the best choice for our fire department and our community." Gamez has served with Dallas Fire-Rescue since 1993, serving 16 years in the field and 14 years as part of the leadership team in diverse administration roles.  

VIDEO: Multiple fire crews battled a huge house fire in Lytle, Texas, Tuesday morning, officials said. Firefighters responded to a call about a house fire around 6:30a.m. in the 800 block of County Road 6848 in Medina County. Firefighters say when they arrived they saw full flames coming out the back of the house. Video from the scene showed the home completely engulfed in flames. Officials say the front door was wide open and there were flames from the front of the house, throughout the hallway and coming out the back window. "There was no stopping this fire," firefighter Roger Garcia said. Originally two units from Lytle responded to the fire but due to the intensity of the fire more units from surrounding areas were called to help. In total 12 units responded to the fire. Officials say the house's roof eventually collapsed.  

Three firefighters were injured while responding to a fire at an apartment building in the 700 block of W. Warrior Trail in Grand Prairie this week, fire officials say. Firefighters responded to the fire at the three-story apartment building shortly after 2 p.m. Monday and found heavy smoke and flames from the building, according to the Grand Prairie Fire Department. The fire was quickly extinguished, and residents in the affected buildings were relocated to other units within the same property, officials say. No residents were injured, but three firefighters were taken to a hospital for treatment of injuries and released, according to the fire department. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.  

The former Gault Middle School in Tacoma is on fire early Wednesday morning. The Tacoma Fire Department (TFD) responded to the building at around 4 a.m. Crews chose not to go inside because the building has been designated as "dangerous and derelict." The fire department has responded to multiple fires at this building since it was vacated over a decade ago. TFD said they do not know for sure if there is anyone inside, but there are no indications of that so far. The burn started in the back of the building, which was inaccessible to firefighters when they arrived. Instead, they waited for the roof to burn off and started attacking it from multiple ladders. The roof is completely gone in several places.  

There has been a barrier-breaking first on Long Island. On Tuesday, a fire department created back in 1898 swore in its first Afro/Latino fire commissioner. In a very diverse community, African-American leaders say that's reason to celebrate. Rasheen "Roc" Williams' extended family and his fire department family applauded him in a historic first. One of Long Island's most diverse communities, Brentwood is 85% Hispanic and Black, but has never had a black fire commissioner in its 125-year history, until now. Williams is Black and Latino. "I'm humble about it. I accept the mantle, but that's not what I ran for. I ran to do right by my community," Williams said. He began saving lives just out of high school. "Me and my cousins were walking by the firehouse and said, 'I wonder what's in there.' So they dared me," Williams said.  

VIDEO: Maury County first responders are getting more reports of car crashes - not from people, but from an emergency iPhone feature. It senses when you go from a high rate of speed to suddenly stopping and will automatically call 911. "We receive these calls very often," Maury County Fire Department's Savannah Maddison said. Deputy Fire Chief Richard Schatz said on New Year's Day a driver drove off the roadway, and crashed over rocks, before landing in a creek. The iPhone's crash alert system called 911 and relayed coordinates to emergency responders. "We were able to come upon a scene where a car was in the middle of a creek - thankfully the occupant inside the vehicle was able to get himself out safely, but if he had been trapped or unconscious, that iPhone notification absolutely would've saved his life," Maddison said.