Black fire hydrants scattered throughout the county might go largely unnoticed by the public, but firefighters know what they mean, and many make it a point to know exactly where they are. Ink-colored fireplugs are a signal for firefighters not to hook up water hoses there because of low water volume and the possibility that infrastructure put in place by developers might collapse under the strain. Some neighborhoods that have black hydrants contain large, upscale homes. Bentwater is among them. Hood County Fire Marshal Jeff Young estimates that 65%-70% of the county does not have hydrants that provide strong enough water flows for firefighting. The black fire hydrants came about because for years, there were no regulations in the more rural parts of the county for such things as water availability for firefighting.  

Congratulations to Lieutenant Alberto Cruz who has just been named as the Rio Grande Valley Firefighter's & Fire Marshal's Association Firefighter of the year. His co-workers credit him with saving a woman's life after pulling her from a burning home but he says he was just doing his job. The Association also took notice and selected him as the 2020 RGV Richard Drewry Fire Fighter of the Year. He will represent the RGV as the Region 5 nominee for State Firefighter of the Year. Region 5 includes Cameron, Willacy, Hidalgo, Starr, and Zapata County. Participating fire departments in these counties select a nominee who is then considered on a point system for their contributions in the following areas: attitude and work knowledge, creative ability and innovation, department involvement, community involvement, and heroism/bravery.  

Three firefighters from two North Texas fire departments returned home after traveling to Surfside, Florida to offer mental health support to frontline workers responding to the condo building collapse site. Captain JD Schulgen and Lieutenant Matt Brawner are with the Garland Fire Department. Josh Santiago is a firefighter paramedic with the Grapevine Fire Department. The trio are part of the Peer Support Program with the International Association of Firefighters. The group is trained to respond to high-stress events, offer support to fellow firefighters and share information about local mental health resources. Schulgen, Brawner and Santiago all told WFAA they did not hesitate to answer the call when the Miami-Dade Fire Department asked for help.  

Several people escaped a house fire in a southwest Houston neighborhood early Wednesday morning, but one woman was not able to get out on her own. Firefighters responded to a house fire in the 11200 block of Concho Street near Leawood just before 4 a.m. Houston fire officials said the initial call for help came from a resident awoken by the sound of an explosion. "The initial person that called 911, they said they were awakened by an explosion. They heard a second explosion and basically, they had to self-extricate, break out a window," District Chief Steve Dunbar said. "All but one was able to get out." Investigators said there were eight people in the residence at the time of the fire, and seven of them were able to escape. Firefighters entered the burning residence to rescue a 35-to-40-year-old woman who was trapped toward the back of the home.  

Jimmy Chew has served the citizens of Stephenville for a long time so it was through an emotional announcement that the fire chief informed the city council of his planned retirement at a meeting last week. In making the announcement, Chew, who has worked with the department for more than 50 years, said he chose the date — July 5 — because that was the date 123 years ago that the Stephenville Fire Department was established. His final day on the job will be July 30. "I have truly enjoyed working with the hard-working employees of the city of Stephenville," the retiring chief said. According to previous E-T reports, Chew started his service to the city on Dec. 1, 1970. He was promoted to assistant fire chief on Jan. 1, 1988, and to fire chief on Oct. 1, 2005.  

The driver of a car that slid underneath a semi-truck Tuesday afternoon on I-45 suffered serious injuries, according to first responders on the scene. It happened in the northbound lanes between Huntsville and New Waverly in Walker County. The following update was provided to KBTX by the New Waverly Fire Department: "New Waverly Firefighters and Walker County EMS crews were dispatched to reports of a serious accident in the northbound lanes of I-45 Tuesday afternoon. The first New Waverly crews arrived shortly before 1:30 pm, reporting that a driver of a Honda Civic was trapped underneath an 18 wheeler. Witnesses reported seeing the car leave the roadway, then veer sharply back across the main lanes and under a passing 18 Wheeler. The vehicle lodged under the trailer and was dragged for several hundred yards as the driver of the truck brought it to a stop..."  

VIDEO: At least one person is dead after a twin-engine plane crashed into a home near the Monterey Regional Airport Tuesday morning. According to KION-TV, officials confirmed crews found one deceased individual still inside the plane. Fire officials say the home is located on Monterra Ranch road, near Highway 68 and about 1 mile from the airport. Officials say the crash happened just after 10:40 a.m. While officials have not yet provided details about what caused the plane to crash, radio transmissions from air traffic control right before the crash shed some light on a possible cause. Just after 10:40 a.m., the air traffic controller can be heard telling a plane about a 'low altitude warning' and instructing the pilot to climb to 5,000 feet. The pilot does not respond to this call prompting the controller to ask, "Are you having an in-flight emergency?" Moments later the same controller puts out a call that they could have a plane down.  

VIDEO: Creators of a video project to memorialize Prince George's County firefighters who died in the line of duty had struggled to get their hands on one particular photo until a social media post Monday night brought an end to their search. John Leyh was a member of the Berwyn Heights Volunteer Fire Department who lost his life helping citizens of the county more than six decades ago. On July 12, 1956, Leyh responded to a car crash in his own car. While driving home, he himself crashed into a tree. He was 27 years old. The fatal collision resulted in a major change in safety procedures, Berwyn Heights Volunteer Fire Department Chief Danny McCoy said. "As a result of his line-of-duty death we actually stopped our members from having the ability to respond to the scene in their personal vehicles. While it doesn't seem like a big deal... back in the day, that's how everything was handled," McCoy said.  

VIDEO: A defunct fire station could soon be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Art Deco style Engine House 2 on South Federal Avenue was completed in 1939, at a cost of $34,520, part of which was funded through a Public Works Administration grant. Upon completion until it was closed in 1973, the fire house provided round the clock service to the then rapidly expanding area south of Downtown. After it was closed, the building was transferred to the city's Public Works department and was used for storage. The roof, which fell into disrepair over the years, was replaced last year. As part of hosting the 2022 Preserve Iowa Summit next year, the city's Housing Preservation Commission is undertaking efforts to restore the building, as well as selecting an architectural historian to develop an online and digital content package featuring images, audio, video and narrative text describing the history and significance of the building.  

VIDEO: On July 17, 1981, two suspended walkways collapsed inside Kansas City's Hyatt Regency Hotel. The event became one of the worst man-made disasters in American history, and the shockwaves are still being felt four decades later. It happened at the worst possible time. The room was packed for a Friday night dance, and 114 people died, 216 were hurt and thousands more were affected. Micheal Mahoney was at the Hyatt that night. "I was a feature reporter here in Kansas City," he said. "I'd been here about a year and a half, and the beat was called the lifestyle beat." Today, Kansas Citians know him as KMBC 9 News' veteran political journalist. But things were different for Mahoney in his late 20s. "I really had a hankering to get back to hard news," he said. "But thought I'd tough it out." The 40-story Hyatt Regency had opened its doors in 1980 as the jewel of the Crown Center development.  

Black fire hydrants scattered throughout the county might go largely unnoticed by the public, but firefighters know what they mean, and many make it a point to know exactly where they are. Ink-colored fireplugs are a signal for firefighters not to hook up water hoses there because of low water volume and the possibility that infrastructure put in place by developers might collapse under the strain. Some neighborhoods that have black hydrants contain large, upscale homes. Bentwater is among them. Hood County Fire Marshal Jeff Young estimates that 65%-70% of the county does not have hydrants that provide strong enough water flows for firefighting. The black fire hydrants came about because for years, there were no regulations in the more rural parts of the county for such things as water availability for firefighting.