VIDEO: One young homesteader spent weeks alone in the Alaska wilderness before he was rescued by state troopers by helicopter on January 9th. For most of December, Tyson Steele survived in a makeshift shelter, holding out hope that help was on the way. 30-year-old Steele had been living alone in a remote cabin about 20 miles away from the community of Skwentna when he woke up to find the roof of his cabin on fire. The temperature outside that day was about 15 degrees below zero. He thinks it was December 17th or 18th when the cabin went up in flames. He subsequently endured more than 20 days alone, with no equipment in harsh, subzero temperatures. A series of split second decisions meant life or death for Steele as he had to decide what supplies to save and what to let burn.  

The Department of Public Safety announced plans to move forward with two emergency communication service initiatives Tuesday. Currently, more than half of Alaska's geography lacks the technology to provide dispatchers with the phone number and location of 911 callers using cell phones, according to a DPS news release. If the call is dropped before a dispatcher learns the caller's location and number, there is no way for them to call the person back and send help. "Wireless [911] has been implemented in many boroughs and municipalities as a result of formal requests to wireless carriers," the release states. "While this service may be available in populated areas, 80% of Alaska's geography lacks this important technology."  

Charleston Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin took steps Monday to correct the way firefighters in the city have been paid for holidays since 2012. A $1.7 million-dollar agreement has been reached between the City of Charleston and the firefighters union. Mayor Goodwin was joined by Myron Boggess of Charleston Professional Firefighters Local 317 to announce the agreement that addresses back-payment discrepancies. In late 2011, Charleston City Council approved changes to the way firefighters were compensated for holidays. According to Mayor Goodwin's office, this change directly contradicted state law. Goodwin says that is why her administration worked to negotiate a correction with Local 317. "Our firefighters deserve to be paid fairly and in accordance with state law," said Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin.  

Fort Drum's fire department puts out a call for help. Over the past 3 years, 5 of its fire trucks have failed inspection and haven't been replaced. With a fleet of aging apparatus, the firefighters' union tells us it needs Washington to come to the rescue. To fight fires, you need the right tools. On Fort Drum, those tools are becoming scarce. Not one or two, but 5 Fort Drum trucks are no longer usable. "They're failing basic inspections, cracks and frames, etc., deeming them unfit for operation and they're immediately taken out of service," said James Haggerty, president of Fort Drum Firefighters I.A.F.F. Local F-105 Out of service are Engine 1, built in 1995, Engine 3, built in 1987, and Rescue 2, built in 2000. While maintained and refurbished over the years, they're now deemed unsafe and can't be on the roads. "We have to have something to back fill it with and unfortunately, we've lost so many apparatus over the past couple of years that we're running out of apparatus to back fill," said Haggerty.  

A city dispute with its firefighters' union over wage increases may need third-party intervention to resolve. After stalling on contract negotiations in October, negotiators have invoked a provision known as "binding arbitration" for the first time in city history, according to the city's human resources director. Santa Cruz voters in March 1996 approved a city charter amendment mail-in ballot measure that allows firefighters to use this type of dispute resolution, with the city of Watsonville firefighters' union following suit two years later. Negotiators from both sides of the table said during interviews in recent days that they were "disappointed" and "not excited" that the issue had escalated to outside intercession, as they have traditionally worked well together. The major area of disagreement after a handful of meetings between July and September has been focused on the increasing rate of firefighter compensation rates planned in coming years, representatives told the Sentinel.  

Hampton has a fire station with no firefighters and no fire trucks. The city had to close one of its stations for the time being after workers found asbestos. Fire Station 7 on Fox Hill Road was built in 1967. Last week, renovators were replacing some flooring and found what they thought was asbestos. City spokesperson Fred Gaskins says the tiles and air inside the firehouse were immediately tested. "Tests showed there was not asbestos in the air and that's a very good thing, but the tile itself has to be removed by a licensed contractor." Station 7 is closed until further notice. Yellow caution tape, normally used to keep people away from fires, is now keeping them away from the firehouse. A dumpster out back sits sealed in plastic. The city says people in the area surrounding the station have nothing to worry about.  

VIDEO: Representatives with the Guinness Book of World Records recently visited Tullahoma, Tennessee and brought a measuring stick with them. Tullahoma firefighter Brandon Berridge could break a world record. Berridge stands 7-feet tall, which could make him the tallest firefighter in the world. "He goes by ‘Shorty.' If he hears ‘Shorty,' he comes running," one of his colleagues says. "I got another one too," Berridge says. "One of the officers calls me Aflac because I got to duck all the time."