Prompt action by a missing girl's family, Alaska State Troopers, Homer Police and Homer Volunteer Fire Department firefighters helped prevent a potential tragedy on Thanksgiving evening when a 12-year-old girl, poorly dressed for the elements, ran away from her downtown Homer home. According to a Trooper press release, Trooper Scout Sutton and her K-9 partner Lavi found the child about 6:10 p.m. on Nov. 25. Homer Police Chief Mark Robl said on Tuesday that troopers found the girl on Bishop's Beach below Crittenden Drive. Tracks in the snow showed the girl had headed toward the beach. Police received a report that the girl had left home about 6 p.m. that night. "She just had a verbal argument with her parents and stormed off," Robl said "They were concerned about her."  

VIDEO: Dec. 2, 2021 marked the fifth anniversary of an Oakland tragedy. In 2016, a late night fire broke out at a warehouse. It happened during a dance party and killed 36 people. The master tenant, Derick Almena, was sentenced earlier this year to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter. Prosecutors say Almena was criminally negligent when he illegally converted the industrial Oakland warehouse into a residence and event space for artists dubbed the "Ghost Ship," stuffing the two-story building with flammable materials and extension cords, without smoke detectors or sprinklers. Victims were trapped on an illegally constructed second floor with just a narrow staircase for the escape route. Almena was the master tenant, but the warehouse was owned by the Ng family, who were never criminally charged.  

A new partnership between the American Cancer Society and the International Association of Fire Fighters will work to improve policies and treatment for firefighters with cancer. The IAFF, or firefighter's union, describes the new partnership as pivotal in their battle with cancer. The collaboration was announced Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021 in New York City but will impact union firefighters nationwide and across North Carolina. Together the two agencies hope to create more research opportunities and culture changes, while working to limit a firefighter's exposures to toxins. It will also provide patient support for instance, rides to treatment or housing if treatment takes a firefighter out of state. It comes as more and more fire departments feel the impact of cancer cases.  

It's a tool that can be the difference between life and death on the scene of a fire. The Kansas City, Missouri, Fire Department is now making sure every crew has a special kit that can treat patients for smoke inhalation. A house fire on Saturday could have been a tragedy, but firefighters say the victim inside was saved by a tool they recently started carrying. "It's one of the few treatments that we carry that we can actually see an immediate reaction, almost like if you gave Narcan to an overdose patient," KCFD Division Chief Michael Latta said. It's called a Cyanokit and it removes cyanide from the blood after smoke inhalation. "Now, what we've learned is almost every material that's synthetic, if it's in your house and it burns, it produces cyanide," Latta said. He said that means anyone in a burning building is likely breathing that toxic cyanide in.  

Actress and talk show host Drew Barrymore welcomed the Long Beach Fire Department to the "Drew Barrymore Show" last month. Barrymore recognized the entire department, highlighting firefighter Catherine Lewis. Lewis, who is known as Cat to her fellow firefighters, was sworn in as the first paid female firefighter in the department's 111-year history in March, which Barrymore noted. "It was a really cool experience," Lewis said of appearing on the show. "It was really nice to have all of us recognized, not just myself." The segment also featured other Long Beach firefighters speaking about Lewis. Sam Pinto, who is also a paramedic and school board trustee, said that having Lewis in the department makes it more like a family, and that she helps move the department forward.  

VIDEO: A long-awaited addition to the Hermon Fire Department has finally arrived. A new training prop is helping firefighters be better prepared to enter burning buildings. "We've been getting pictures of this as it's been built over the months, so it's kind of like a baby. We've been waiting for it to arrive," said Hermon Fire Chief Frank Roma. After placing an order in June, the Hermon Fire Department finally received its custom made training prop this week. "It's a cutaway mockup of the construction types and features that you'll find in residential homes that are either made with a construction type that's called balloon frame, or platform frame," Roma said. "Simply put, any building that's on fire is a building that's under destruction. The construction elements and parts of that building that are being exposed to fire are becoming weak and potentially, over time, they'll fail and collapse. This allows us to have a better idea of what we're working with."