One of the highest honors a military firefighter can receive is induction into the Military Firefighter Heritage Hall of Fame. Only a few are inducted each year; this year, there are four, and one is JBER Fire Chief David Donan. Donan has served as JBER's fire chief since 2008, after he retired from 25 years in the active-duty Air Force and his position as Pacific Air Forces fire chief. After being nominated for the honor by Fire Chief Kevin Smith of Beale Air Force Base, California, his packet was reviewed and selected. One of the other honorees, Fire Chief John Thompson of the 86th Civil Engineer Squadron at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, was a good friend of Donan's when they were enlisted.  

One of the world's largest aircraft, the Volga Dnepr Antonov AN-124, was forced to make an emergency landing in Alaska this week after fire reportedly broke out in one of its engines just seconds after takeoff. Audio from LiveATC.net captured the moment crew onboard the aircraft contacted Anchorage air traffic controllers and advised them of their urgent situation. "Mayday Mayday Mayday," the pilot called. "We've had a fire onboard our number one engine." The freight flight was heading to Khabarovsk in Russia and had 13 crew onboard. Of great concern was the more than 10 hours worth of fuel the aircraft had onboard for the 4700 km flight. Onboard systems managed to extinguish the fire and the 400 tonne aircraft landed in Anchorage about 15 minutes later, where it was met by fire and rescue authorities.  

Early numbers show how significantly the coronavirus is devastating states' revenue streams — and could force choices between raising taxes or gutting services and laying off public employees. Why it matters: Even as some states move toward reopening, the economic ramifications of having shut down will haunt them far into the future. When states can reopen, and how quickly industries are able to bounce back, could either worsen or improve projections. What to watch: Sens. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) plan to introduce bipartisan legislation as soon as next week that would create a $500 billion fund designed to help struggling state and municipality budgets in the wake of COVID-19. "If there was another way to do this, I'd rather do it the other way," Cassidy tells Axios. "But what I don't want to happen is all this money spent for families and for employers to go to waste because cities cannot provide essential services."  

The state of Texas is using lessons learned from hurricane response efforts to combat COVID-19, and UT Health EMS crews are training to be part of the state's solution. On Thursday, UT Health EMS provided training at its headquarters for their employees and Hopkins County EMS crews, both of whom are part of the state's Rapid Assessment Quick Response Force. "The state asked if we would do it and I immediately said, ‘Yes, we're here to help,'" said John Smith, CEO of UT Health EMS. The governor's plan to open Texas, which was released last week, includes the Rapid Assessment Quick Response Force in its recommendations for nursing homes. Aimed at quantifying the extent of infection immediately, it involves deploying teams to provide rapid response and medical triage at facilities across the state if needed.  

PHOTOS: High winds on Thursday spread fire and embers across a pallet factory, vacant homes, occupied buildings and a bus garage in downtown Detroit, requiring 60 firefighters to battle flames for seven hours and injuring one on the crew. Then, power was knocked out in the area as the fire raged. Dave Fornell, deputy fire commissioner for the Detroit Fire Department, said the fire started Thursday in a palette factory near Pulford and Beaufait. Fornell said the Fire Department was dispatched to the scene at 11:30 a.m. and found a pallet yard, about half a block wide and two stories high, totally involved in flames. Firefighters remained on the scene at 7 p.m., extinguishing hot spots. "Fire spread to a vacant house and garage to the east, a vacant commercial building across Beaufait, the roof of a building on Bellevue Street one block west, to a bus storage yard on Bellevue Street, where it involved a bus and two trailers, and embers set fire to a vacant building at Helen and Mack, four blocks east," Fornell said.  

Artist Dwight White II has seen a nurse who lives in his University Village apartment building coming and going recently at late hours. He's talked to her from opposite sides of the elevator, pleasantries mostly, but never got her name. She has no idea she's the inspiration for a mural White just painted on the side of Lulu's Hot Dogs, 1000 S. Leavitt St., in which she's dressed like Captain America. "She sparked my inspiration, medical workers are kind of the glue holding the world together right now," said White, 26. The artwork is part of Murals for Medical Relief, a campaign that's tapping local artists to paint murals on buildings near the Illinois Medical District on the Near West Side honoring medical workers and first responders. The campaign's website has a map showing where each mural is located.  

When minutes could mean the difference between life and death, first responders and public service agencies require access to the latest offerings in technology and wireless equipment to close that gap. Adding to a diverse list of products and services, Sourcewell has awarded contracts to AT&T and Sprint in its Wireless Voice and Data Services category; meaning participating agencies can purchase from these world-class vendors for voice, data, and messaging. Contract Administrator Dave Duhn said this category includes products and services tailored specifically for public safety, including FirstNet – a communications platform dedicated to first responders – providing a wireless, broadband network that delivers information more quickly when timing is critical. Additionally, the category includes smartphones, cell phones, tablets, Wi-Fi devices, chargers and accessories, and related services for all Sourcewell members.