A crew member on an American Seafoods factory trawler died at sea last week, likely from an ammonia leak on board. U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Second Class John Highwater said they received a satellite call from the Northern Eagle at about 4 a.m. Friday. "One of their crew members was found unresponsive in one of their engineering spaces," Highwater said. "They believe there was an ammonia leak somewhere in the vessel that caused the person to fall unconscious." Jeremy Baum, the Alaska Wildlife Trooper stationed in Unalaska/Dutch Harbor, identified the crew member as First Engineer David Kuma from Ghana, in West Africa. Forty-three-year-old Kuma was found unresponsive just after 12 a.m. that morning, according to Highwater. The nearly 350-foot vessel was already en route to Unalaska/Dutch Harbor when they made the call to the Coast Guard.  

After nearly two years without a stable police force, the remote Pribilof Island community of St. Paul is welcoming new village public safety officers. City Manager Philip Zavadil said he thinks the transition from a police force to public safety officers will be a good change for the community, home to roughly 450 people. "Not only is it a good fit for St. Paul, I think for most of rural Alaska, it's a better fit because we're not big [cities]," Zavadil said. "We have different problems, different ways of resolving those problems, different challenges." Village public safety officers — or VPSOs — provide a number of services. While they do community policing, they also provide emergency, medical and fire response, search and rescue operations, as well as public safety education. And unlike most police officers, they aren't trained to carry firearms.  

VIDEO: Personnel working at Marathon Petroleum Refinery in St. John the Baptist Parish, along with local emergency officials, responded to a chemical spill and fire at a storage tank at the company's Garyville refinery on Friday, Aug. 25. The spill and fire have been contained within the refinery's property, according to the company. Parish officials issued a mandatory evacuation for residents within a two-mile radius of the refinery as a precautionary measure. Shelters are open at East St. John Preparatory Academy Gym, located at 400 Ory Drive in LaPlace, and West St. John High School, located at 480 Hwy. 3127 in Edgard. Residents should bring medications and any other items they need to the shelter. No injuries were reported.  

VIDEO: The Sacramento Fire Department is now officially in charge of the city's homelessness response. Assistant Fire Chief Brian Pedro is leading the newly established Incident Management Team, which follows the same emergency response structure used in disaster situations like wildfires and severe storms. Announcing the change at a State of the City event Wednesday, Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg called the new approach an ‘all hands on deck' response to the homeless crisis. Pedro is tasked with bringing together various departments, agencies and outside providers, including the Sacramento Police Department, the city's 311 Customer Service, city and county outreach teams, Hope Cooperative and WellSpace Health.  

The Owensboro Fire Department is sharing some favorite firehouse recipes through their new Facebook cooking show called "Food on Fire." The show gives viewers a look into the kitchens inside the fire stations. OFD Captain Bobby Grant said since the stations are like second homes for the firefighters, they often cook most of their meals there while on the clock. Sometimes, they must leave for a call before eating a freshly prepared meal. "There's been many times where we've cooked a nice meal, and we've got called out to a run, and we come back to a cold dinner, but that's just part of the job. We know that going in, and we just warm it up and eat," he said. The idea for the show came after a conversation between Shaelie Velez, the City of Owensboro's Communications & Marketing Manager, and OFD Fire Chief James Howard.  

PHOTOS: At the 11th annual back-to-school bash in D.C.'s Bellevue neighborhood, groups of students devour hot dogs by the dozens, and kids line up for free haircuts and face paint. An ice cream truck attracts a line that stretches all the way down Atlantic Street SW as city employees try to set up a stage for live music in the scorching August sun. But the weather is the last concern for a group of first responders pacing up and down the block. The battery on the portable stage is malfunctioning. So, they're stuck waiting hours for Department of Parks and Recreation workers to drive in a new Stagemobile, back it into an alleyway, and adjust it to a height that meets safety protocols. But this anxious group of D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Department employees and volunteers aren't just concerned about keeping everyone safe.