Six hours after a 21-year-old firefighter was shot in the head at an Arlington gas station early Tuesday morning, police arrested a woman who they said admitted to picking up the victim's gun pointing it at him.

Sgt. T.K. Waters with Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said a 911 call came in just before 1 a.m. from a BP gas station at the corner of University Boulevard and Fort Caroline Road. Waters said that's where they found a man in the parking lot, bleeding from a gunshot wound.

Jacksonville Fire and Rescue pronounced the man deceased at the scene. JFRD later confirmed the victim was firefighter Emanuel Porter II, who friends called Manny.

Police said Fisthnise Saint Breux confessed to picking the victim's 40-caliber automatic handgun up off the driver's seat of the car they rode in to the gas station.

According to police, the 18-year-old woman told detectives that she pointed what she thought was the unloaded gun at the victim and told him, "I ain't gonna shoot you." Saint Breux said she didn't remember pulling the trigger, but the gun went off.

According to police, Saint Breux said she threw the gun in nearby bushes after the shooting and waited with two other people who were with Porter in the car to be questioned by police. At 6 a.m. Tuesday, Saint Breux was arrested and charged with manslaughter and tampering with evidence.

JFRD said Porter had been with the department for less than a year and was assigned to Engine 1's B shift. His father and uncle were firefighters. Randy Wise, head of the Jacksonville Association of Firefighters, said Porter had completed paramedic training and was also taking college courses.

"It's like a dream. It's not even like he's gone. It's just like he's far away and I just can't reach him," said Michael Harrell, Porter's best friend, who was also in the car when the shooting happened. "Of all things in Jacksonville to get killed over. It wasn't even supposed to go down like that."

Anne Arundel County fire crews are investigating a massive house fire in the Annapolis Neck area on Monday that left one person dead.

Fire crews were called to a home along the 2600 block of Ogleton Road at about 5:30 p.m. Monday. The home is on the water just south of Annapolis.

Neighbors said they spotted the flames and called for help.

Rescue crews said it took about 58 firefighters an hour to get the fire under control. The home was destroyed.

Fire officials said while battling the blaze, friends and co-workers of the homeowner, a 62-year-old man who lived alone, said he hadn't been accounted for and was believed to be missing.

Officials said an initial search of sections of the home that weren't heavily destroyed turned up nothing, but on Tuesday, a more in-depth search turned up a badly burned body on the first floor of the home.

Positive identification of the body is being withheld until an autopsy can be completed.

No firefighters were hurt in the blaze.

Investigators said they are still searching for a cause.

Copyright 2009 by wbaltv.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Las Vegas firefighters are urging families to check the batteries in their smoke detectors following the death of an elderly woman in a fire Tuesday morning.

The fire started about 4:30 a.m. on Beverly Way near Sahara Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard.

The cause of the woman’s death hasn’t been made public, but fire department representative Tim Szymanski said it was likely the home did not have a smoke alarm.

Szymanski said windows on the woman’s home were barred and the interior was littered with debris, making it difficult for firefighters trying to get to the bedroom.

“An elderly person who lives [alone], they do not get out enough, they are not good with taking the trash out, things of that nature,” he said.

The public can contact the Las Vegas Fire and Rescue headquarters at 702-383-2888 to request a smoke detector.

Copyright 2009 by KVVU.com. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

November 18, 2009 – By a bipartisan vote of 395-31, on November 18, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3791, the FIRE Grants Reauthorization Act of 2009. The bill makes improvements to both the Assistance to Fire Fighters (FIRE Act) and Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant programs that will significantly benefit professional fire departments in the United States. 

The House also adopted the Firefighter Fatality Reduction Act as an amendment to H.R. 3791. The amendment, offered by Representative Ed Permutter (D-CO) promotes fire department compliance with industry consensus standards -- a top IAFF priority. The amendment passed by a vote of 358-75.

“Reauthorizing the FIRE Act and SAFER and enacting the Perlmutter amendment are of critical importance to protecting the health and safety of IAFF members,” says IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger. “Passing both through the House brings us one step closer to ensuring our nation’s professional fire departments have the tools and support they need to protect public safety.”

H.R. 3791 would make important changes to the way FIRE Act grants are awarded to the benefit of professional fire departments. Specifically, the bill would significantly increase the amount of funding for which larger departments may apply, and reduce the local match from 20 percent to 10 percent. The proposal also allows the match to be waived for communities facing financial hardship, and eliminates the local match entirely for departments applying for a fire prevention grant.

Perhaps most importantly, the bill also guarantees professional and combination fire departments a minimum percentage of funding under the FIRE Act. To date, professional departments have enjoyed no such guarantee and have been significantly shortchanged in FIRE Act grants awards.

The bill also simplifies the rules governing SAFER, making it significantly easier for municipalities to commit to a SAFER grant. Amendments include shortening the grant period from five to three years, implementing an across-the-board 20 percent local match, and eliminating the current funding cap. It also makes permanent the temporary authorities to waive the SAFER local match and other restrictions. 

The U.S. Senate is currently working to craft companion legislation, which it is expected to consider before the new year.

Members of the U.S. House of Representatives who did not support the IAFF and the nation's fire fighters in this vote are:

Todd Akin (R-MO)
Rob Bishop (R-UT)
Paul Broun (R-GA)
John Campbell (R-CA)
John Carter (R-TX)
Jason Chaffetz (R-UT)
Mike Coffman (R-CO)
Mike Conaway (R-TX)
John Culberson (R-TX)
Jeff Flake (R-AZ)
Trent Franks (R-AZ)
Jeb Hensarling (R-TX)
Wally Herger (R-CA)
Bob Inglis (R-SC)
Darrell Issa (R-CA)
Sam Johnson (R-TX)
Jim Jordan (R-OH)
Steve King (R-IA)
Jack Kingston (R-GA)
Doug Lamborn (R-CO)
John Linder (R-GA)
Cynthia Lummis (R-WY)
Connie Mack (R-FL)
Tom McClintock (R-CA)
John Mica (R-FL)
Randy Neugebauer (R-TX)
Ron Paul (R-TX)
Ed Royce (R-CA)
James F. Sensenbrenner (R-WI)
John Shadegg (R-AZ)
William Thornberry (R-TX)