According to a press release from the Fairbanks Fire Department a house fire was reported early Friday afternoon and upon investigation of the scene a body was found. At approximately 12:55 p.m. the Fairbanks Emergency Communication Center received several calls 911 calls reporting a structure fire at 232 Princess Drive. When Fairbanks Fire Department crews arrived on scene, they located the fire in a room on the second floor of the home. It took approximately 10 minutes to extinguish the fire. A deceased individual was found in the room where the fire had been. The identity of the deceased will be released after next of kin is notified. An investigation into the fire is being conducted, and anyone with information should contact Deputy Fire Marshal Moira Townsend at 907-450-6614 or by email. Fairbanks Police Department and the State Fire Marshal are also assisting in the investigation.  

The summer of 2019 was an active season for wildfires. The Swan Lake, Caswell and McKinley fires consumed thousands of acres of land. The McKinley Fire destroyed 52 homes, 3 commercial structures, 84 outbuildings and 3,288 acres of land. Scientists with the University of Alaska system are working on a joint effort to study the impacts of the McKinley Fire on both the environment and the residents that lost their properties. The project title is "Fire and Ice" and is part of a number of studies being conducted by Alaska Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research. Fire and Ice is aimed at helping communities better understand, predict, prevent and react to wildfires. One of the tools the project uses to help in their education of communities is a film documenting the lessons learned from residents who were impacted by the McKinley Fire.  

Damaging winds caused significant damage around the Chicago area Saturday night, and strong winds may have even sparked a fire in the northwest suburbs. Multiple fire departments responded to the massive house fire on Burning Tree Circle in McHenry. McHenry police say the house was fully engulfed when crews arrived. Firefighters battled the intense flames from the ground and eventually got everything under control. Police say high winds added to the power of the fire, but it's not clear if that was the sole cause. An investigation into the cause of the fire is underway. The homeowner, who was home at the time, was not injured. The house is considered a total loss, police said.  

A Houston firefighter was injured while responding to a burning storage unit but not by heat or flames. Investigators said a woman shot him with a pellet gun. Houston Fire Department Engine 82 was at a storage facility about 11:30 a.m. Friday in the 12400 block of Fondren Road. They were able to extinguish the fire using a pump can. At some point, the fire department said a crew member was shot in the back. He was taken to the hospital for a check-up and then returned to work. They said one of two people, who were inside the storage unit when firefighters arrive at the scene, broke the windows of Engine 82. Houston police are investigating the incident, HFD officials said.  

VIDEO: A new device for the Crescent Township Fire Department will help to search and rescue as well as search and recovery efforts go quicker. It's a drone for underwater. The fire department will be one of the first in our area to have a remote operating vehicle like this for the water. "Just about anything underwater and you want to see if you can find it," Crescent Township Volunteer Fire Department President John Kriger said. Before they would have to use sonar on boats and send in divers to check it out. Divers can only last about 20 or so minutes depending on the conditions. "We can be in the cold water with this and then when we find our object, we can send our diver down. It limits his time in the cold water," Kriger said. The drone can last up to 3 hours in the water, and pinpoint where the divers need to go. This makes it so divers have to spend less time in the water. It has sonar, a camera, a claw, and is controlled by what almost looks like a video game controller on a boat.  

On Friday afternoon, someone stole a flag, designed to honor fallen firefighters, from a Middletown fire engine. By Saturday night, thousands of people across the state and across the country knew about the theft, thanks to a deftly written and slightly sarcastic Facebook post by the firefighters' union. The post, from "the men and women of Middletown Professional Firefighters Local 1073" discusses their call for an oven fire on High Street, on the Wesleyan University campus, and says, "something is bugging us." "We're not sure why, but you must have really admired the sweet thin red line flag on Engine 2, because you climbed up on the tailboard and cut it off and stole it.... We have to assume you really liked the flag, or maybe you thought it might be funny or cool, you know, something for the ‘Gram or the Tik Tok. We're a little worried that you might have cut it down to "fight oppression" or whatever. If that was your motivator, you clearly don't understand the meaning behind the thin red line."  

On Oct. 17, 1966, 12 firefighters were killed in what was the deadliest day for the New York City Fire Department until the 9/11 terror attacks. Two chiefs, two lieutenants, and eight firefighters lost their lives as they tried to battle a fire at 22nd Street by entering a building on 23rd Street before it collapsed.