Latest news with #FortWorthFireDepartment
CBS News
15-07-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Hazmat incident at Fort Worth garbage site sends 1 to hospital, 17 evaluated, officials say
Crews are responding to a hazmat incident that sent one person to the hospital and resulted in several others being checked for symptoms Tuesday morning, Fort Worth officials said. Just before 8 a.m., Fort Worth fire crews responded to a garbage site in the 6200 block of Elliott Reeder Road after a call concerning a "cloud" seen at the facility. According to the Fort Worth Fire Department, one person was transported to a hospital, and at least 17 others were checked out at the scene and are all expected to be OK. The department is investigating what caused the incident.
CBS News
05-07-2025
- Climate
- CBS News
North Texas fire departments head to central Texas to help with search & rescue efforts
The search and rescue teams from several North Texas fire departments are in central Texas, assisting after flash flooding left dozens of people dead. At least 27 fatalities have been reported so far, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said in an email Saturday morning. The dead include 18 adults and 9 children. Six of the adults and one child remain unidentified, Leitha said. Officials have conducted more than 160 air rescues, Leitha said. In total, 850 uninjured and 8 injured people have been rescued as of Saturday, he said. The Fort Worth Fire Department sent two teams to the area, including 15 divers and swift water team members. Dallas Fire Rescue has deployed a "water-squad" team of six people. The Denton Fire Department also sent a team of six people with two boats. The Southern Baptist of Texas Convention and Disaster Relief is also sending volunteers to the area to help out. Search and rescue operations are ongoing There are hundreds of people on the ground from various units helping with search and rescue operations, officials said, which include drones and helicopters. "We brought in over 100 troopers this morning," Col. Freeman Martin, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said during Friday night's news briefing. "And they've worked all day, rescues, high water vehicles, boats, rescue divers, seven rescue helicopters with hoist capabilities." The governor signed a disaster declaration for several counties during the news conference Friday night, saying it "ensures all the counties will have access to every tool, strategy, personnel that the state of Texas can provide to them, which will be limitless." "We will stop at nothing to ensure that every asset and person and plane, whatever is needed, is going to be involved in the process of rescuing every last person and ensure everybody involved in this is going to be fully accounted for," Abbott said. Earlier Friday, Abbott asked that Texas residents "heed guidance from state and local officials and monitor local forecasts to avoid driving into flooded areas." Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said in a statement posted to social media that he had spoken to Mr. Trump, as well as other state officials. "President Trump committed ANYTHING Texas needs," Cruz said. Lorena Gullen, who owns a restaurant right next to an RV park that was affected by the floods, said "raging water" swept away vehicles, some with people still inside. Residents at the park had been celebrating the Fourth of July.
CBS News
28-06-2025
- General
- CBS News
Fire prompts evacuation at Hulen Mall in Fort Worth
Fort Worth fire and police crews responded to a fire at Hulen Mall on Friday night, prompting evacuations, according to authorities. Craig Trojacek, a spokesperson for the Fort Worth Fire Department, confirmed that a third fire alarm had been triggered and that heavy smoke was pouring from the mall's second floor. Shoppers and employees were evacuated as a precaution. CBS News Texas will provide updates as more information becomes available.
CBS News
23-06-2025
- General
- CBS News
Crews battle 5-alarm fire at Fort Worth apartment building
Crews are battling a five-alarm fire at a Fort Worth apartment complex on Monday afternoon. The Fort Worth Fire Department was called to the six-story building around 3 p.m. for an active fire. One person has been injured, Fort Worth FD said. The CBS News Texas Chopper is on scene, where more than a dozen firefighters can be seen attacking the fire with multiple hoses on the apartment complex's roof. Other firefighters can be seen attacking from the side on an engine ladder. This is a developing story.
CBS News
16-06-2025
- General
- CBS News
Longer freight trains are more than just a nuisance. They're increasingly costing Texans their time and safety
Five years ago, the average Union Pacific freight train was 8,000-feet long. Today, it's more than 9,000 — with many extending as long as 15,000-feet. Nicknamed 'monster trains,' these freight haulers can carry in a single trip what would take two or three shorter trains to move—saving railroad companies millions of dollars. Union Pacific told the CBS News Texas I-Team the addition of rail cars to an already scheduled train is both safe and good for the environment. But longer trains also mean longer waits at crossings. And when a monster train stops, it often becomes more than an inconvenience. Monster trains in texas The CBS News Texas I-Team found nowhere is the problem bigger than in Texas. Data from the Federal Railroad Administration shows more than 7,000 reports of trains blocking crossings across Texas in the past year — that's more than three times as many as any other state. Many of the most problematic crossings are in Tarrant and Denton Counties. When Fort Worth firefighters get a call from an address near train tracks, dispatch sends two trucks — one from each direction. If the route includes the train crossing on Avondale-Haslet Road in the far northwest corner of the city, the most frequently reported blocked crossing in North Texas, trucks roll from both the Fort Worth and Haslet fire stations. "That way we know that we're coming from two different directions," said Fort Worth Fire Department spokesperson Craig Trojacek. "So, a stopped train is not going to stop our response time." The Federal Railroad Administration said it's focused on the safety of all train lengths, but that there is "no empirical evidence that clearly implicates train length in a reduction of safety." A 2024 study of the relationship between train length and derailment risk determined longer trains do have a greater risk of derailment. Trapped in Jeff Kennedy, resident of the Vista Ranch neighborhood in north Fort Worth, calls his subdivision a lollipop neighborhood: "Only one way in and out." To get out of Vista Ranch, residents have to cross the tracks on Tinsley Lane. If a train blocks the crossing, there's no other way in or out. In May, the I-Team witnessed the problem up close when a train lost power and blocked the crossing for more than four hours. "It's a danger, unnecessarily," said Kennedy. Tarrant County construction crews began work last month on a new road that will give neighbors in Vista Ranch another way out without having to cross the train tracks. "That will be good, but it's going to take a while," said Kennedy. "Four to six months. Hopefully, in the meantime, we won't have another train stoppage." Bad for business Chad Beavers, owner of Cold Springs Processing, knows firsthand that blocked train crossings can be more than just a minor inconvenience — they can be bad for business. The grease disposal facility just north of downtown Fort Worth sits between two sets of train tracks, and at times trains block both at once. In fact, Beavers said it happens anywhere from three to eight times a day. "My main goal with our customers is we get you in and we get you out," said Beavers. "And when that doesn't happen, that hurts our bottom line." The I-Team witnessed workers from the factory across the street walking between train cars so they wouldn't be late for work. It's illegal to cut through a train, but workers said it happens all the time. "It's dangerous, but you need a job," said Carson Brown, a forklift operator. "You don't want to lose a job because of a train." Costly Solutions Texas lawmakers filed a House bill during the most recent legislative session to cap the length of a train at 8,500 feet. The bill was never voted on by lawmakers. But even if it had passed, the state can't enforce it. Train length is regulated by the federal government, and there are no federal limits. Building roads around, or bridges over, train tracks is a costly solution. In January, the federal government gave Texas $80 million in rail safety grants. That covered just six projects. This year, Texas also set aside an additional $250 million in a grant program to fund railroad grade separation projects. Despite the investments, with 9,000 train crossing statewide, the funding will not address all the problematic crossings.
