The Alaska Air National Guard rescued the pilot of a crashed Cessna airplane near Lime Village on April 7. Alaska Rescue Coordination Center superintendent Sgt. Evan Budd said that the pilot called the Stoney River Lodge, and someone at the lodge relayed the Cessna's position to the center. The center dispatched a HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter and a HC-130J Combat King II airplane, with pararescue teams on each aircraft. The plane refueled the helicopter in the air, and the chopper landed near the crash site. The pararescue team brought the pilot out, and flew the pilot to Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage. Budd emphasized that the pilot had a reliable means of communication, which was critical to getting a rescue team there quickly.  

VIDEO: According to Police on Saturday around 9:41 pm near Dexter and Oakman, the Detroit Fire Department received a call and was heading out. Authorities say as they were trying to exit the driveway, a dark-colored Chevy Sedan was blocking their path. After using the fire engine's air horn, the car moved out of the way. However, as the fire truck drove past, they heard gunshots and realized the truck had been hit. The suspect is described as a black man with a medium afro. He was last seen wearing an orange shirt or jersey. The passenger was described as a black woman, light complexion and wearing a turquoise top. Police say this is an on going investigation.  

PHOTOS: A 136-page report on the tragic Porterville Library Fire found that staffing shortages, a lack of training and communication problems may have contributed to the deaths of two firefighters in February 2020. "Unfortunately, these issues continue to be far too common across the country to simply focus on one organization," the report concluded in part. "Until all fire service leaders begin to resist complacency and implement positive change, we will continue to lose our valiant firefighters." Fire Capt. Ramon Figueroa and firefighter Patrick Jones died in the massive fire that erupted on Feb. 18, 2020, in the children's section of the Porterville Library, located on the same block as the Porterville Fire Department. In the aftermath of the deadly blaze, Porterville Fire Chief Dave LaPere called for a Serious Accident Review Team, or SART, to investigate the incident so that other fire departments could learn from the tragedy.  

PHOTO: It's not uncommon for someone to have to choose between making a living and pursuing something they are passionate about. Dan Ravenhorst of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, has found a way to do both, driving his 2019 Mack Anthem 64T and volunteering at the city's Township Fire and Rescue Station 1. "I bought (the truck) in March 2020, so I've had it a year now," Ravenhorst said in an interview with The Trucker. "It's my first brand-new truck." Like his previous truck, a red 1994 Freightliner Classic XL, the black Mack is customized with tributes to firefighters. "I decided to go with the ‘Thin Red Line' theme," he said. "Black is the color of mourning, and that thin red line (in an American flag motif) represents fallen firefighters." The logos of fire departments around the world — including the fire department that Ravenhorst is a part of — incorporate the Maltese cross emblem.  

VIDEO: Helena College is revamping its more than 20-year-old fire and emergency services program to meet the changing demands of employers. The program first opened in the fall of 1998 and focused on hands-on, functional fire training. The updated program aims to continue providing this kind of practical fire training, while also meeting the emerging needs and demand for professional certifications and general education. Lyn Stimpson is the program's full-time faculty instructor and chief of the Montana City Fire Department. Stimpson worked for Helena College for approximately five years before being hired full time in May 2020. According to Stimpson, the revamped program will offer students a one-year certificate of applied sciences or a two-year associate of science degree in fire and emergency services.  

For the rest of the week, towns, cities, and counties around southwest and central Virginia are celebrating the men and women who serve as 911 dispatchers, the unseen heroes of public safety. According to the City of Roanoke, Congress proclaimed the second week of April as National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week in 1991. Thirty years later, telecommunicators, dispatchers, and communications operators across the country not only answer hundreds of thousands of calls placed to 911 centers, but they also use phones, radios, and computers to offer support to law enforcement, firefighters, EMS workers, and other government field personnel. Even though National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week runs from Sunday, April 11 through Saturday, April 17, numerous police departments, sheriff's offices, fire departments, and rescue squads across the region have already posted celebratory and supportive messages for their dispatchers.