A recently completed house on Morgan Loop in south Anchorage has several smoke detectors. But unlike some, the home's smoke detectors all go off at the same time. The alarms are interconnected, which Anchorage firefighters like. "The benefit we see is being able to alert people in different parts of the house, almost at the same time, almost simultaneously, rather than having to wait for the smoke to move to a place where they're actually located," said Anchorage Fire Marshal Brian Dean. The municipality has required all new homes to have interconnected smoke detectors since 2012. Smoke detectors that are not connected to others work, but firefighters say that poses a problem.  

Alaska State Troopers have released the name of a man killed in a southeast Alaska house fire. Troopers say 69-year-old Michael Head died Nov. 16 in his home in Craig on Prince of Wales Island. Troopers that morning were notified of a fire at Mile 2.1 Port St. Nicholas Road east of Craig. The Craig Volunteer Fire Department responded with troopers and found the home engulfed by fire. Head's body was found inside. The cause of the fire is under investigation by state fire marshals. Craig is a city of 1,100 about 56 miles (90 kilometers) northwest of Ketchikan.  

Making 911 as "smart" as your cellphone. That's the goal of first responders meeting Monday to learn more about Next Gen 911. This new system is already online in parts of three counties, Kittitas, Snohomish and King counties. It's called RAADAR, Real time Agency Activity Display and Reporting. What that means is from right here, NORCOM can see what police and fire are doing in those three counties. Seattle's fire chief says they could have used a system like this when disaster struck on the Aurora Bridge. It remains the worst mass transit disaster in Seattle history. In 2015, a Ride the Ducks amphibious vehicle loaded with tourists lost its axle and plowed into a bus filled with North Seattle College international students. Five people died, 70 were injured. When the call went out, Seattle first responders needed help fast.  

The Greenwood City Council is considering a new food and beverage tax to bolster staffing levels at city departments, specifically the police and fire departments. The plan for a 1% food and beverage tax was made possible earlier this year when state lawmakers passed a bill that authorizes Greenwood and several other communities to impose such a tax. Greenwood Mayor Mark Myers and other city leaders hope the money raised by the tax will ultimately help increase the number of police officers and firefighters working throughout the city. "The revenue generated – much of it from our city's growing number of visitors – will provide critical funding for quality of life, economic development and public safety initiatives," Myers said in a statement.  

The Brighton Fire District in the Town of Tonawanda is being called out by the state Comptroller's Office, for improper use of taxpayer money. A new audit says money was wrongly used on trips for members of the fire company and spouses. The Brighton Fire District protects roughly 7 square miles within the Town of Tonawanda and charges a fire tax on residents who live within the district. A state audit reveals between 2011 and 2016 members of the fire department used a district credit card to take themselves and spouses on trips to conferences, with taxpayers picking up the tab. So how much money are we talking here? The Comptroller's Office looked at credit card and travel expenses totaling $274,000 and that they found $30,000 in questionable spending for the secretary and treasurer.  

The story begins in 1736, when Benjamin Franklin founded the Union Fire company. By 1871, a Union Fire Company was launched in Centreville, Illinois with 32 members. This is where the story gets a bit confusing, because the town 10 miles south of Centreville also named themselves Centreville. Incredibly, this went on for about 50 years before the southern Centreville realized they had a problem, so in 1890 they changed their name to Millstadt, and the Centreville Fire Department eventually evolved into the Millstadt Union Fire Company. Millstadt is a proud, historic town of German ancestry. German was taught in schools for many years. A drive through town will still take you past Wolfmeier Trucking, Reinrdhart's Lounge, and the Muskopf garage. As other fire departments came and went, Millstadt stayed the course. Today, the Union Fire Company of Millstadt is the oldest continuous volunteer fire department in Illinois.  

The Eureka Fire Protection District is testing technology designed to keep drivers and emergency responders safe. Division Chief Scott Barthelmass said his department sees dangerous driving nearly every time they respond to a call. "A vehicle approaching at 60-70 miles per hour when there's an emergency ahead is dangerous," he said. "We park engines farther back to be blockers just because of the fact we're trying to protect our personnel who are helping somebody whose life may already be at risk." That's one reason the Eureka Fire Protection District is testing MakeWay. It's a device that's been installed on emergency vehicles and is automatically activated when the emergency vehicle's lights and sirens are activated. The activation triggers a verbal warning to nearby drivers through their phone before it's too late for them to slow down and move over.