Firefighters were told the one resident of that unit was not at home at the time of the fire. They believe she was at the home of her son, nearby. The cause is currently undetermined.

The second fire happened in Belton south of U.S. Highway 190, off of Loop 121.
Belton firefighters stopped their “fill-the-boot” fundraiser to respond to a mobile home fully engulfed.

Belton Fire Captain Keith Randolph said that there was no hydrant at that location, so they had to devise a water-shuttling system. The mobile home seemed to be abandoned, but did threaten nearby homes.

“The main concern was to protect exposure. We have a mobile home park. The mobile home’s right up to the fence, oh about 40 yards from the structure,” Randolph said.

The mobile home park consists of about 30 units.

The first units of Salado Fire Department on the scene reported the home was fully involved with flames in excess of thirty feet. At one point, both Stillhouse and Belton Fire Departments were called out to assist on a report of a second structure fire nearby in the same neighborhood.

The call proved to be unfounded, as the caller mistakenly believed their barn, which was in the same line-of-site as the mobile home, was on fire.

No injuries were reported in connection with the fire, Casey said, but the home, which was valued roughly at $20,000, was a complete loss. The family did not have insurance, Casey said.
Read story from Micah T.Williams at KWTX News, Waco

Several streets around the church remain closed and power is off to a majority of Downtown Temple.

Temple Fire spokesman Thomas Pechal tells News 10 all available Temple Fire and Rescue firefighters have been called in to help to comb the gutted historic church, looking for hot spots.

Mutual aide on the scene is being provided by Belton Fire Department and area volunteer firefighters from Morgan’s Point, Rogers, Troy, Academy and Moffat are manning fire stations in and around the city.

The Temple First Baptist Church day care center remains closed as the church committee meets to see where the children will go during the reconstruction efforts. Nearby, Christ Church School, formerly known as the McGowen-Stephens School Christ Episcopal Church, remains closed Tuesday, as well.

It is estimated that about half of the entire church was lost during Tuesday morning’s blaze, including massive damage to the sanctuary and next-door building. Firewalls, which were installed in 2003, are believed to have helped protect the remainder of the building.

A prayer meeting is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Tuesday at the church teen center, located in Building F at North Main Street and East Barton Avenue; church officials also say the congregation has already been offered various places to meet on Sunday.

Tuesday’s Three-Alarm Fire

Courtesy Lon Curtis

The roof of the church collapsed around 6:30 a.m. as crews battled the flames from all four sides.

Temple Fire Department began calling in off-duty firefighters around 6:45 a.m. to assist with the massive blaze; Belton Fire Department was called for backup, as well.

Destroyed For A Second Time
According the Temple First Baptist Church Web site, this is the second time the church has suffered a destructive fire.

On March 6, 1938, the church, which was at the time located at the intersection of North Main Street and Barton Avenue, was destroyed by a fire late that night after the evening service, the Web site says.

Earlier that day, at the close of the morning service, the pastor, Dr. C.R. Shirar, had just announced his resignation to take a position in a Louisiana-based church.

Three months later, the church broke ground on a new sanctuary at its current location at North First Street and Barton Avenue.

Prior to Tuesday morning’s fire, the church had been planning to open a second campus on 138 acres of land purchased last year near Pea Ridge Road and Farm-to-Market 2305 in west Temple.
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The Temple Fire Department has confirmed that the First Baptist Church has gone up in flames. KCEN Chief Photographer Rocky Bridges is on scene and reports that the church, which is a historical marker, is a total loss.

This is the second time that the First Baptist Church has burned; it was also lost in 1938 before being rebuilt at 1st and Barton.

Video from the 3 alarm fire shot from our WeatherPlus camera around 6:00 am shows the structure fully engulfed on the left side of your screen.

1st and Second streets and everything along Barton Street are closed. Power for most of downtown is off, the fire is almost out, and hot spots are being treated.
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Report from KXXV News, Waco Temple Killeen
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Story and video from Micah T. Williams at KWTX News, Waco Temple Killeen

Video Links Section:

KWTX Raw video 1
KWTX Raw video 2

The Belton Fire Department responded to Nolan Creek near Loop 121 between 8:30 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. where they performed a swift water rescue.

In dramatic fashion, firefighters were sent into the water with ropes to rescue the three teens.

The Belton Fire Department captain told News 10 the three teens were rescued without incident and did not require medical attention.

One of the teens however managed to make it home without his pants; the captain said he planned to contact the teen later in the day to return the pair apparently left at the scene Friday night.

www.kwtx.com

Investigators told our crew on the scene that it appeared the fire started in a back bedroom and spread quickly. They say the home suffered heavy damage to the back and smoke damage throughout. A cause has yet to be determined.
By Patrick Tolbert, KXXV News, Waco Temple Killeen

“We have to be here,” Nolanville volunteer firefighter Marty Hyman said.

Nolanville volunteer firefighter Marty Hyman is not happy with the city’s decision to discontinue funding the department. Hyman said he has already cut his hours in half, and not at the fire department, but at his full-time job, so he can be at the fire department to protect the community.

• In mid-July, the City of Nolanville eliminated five city police officer positions, an assistant court clerk position and a part-time public works position.
• A few days later, the Nolanville Fire Department spoke out about the loss of police, and risk to public safety.
• A few days after that, the Nolanville mayor finally spoke with News 8, saying problems began with her predecessor. Nolanville Councilwoman Christina Rosenthall said the decision to cut police officer positions was made in a special called meeting, while she was out of town. She said she would not have supported the cuts.

He said he won’t let his anger about the mayor’s decisions regarding the city’s budget get in the way of public safety.

“Yes we’ve got a mutual aid agreement with them that if we need assistance, bingo they’re there,” Hyman said.

Still, Nolanville volunteer firefighter Patricia Gray says she won’t depend on mutual aid agreements with nearby fire departments, and will pay out of her own pocket if she has to, to keep the department running.

Gray said the department will continue to respond to calls to protect lives and property, because other fire departments are at least 11 miles away, and she says they cannot afford to keep running calls for Nolanville, if they’re not reimbursed for fuel.

Stillhouse Fire Department is the department 11 miles away, and Harker Heights and Belton Fire Departments said if they’re called upon, they’ll be there to help. Harker Heights said they’re about 4 miles away and could be on the scene in 7 to 8 minutes. Belton said from dispatch to arrival, response time would be 20 minutes.

Nolanville Mayor Emma McCullough said she’s not worried about ending the city’s contract with the fire department.

“The Nolanville Fire Department will continue to make their runs,” McCullough said. “And if they can’t, or when they don’t, we have mutual aid agreements with the cities all around us. We are totally covered.”

But the fire department’s secretary-treasurer said firefighters are still upset one-third of the money they count on to operate, will no longer be there.

“The only thing we want to be able to do is to have the support from the city to provide this essential service,” Nolanville Fire Department Secretary-Treasurer Andrew Gemmell said. “I don’t know if the city expects to receive fire service for free. The city council signed a contract saying we are no longer obligated in any way shape or form to respond to anything within the city, but we’re still going to be here, because we’re here to serve the citizens.”

Mayor McCullough said the department also hasn’t been turning in their budget and financial forms, but the fire department’s secretary-treasurer said all of its reports this fiscal year have been turned in on time.
By Brandi Powell, News 8, Austin

Searching 100-degree heat and a lack of water hampered firefighters from eight Bell County departments as they responded to the fire Wednesday afternoon.

The fire that engulfed the three-bedroom home on Iglesia Lane just off Little Mexico Road north of the Temple Airport was reported at around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Firefighters from Temple and Moffat responded initially. Assistance was requested from other departments as water supplies began to run low and additional crews were needed to spell firefighters who were battling not only the flames, but also the late afternoon heat.

The Bell County East Side Strike Team responded and tankers ferried water to the firefighters who were battling the flames.

Crews from Salado, Troy, Morgan’s Point, Rogers, Belton, Holland and Bartlett joined the effort to fight the fire and remained at the scene early Wednesday evening.
From KWTX News, Waco
Raw video from KWTX News, Waco
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Eight fire departments battled a house fire in West Temple Wednesday afternoon. Around 3:30 p.m. Temple firefighters responded to the fire in the 8300 block of Little Mexico Road. The house was fully engulfed. No one was in the home at the time of the fire.

Water tankers from Troy, Moffat, Salado, Rogers, Holland, Bartlett fire departments responded.

The house fire ignited a grass and wooded area about an acre wide. The fire marshal is working to determine the cause of the fire which displaced 4 adults and 3 children.

The American Red Cross is assisting the family.

“The county’s so dry right now, so it takes a little bit more effort to catch up with the fire and put it out,” Pritchard said. “It’s extremely dry.”

He said the fire may have started on the side of the road, but an official cause has not yet been released.
From News 8, Austin

The owner of the home was asleep inside the house when it caught on fire but escaped without injury, Campbell said.

“He said he woke up from the smoke and crawled out,” Campbell said.

It took three fire crews about 20 minutes to extinguish the flames.

“The inside of the house was completely ruined, but the structure damage was minor,” Campbell said.

The home owner is being helped by the Salvation Army. Belton fire marshals are investigating the blaze.
From The Killeen Daily Herald