Kotzebue Fire Chief Kelly Marcus didn't always dream of a career in public safety, but once he got a taste, it felt right. Now, he's retiring from the job at the end of the month and is ready to move to something new. Marcus, who was born and raised in East Tennessee, came to Kotzebue as a teacher. He grew up as an avid Boy Scout and a lover of the outdoors, but aside from working as a lifeguard for a few summers, Marcus had no emergency services experience prior to coming to Kotzebue. As he started volunteering for the Kotzebue Fire Department back in 2011, he immediately felt like he was in the right place. "It was exciting," he said. "You never know what's coming, you never know what the call will be." From volunteer to part-time employee, from working as a full-time firefighter to becoming the lieutenant and captain, Marcus said his transitions within the department were quick.  

A plume of dark smoke rising from a wooded area in the Chester Creek greenbelt stood in stark contrast to the mostly clear skies over Anchorage on Sunday afternoon. According to the Anchorage Fire Department, seven units responded to a fire in the woods by the Anchorage Football Stadium near Midtown just after 4 p.m. Fire officials said the "medium-sized" fire was brought under control within the first 10 minutes of arriving on the scene and that there were no injuries. The cause of the fire is still undetermined. AFD Capt. Josh Novinska said flames rose around 30-40 feet in the air as four or five tents burned down. "They're more and more prevalent and as we approach this time of year and stuff gets drier, we have the possibility of spread throughout the forest," Novinska said.  

VIDEO: A four-alarm fire that sparked in Downtown Tulsa on Saturday damaged restaurants, apartments and some businesses, officials say. Two downtown Tulsa restaurants and bars burned, gutting an entire building with apartments on the second floor. Small puffs of smoke still rose from the ruins of the building, 24 hours after the fire started. It sparked by Hodges Bend, a popular coffee shop, and Lowood Modern Woodfire restaurant near E. 3rd St. and S. Lansing Ave., where crews including off-duty firefighters, responded at around 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. Both appear to be total losses, buried underneath the rubble of apartments. The Tulsa Fire Department said it started near the restaurant before spreading to the apartment units in the popular downtown area.  

Ronny J. Coleman, a revered nationally-recognized fire service leader for half a century, who served as California State Fire Marshal and as the chair of the CSFA Volunteer Committee, passed away Sept. 19 in Sacramento. Chief Coleman had been the Fire Chief of the City of Fullerton Fire Department when he was appointed in 1992 by Governor Pete Wilson to the position of State Fire Marshal, a position he held for 8 years. Prior to that, Chief Coleman was the Fire Chief with the City of San Clemente Fire Department, and prior to that was the Operation Chief with the City of Costa Mesa Fire Department. During his tenure as State Fire Marshal, the State Fire Marshal's Office was merged into the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, now known as CAL FIRE.  

Two more firefighters have died from illnesses related to their work at the World Trade Center during and after the 9/11 terror attacks, officials announced on Sunday. Their deaths bring the overall toll linked to 9/11-related diseases among members of the Fire Department of the City of New York to 343, which is equal to the number of FDNY members who died on the day of the attacks, the department said. This September marked 22 years since the attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people. Ahead of the date this year, the Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York said the number of FDNY members who had died of illnesses related to 9/11 was approaching the number of FDNY deaths recorded on 9/11 alone. It was 341 at the time.  

PHOTOS: Polk County Fire Rescue teamed up with A Safe Haven for Newborns foundation to encourage the safe harboring of babies throughout the county. To help get the information out that every fire station is a designated Safe Haven location where newborn babies can be dropped off, stickers were plastered on the fire department's vehicles that hit the roads every day. "The stickers serve as a reminder to the residents and visitors throughout Polk County that Polk County Fire Rescue is always here to help," the agency explains in a news release. The idea to work with the foundation was sparked after newborns were abandoned in the county at two different times. And according to A Safe Haven for Newborns website, there have been 10 newborn incidents reported in the Sunshine State so far this year – eight of them involving newborns successfully surrendered to designated locations.