The Mat-Su Borough discussed and approved the purchase of a fire engine including large ladder platform by the Central Mat-Su Fire Service Area in an effort to come to the aid of neighboring West Lakes FSA at the meeting of the Mat-Su Borough Assembly on Tuesday. Ordinance 21-003 and Resolution 21-002 passed by a vote of 5-2 with Assemblymen Jesse Sumner and George McKee voting against the $1.5 million appropriation to purchase the aerial platform and related equipment. Following Department of Emergency Services Director Ken Barkley's detailed staff report, McKee found objection. "This is nothing more than buying a new toy that's all," said McKee. "I thought we're talking about budget problems and here we are going to throw money on another vehicle we don't need."..."It will help with the safety of firefighters," said Barkley.  

PHOTOS: Firefighters on Saturday morning extinguished a seven-alarm fire that started late Friday night in a Flushing storefront and extended into an adjacent building, according to the FDNY. After receiving a call just before midnight on Friday, Jan. 8, regarding the blaze at a three-story building located at 136-15 37th Ave., approximately 50 units and 200 FDNY personnel responded to the scene to fight the fire. The blaze was first classified as a two-alarm fire at 12:11 a.m. on Jan. 9, before slowly progressing to a seven-alarm classification by 5:19 a.m. Seven firefighters sustained minor injuries while battling the inferno and have been transported to local hospitals. While a collapse zone has been established, units were still operating at the scene at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 9, according to the FDNY. The fire was extinguished just before 9 a.m., according to the FDNY.  

VIDEO: Multiple people were transported to local hospitals on Sunday afternoon, after Indianapolis fire officials said a woman ran a red light and crashed into a fire engine, causing a multivehicle accident crash on the east side. A 21-year-old woman driving a Ford Fusion eastbound on 10th Street failed to yield and struck an oncoming fire truck heading north on Arlington Avenue that had its sirens and lights activated, according to a news release from the Indianapolis Fire Department. The crash occurred at around 12:34 p.m., IFD said, as the fire engine was headed to a possible fire. The fire engine then struck another vehicle, a Toyota Prius, which was pushed into a third vehicle, a Mitsubishi Eclipse, witnesses told Indianapolis police. Those collisions caused injuries to people in those vehicles. There were four firefighters on board who were shaken up, but not hurt in the crash.  

Fire fighter occupational cancer is the leading cause of line-of-duty deaths in the fire service. In 2019, more than 75% of the names of fire fighters added to the IAFF Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial Wall of Honor in Colorado Springs, Colorado, were of members who died from occupational cancer. In partnership with the Firefighter Cancer Support Network (FCSN), the IAFF has designated January as Fire Fighter Cancer Awareness Month to provide fire fighters the necessary tools and guidance to develop life-saving protocols for cancer prevention and to support those with a cancer diagnosis within their departments. Bringing increased public awareness to occupational cancer in the fire service will help generate greater legislative support for states and provinces to establish presumptive disabilities for all cancers affecting fire fighters.  

On Jan. 10, 1962, all the talk was about bitter cold. At 3 p.m., with the temperature only 4 degrees, Carson Crocker was cutting a customer's hair at 702 Chouteau Avenue. Police officer Kenneth Jones tried to stay warm in his patrol car one block away. Major Nesbit worked inside the Ralston Purina feed mill that towered over the neighborhood just south of downtown. The quiet chill was shattered at 3:20 p.m., when a grain-dust explosion ripped through the Ralston mill, at Seventh and Gratiot streets. The blast blew open Crocker's front door, showered airborne debris around Jones' car and threw Nesbit across the room. "I heard this 'whoom' and there was fire everywhere," Nesbit said. "I crawled until I could see and then I cut out of there." It was the beginning of one of St. Louis' biggest fires, and one of the wildest nights ever for the St. Louis Fire Department. In temperatures that quickly froze their water sprays, firefighters fought two general-alarm fires and handled 44 other calls.  

City of Burlington Fire Chief Alan Babe has an important message for Racine County residents who look to help first responders as the area continues to face the COVID-19 pandemic. Babe, selected from among many chiefs in Racine County, narrates a public service announcement through county social media feeds and on YouTube about stopping COVID-19 transmission. He said transmission only takes one person and could cause safety issues for first responders, local law enforcement, health care workers and other essential workers. "One choice can set off a domino effect. The small choices, the ones we make every day matter for our community," Babe said. "Our essential workers and first responders have been working around the clock to protect us, our loved ones and our community during this public health crisis." Babe said working together for the community can help overcome the challenging disease, which has infected thousands of Racine County residents.