Mobile: Firefighter injured in house fire on Autumndale Drive

Mobile Fire-Rescue responded to a residential fire on the 3800 block of Autumndale Drive at about 10 a.m. Thursday. Heavy smoke and flames were showing. No one was home when the fire started. Mobile Fire-Rescue is investigating the cause of the fire. One firefighter suffered a lower leg injury, and he is expected to be OK. Mobile Fire-Rescue set up tents at the scene as a new precaution for the heat. They’re called “rehab and recovery stations.” They now have a unit called “Rehab 1,” which works to combat heat exposure for the firefighters in these situations.
WKRG-TV News 5 Mobile

8-year-old rescued from creek in Lauderdale County

An 8-year-old boy got into a bad situation on Wednesday as he and his cousin tubed down Blue Water Creek off of County Road 33 in Lauderdale County. Water levels are still dangerously high in the Shoals from Wednesday's rain. Isaac Brown, a firefighter with Greenhill Volunteer Fire Department, said it was a tense situation as they rescued the child. The child was hanging onto a tree in the rushing water, as they tried to get him to grab the rescue rope and let go of the tree limbs. "Him being so young, he was just scared to let go of the tree and grab the rope. At that point, we made the decision to put me in the water," said Brown. Brown said as he jumped into the creek, the water was just about over his head. "The current was so bad, I couldn't get all the way to him. We had to climb the tree he was in," said Brown.
WAAY-TV ABC 31 Huntsville

Baldwin County: Loxley Fire Department receives nearly $32k from Firehouse Subs

VIDEO: When you ask Deputy Fire Chief Ed Vaughn what he thinks about a new grant from Firehouse Subs, he’s one happy guy. “It’s a great addition and ability to serve our community,” he said. Thanks to an almost $32,000 grant, the Loxley Fire Department is able to update old equipment. “Over 40% of our calls are wreck calls. A large part of that is because of Highway 59 and I-10 and extrication is not the norm, but it is frequent where we have to pry somebody out of a vehicle,” said Vaughn. The Jaws of Life are an important piece of equipment for the department, but an upgrade is way overdue, he says. “The equipment we have, the cutters especially, are not capable of cutting some of the new metals used in the newer manufactured cars,” he continued.
WKRG-TV News 5 Mobile

Thomasville church destroyed by fire

PHOTO: The old New Hope No. 1 Baptist Church building in Thomasville is a complete loss after an overnight fire. Fulton Fire Rescue and the Thomasville Fire Department responded. The cause remains under investigation. The church is in the process of building a new sanctuary, but that new facility is not completed yet. This was the current church -- described by the mayor as historic -- that was destroyed.
WALA MyFox Gulf Coast