As temperatures neared 110 degrees in North Texas Tuesday, Dallas fire crews felt the heat—and then some—while battling what amounted to a six-alarm blaze at an east Oak Cliff church. Just before 2 p.m., Dallas Fire-Rescue (DFR) responded to reports of a fire at the Saintsville Church of God, located at 2200 South Marsalis Ave. When firefighters arrived, they found smoke coming from the vents and eaves of the church. A little over a half-hour later, the fire escalated to a third alarm and crews began defensive tactics. Air 1 was then sent to assist, and South Marsalis—between Eastwood and Illinois—was shut down for several hours. The fire was largely under control by the time a fifth alarm was called; however, DFR stated six alarms were ultimately called due to the extreme heat and the need for more manpower.  

After more than 20 years helping the city of Gunter, Fire Chief David Gallagher now needs help, too. "Spent most of his working life in public safety in both the law enforcement side as well as the fire side," said Police Chief Jeff Gibson. Gallagher has held many different titles over the years including fire marshal. "Since he was on the fire department, he actually became a certified firefighter, arson investigator, certified peace officer," said Assistant Chief Jon Logan. For the past 22 years, David Gallagher has been a part of Gunter's fire department. "He's played a very important role in keeping this fire department rolling and where it is now," said Logan. "Chief welcomed me in when I on-boarded into the organization," Gibson added. "He has such a significant amount of institutional knowledge that was very helpful for me."  

Multiple first responders were called to assist with a wildfire in the Ruby Ranch subdivision in west Buda near Montgomery Court on Tuesday, the Hays County Office of Emergency Management (HCOEM) said on social media. Officials said the fire started after a homeowner was cutting something with a saw and sparks caught the grass on fire. According to a Wednesday morning update time-stamped 9:34 a.m. from the Texas A&M Forest Service, the fire was 90% contained and had burned 53.8 acres. Hays County officials said in an updated social media post Wednesday morning there are still "quite a few hotspots," but that overnight operations went well. Community emergency response team volunteers will be on the scene beginning at noon to provide firefighter rehab.  

VIDEO/PHOTOS: A three-alarm fire tore through a Motel 6 on West Sam Houston Parkway South Tuesday afternoon. Sky 2 was over the motel located at 2900 W Sam Houston Pkwy. Large flames and smoke were seen coming from the building and some saw the smoke from miles away. "The building became too dangerous for firefighters to be inside. So they had to retreat, evacuate the building and go defensive, meaning they had to fight this fire from the outside," HFD Capt. Sedrick Robinett said. About 100 firefighters battled the flames as ladder trucks surrounded the three-story building. Firefighters with the Houston Fire Department were able to completely extinguish the fire. Crews stayed on the scene for about six hours.  

As temperatures neared 110 degrees in North Texas Tuesday, Dallas fire crews felt the heat—and then some—while battling what amounted to a six-alarm blaze at an east Oak Cliff church. Just before 2 p.m., Dallas Fire-Rescue (DFR) responded to reports of a fire at the Saintsville Church of God, located at 2200 South Marsalis Ave. When firefighters arrived, they found smoke coming from the vents and eaves of the church. A little over a half-hour later, the fire escalated to a third alarm and crews began defensive tactics. Air 1 was then sent to assist, and South Marsalis—between Eastwood and Illinois—was shut down for several hours. The fire was largely under control by the time a fifth alarm was called; however, DFR stated six alarms were ultimately called due to the extreme heat and the need for more manpower.  

VIDEO: Friday's tragedy has impacted the entire Fargo-Moorhead community, especially our first responders. Firefighters were on-the-scene for what seemed like a routine fender bender. They were about to leave the scene and let Fargo police take over, when a man opened fire. The shooter ended up killing a Fargo police officer, critically wounding two others, and injured a bystander. The Fargo Fire Department jumped into life saving action once the shooter was neutralized by Fargo police. Fargo Fire Chief Steve Dirksen says the department requested ballistics gear after the mass shooting that took place at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Adding, "If the cops are in there with their guns and their looking for things, we feel that that's a good place for us to be, following behind them and get in and start treating people."  

Tumwater Fire Chief Brian Hurley is joining a countywide mission to show it's OK for firefighters, EMTs and other frontline workers to talk about their mental health. It's being done through the Peer Support Program, a confidential opportunity to debrief with colleagues. Hurley and Rian Winter, lead of the Peer Support Group and EMS lieutenant, gave a presentation to the Tumwater Public Health and Safety Committee on July 11. Tumwater will be the next city to join the program, which Winter said most cities in Thurston County already participate in. There are 46 firefighters and EMS employees in Tumwater, and the goal is to have eight of them be trained in peer support. Two people per shift will go through a total of 24 hours of training with professional mental health counselors and other trainers involved in peer networking, and they'll receive yearly continuing education. "As a volunteer when I started you didn't talk about mental health," Hurley said. "