The State Medical Examiner's office in Anchorage today confirmed that the remains recovered from a structure fire on the 17th of March in Port Protection were those of the owner. Troopers were alerted to a fully engulfed structure fire on Wednesday before last at 11:30 am and responded to the location on Prince of Wales Island. They were also informed that the owner, Gary Muehlberger, age 75, had not been seen since prior to the fire. Troopers were joined by a Deputy Fire Marshal the following day. When authorities combed through the burned-out structure, remains were located and turned over to the SME for positive identification. Muehlberger's next of kin were notified of the findings. The Deputy Fire Marshal has ruled the fire accidental. Muehlberger was a cast member of the National Geographic reality show "Life Below Zero." The season finale aired just the day prior to the incident.  

VIDEO: Storms in April are nothing new in St. Louis. In fact, we've come to expect them. But there was a storm no one saw coming back in the spring of 1976. And, as you'll see in this edition of Vintage KSDK, this one blew helmets off firefighters and could have wiped out the entire city. "This is a firestorm," explained Charles Kamprad, the St. Louis fire chief at the time. "It's magnitude is 500 times greater than a five-alarm fire would be." Another fire in the city in May 1849 would come to be called the "great St. Louis fire". A firefighter died in that disaster, and a significant part of the city was destroyed. But this fire in 1976 posed a threat that had the potential to be just as devastating. It happened on April 2, 1976. Flames broke out in the vacant Heyday Shoe Building at 21st and Locust. The building had been empty for years after being gutted by a previous fire, which set the stage for this one to spread quickly.  

VIDEO: The way Matt Boney describes it, what happened on Wednesday sounds like the biggest-hearted game of telephone ever, which managed — for 40 minutes — to turn a nightmare into the birthday surprise of any 6-year-old boy's dreams. On Tuesday, Spring Valley firefighter Jared Lloyd, 35, died in the smoke and flame of the Evergreen Court Adult Home fire. The volunteer with Columbian Fire Engine Co. No. 1 was an Optimum service tech and the father of two boys: Darius, 5, and Logan. Wednesday was Logan's 6th birthday and just his second day — of all of his 2,192 days — without his dad. He told his mother, Lloyd's girlfriend, that what he wanted for his birthday was a firetruck. When word got out, that telephone game got started. Jared's boy wants a firetruck. We've got firetrucks. And ambulances. And dumptrucks. And police cruisers.  

On March 11, the House of Representatives' Energy and Commerce Committee introduced the Next Generation 9-1-1 Act of 2021 as part of the LIFT America Act (H.R. 1848). This legislation will provide $15 billion to update our nation's 9-1-1 infrastructure, protect this infrastructure from cyber threats and ensure that first responders will be able to efficiently use Next Generation 9-1-1 technology to save lives. The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) is strongly advocating for this bill's passage and is urging Congress to include this text in the upcoming House infrastructure package. This bill provides the tools to effectively carry out the modernization of the nation's 9-1-1 infrastructure. Of particular importance are the portions of this legislation that address interoperability, cybersecurity, training and consultation with first responders and other end users of the 9-1-1 system.  

PHOTOS: Firefighters were on the scene of a structure fire at the Alvin's Island retail beach store in Destin on Thursday. Firefighters from multiple agencies were on the scene and a ladder truck with firefighters was inspecting the roof of the building. West and eastbound lanes of U.S. Highway 98 shutdown for an extended period of time as they battled the blaze. The store is located across from Sundestin condominiums at 1073 U.S. Highway 98. Alvin's Island owns a handful of stores along U.S. 98. The store that is on fire is store #11. The cause of the fire is unknown. Firefighters were still on scene Friday to put out hot spots.  

PHOTOS: While things have begun to change in recent years, female firefighters are still relatively rare. But what's even more uncommon is to have two female firefighters, in the same small department, expecting babies at around the same time. Heather Jones thought it was rare enough that she decided to ask fellow firefighter, Cindy Simon, to join her in a photo shoot that turned out to be an excellent recruiting tool for the Gibraltar Fire Department. Jones said she thought it would be a fun idea so she contacted Love, Ashley Photography, who has taken her family pictures in the past, to take maternity photos. "At first it was just maternity pictures for our families," Jones said. "I invited Cindy because I thought it would be cool to take pictures together because not too often are there two active pregnant females in a fire department. Cindy and I are both on the fire department's recruiting committee and recently we have been promoting we are hiring and seeking new members."