Congratulations to Engineer Michael Huckabay with the Anchorage Fire Department on receiving his 20-year anniversary pin after two decades of service to his community.  

Alaska closed its summer with a wildfire season that was almost exactly normal. In all, 375 fires burned a little over 667,000 acres in Alaska, according to preliminary numbers, according to federal and state wildfire managers. That number is around the median, with roughly equal numbers of seasons above or below it. However, it is below the current average of about 1 million acres – an average that has been pushed well above the median by several severe seasons as the climate warms. The compressed timing of the Alaska fires proved serendipitous. After peaking in early summer, the fire season quieted when consistent rains arrived in July. That timing allowed Alaska to get firefighting help from other states when it was needed, and it in turn allowed Alaska to send firefighters and equipment south when they were needed there, officials said.  

Barnstable Firefighters and Barnstable Police responded to a fully involved vehicle fire that spread to a number of other vehicles early this morning. At around 3:35 a.m., crews responded to an impound lot located at 178 Thornton Drive. The fire was rapidly spreading to other vehicles when HN arrived on scene. The impound lot is used by a local towing company for vehicles towed by local police departments. A warehouse on the property with apartments on the second floor needed to be evacuated. HN spoke with one couple who evacuated with their dog named Ruby without injury. Others also evacuated safely. As seen in the video, firefighters battled flames and chased down hot spots for around an hour or more. At least 6 cars were damaged by the fire.  

State Farm would like to congratulate the 100 volunteer fire departments selected to receive a $10,000 grant to purchase equipment that will help enhance safety, communications and operations for their departments. Volunteer fire departments play a critical role in the protection of communities across the country, especially in small towns and rural areas. In fact, over 65% of all firefighters in the U.S. are volunteers. "We are proud to support the safety of volunteer firefighters – the ultimate good neighbors who risk their lives each and every day," said Apsara Sorensen, State Farm corporate responsibility assistant vice president. In order to distribute the grants, State Farm teamed up with the NVFC to develop the program and select the winners. Only 500 applications were accepted, and the NVFC reached that limit in just 1.5 hours.  

VIDEO: A Baltimore firefighter made a special South Florida stop to share how he survived a terrifying emergency. He said a simple technique saved him, and now it's just one of several lifesaving lessons local firefighters are learning. It was January 2022 when firefighter John McMaster and many others from his department were responding to a building fire when the structure collapsed. McMaster and three others were trapped inside. "There was too much weight, too much lumber on us," he said. For 12 minutes, McMaster was buried in the rubble, but just moments before running out of air, he was rescued. The other three firefighters, unfortunately, didn't survive. McMaster said a breathing technique he learned early in his career, called skip breathing, saved his life.  

On September 29th, according to the Rockdale County Fire Chief Marian McDonald a fire began on the roof of BioLab, a manufacturer of pool and spa products in Conyers, GA. In the seven years she's been on the job, this is the third incident of fire there. During a September 29th news conference, the County Emergency Management Agency made a statement that the fire was caused by "a malfunctioning sprinkler head". "A malfunctioning fire sprinkler device has never caused a fire", said Shane Ray, President of the National Fire Sprinkler Association. "As a matter of fact, I have never in my entire career as a firefighter, fire officer, fire chief, and state fire marshal, experienced a fire sprinkler device "malfunction" without human interaction."