A Fairbanks man was sentenced Thursday for carrying out a series of arson attacks in the Pleasant Valley and Two Rivers area in the summer of 2021. Jamison Gallion, 19, was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Paul Lyle to serve 24 years in prison. Gallion, who was 17 years old when he was arrested in August 2021, was tried as an adult. Given time served since his arrest and assuming a one third sentence reduction for good behavior, Lyle said Gallion's mandatory release date will be in 2037. Gallion is also ordered to pay restitution to victims, including forfeiture of permanent fund dividends. Gallion admitted to setting fire to seven properties, including two structures with people inside. He pleaded guilty last year to the felony crimes of arson, burglary, criminal mischief and terroristic threatening.  

A manufacturing facility in Chicago Heights was destroyed in a massive fire Monday morning. The fire broke out at Morgan Li around 6 a.m. in the 1100 block of Washington Avenue. The 500,000-square-foot facility was completely engulfed in flames and quickly spread to neighboring buildings. No one was inside the plant at the time of the fire. No injuries have been reported. As of noon Monday, fire departments remained on the scene. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Morgan Li announced in January 2022 that it acquired this Chicago Heights facility. At the time, it said this space added "230,000 square feet of domestic production, assembly and warehousing space on 13 acres for rapidly growing custom wood and metal manufacturer."  

VIDEO: The Spokane Valley Fire Department (SVFD) announced Monday it replaced its firefighting foam with new, safer foam. The new foam does not contain perfluorinated alkyl substances (PFASs), chemicals that have been linked to contaminated water supplies. Washington state passed the Firefighting Agents and Equipment Law in 2018. That law prohibits the use of Class B aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF), a type of firefighting foam that contains PFASs used for training purposes. These chemicals entered the water in Airway Heights in 2017 after Fairchild Air Force Base (FAFB) used AFFF containing PFAS for firefighting training. The compounds then seeped into groundwater and moved into municipal and private drinking water wells, according to the city of Airway heights. The water was deemed unsafe to drink until March 2022.  

VIDEO: Rural Metro released an app to better connect with customers and help make sure they had information about their fire department. The app is called "Rural Metro Fire — Knox Co. TN" and is available on the App Store and on the Google Play Store. Customers can download it to find news about the fire department, learn about smoke detectors, find tips to prevent fires and peruse monthly information about calls crews respond to. "Monthly stats, news about the fire department, information about smoke detectors, fire prevention tips — all that information is on the app," said Jeff Bagwell, a spokesperson for Rural Metro Fire. Users can also find billing information and schedule a truck visit during a public event through the app. They can also schedule a fire inspection for their home, and also submit a commendation for a firefighter.  

VIDEO: A man was taken into custody Monday after being accused of stealing an ambulance and leading police on a chase through the Houston area. Houston police said the man, who appeared to be in the middle of a medical crisis, first stole a vehicle from a woman in the Kroger's gas station on West 11th Street and North Shepherd Drive. Police said the man pretended he was helping the woman before stealing her car. The man then drove to Houston Fire Department Station No. 17, which is just east of downtown along Navigation Boulevard, and took an ambulance that had keys in the ignition, police said. The man drove around for an hour while police attempted to find him. HFD officials said the ambulance he stole had issues with its automatic vehicle location, making it hard to find.  

VIDEO: The Los Angeles County Fire Department is sending a task force to Turkey after a massive 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck on Monday morning, crumbling homes, killing more than 2,600 people and leaving devastation across a wide portion of the country and into northern Syria. The agency said they are mobilizing California Task Force 2 after a request was made for United States aid by Turkish leaders. The task force will provide immediate relief efforts, firefighters said. The team will include 81 people, six canine teams and three structural engineers, according to the agency. Turkish Americans living in Los Angeles told KCAL News Monday that the destruction is vast in Turkey. "I have almost 50 relatives there," said Yousuf San. "My son showed me five or six miles there and both sides were destroyed. All the buildings."