VIDEO: A San Antonio firefighter is now the center of a pilot program that allows him to help his fellow brothers and sisters dealing with substance misuse. His addition to the counseling team offers a professional therapist who also understands the trauma firefighters go through.

Chris Raymond has worked for the San Antonio Fire Department for 22 years, spending the last 15 on the technical rescue team. His job in the department just shifted again, this time to the counseling team for a brand-new pilot program.

“As far as we can tell, the research we’ve done, it is the first of its kind, the only one in the nation. So right now, we’re kind of on the cutting edge of things,” Raymond said. He said it’s not only the first to add a licensed chemical dependency counselor to a fire department team but also one that is a firefighter himself.

“Having a firefighter occupy the position of a clinician is unique. I don’t sit in the seat and think, ‘I wonder what that’s like.’ I’ve lived it, and in many cases, I’ve lived it with them,” Raymond said. While the career is fulfilling, it can take its toll.

KSAT-TV ABC 12 San Antonio

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VIDEO: On Friday, first responders got a lesson in homemade explosives at the Danville Fire Department. Crews said while this has not been an issue in Central Illinois, it’s better to know what to do just in case. More than 40 police officers and firefighters learned to identify how homemade explosives are made, and what do to when faced with them. They also saw how regular household items can be dangerous.

“Identify potential hazards that we may encounter on the job, specifically explosive hazards,” said Ben Crane of the University of Illinois Police Department. Police officers and firefighters got an in-depth lesson at the Danville Fire Department on homemade explosives, with the help of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

“As first responders, we’re the first ones to get in these situations and so there may be a time where they go on a routine call, and encounter things that you start to put together that tells you that this is not typical,” said Ryan Allison of the Danville Fire Department.

WCIA-TV CBS 3 Champaign

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The Spokane Valley Fire Department believes a late-night garage fire on Felts Road was sparked by an electrical issue. SREC 911 dispatchers took the call of a garage fire in the 600 block of N. Felts Road around 11 pm Thursday.

A crew of two ladder trucks, five engines, two Battalion Chiefs, a safety officer and an AMR ambulance arrived at the site within three minutes of the call, SVFD said. They found a “well-involved” fire in a detached garage with a chicken coop attached.

Firefighters were able to extinguish the flames and stop the fire from spreading to nearby buildings within 33 minutes, according to an SVFD press release. No one was hurt, and the homeowner reported all their chickens made it out safely.

KREM-TV CBS 2 Spokane

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A structure fire destroyed a home on Fort Road in Yakima on Sunday morning. Yakima County Fire District 5 responded to calls at around 8 a.m. regarding a potential structure fire at a single-story home at 9870 Fort Rd. Fire crews attempted to keep the fire isolated to the primary effected area, but the fire quickly spread to the attic area and other areas of the house.

Responders were able to escort the only person in the house to safety, with no injuries reported. The fire was extinguished within roughly 30 minutes of its reporting, but the home was declared a total loss with damages estimated at $100,000. Officials say the home did not have working smoke detectors or an alarm system.

KIMA-TV CBS/CW+ 29 Yakima

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Spokane County Fire District 3 responded to a kitchen fire at 324 W 4th St on Monday afternoon. The fire, which originated from an appliance, was reported around 1:45 p.m. According to the fire department’s public information officer, the fire was quickly controlled, with damage confined to the kitchen and minor smoke damage throughout the house. There were no injuries reported, and all residents and pets, including three cats, were safe and accounted for.

KHQ-TV NBC 6 Spokane

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