The Alaska Department of Public Safety (DPS) has created the new position of Director of Village Public Safety Officer Operations in an effort to strengthen the program. The Village Public Safety Officer (VPSO) program provides public safety services to rural communities in Alaska. Their motto "First Responders - Last Frontier" refers to their ability to provide emergency response to villages that may otherwise not have those services available. On January 12, DPS announced that Joel Hard had been chosen for the position. "I'm humbled to come back and take a hard look at the program and help it mature to a place that carries it forward for the next many years," Hard said adding, "I believe strongly that the Village Public Safety Program is critical to the department's larger mission." Hard previously spent 22 years with DPS, retiring in 2003 as the Director of Fish and Wildlife Protection.  

A massive apartment fire has been burning in northwest Oklahoma City since early Tuesday evening. Around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, crews responded to a fire at The Canton at Classen Curve near Northwest 63rd Street and Grand Avenue near the Nichols Hills area. The fire continued into Wednesday, and crews are still battling flames as of 8:45 a.m. as they spread to nearly the entire complex. Authorities said they cannot get a handle on the fire mainly because of the size of the building. Crews have dumped more than 2 million gallons of water on the fire. Battalion Fire Chief Benny Fulkerson told KOCO 5 rubber materials on the roof caused the fire to spread, and crews have had issues putting out the flames. Flames reached the lower floors, and authorities are worried more of the building will collapse.  

VIDEO: Trey McDaniel still wonders how much different his life would be if he stayed in bed one minute longer on Feb. 11 last year. "You just play the events over and over and over in your head," he said. "You know, ‘what could I have done differently?'" He was driving down Interstate 35W South, his normal route to work at MedStar as a paramedic. Jesse Robinson wasn't far behind and was headed to JPS Hospital where he's an EMT. "Everything was fine for like the first 30 minutes," Robinson said. Two exits before reaching downtown Fort Worth, though, there's a bend to the left and a hill drivers can't see over. At the top, the express lanes were coated in black ice. With no previous issues on roads, drivers were going the posted 75 mph limit. By the time anyone could see brake lights at the top, little could be done.  

City residency requirements have been lifted for Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire firefighters. That is the ruling of a neutral arbitrator who has determined the city did not have the right to restrict residency. The arbitrator has now issued a cease and desist order on the city's enforcement of residency for its firefighters. By declaring the requirement invalid, all 657 uniform firefighters are now free to live wherever they choose. "My membership is obviously happy with the decision that's come down," Ralph Sicuro of the Pittsburgh Firefighters Union said. City police officers were granted that option four years ago, and now the city firefighters have it. Sicuro said it's the right decision. "I think giving people the choice to live in the city or whether they want to live in the suburbs is the right thing to do," he said. "Everybody should have the ability to choose."  

When it comes to occupational hazards, few jobs are as dangerous as fighting fires. "I fell through a floor once," said veteran firefighter Michael Butkus. "High rise fires, those are the worst, and you don't think you're going to get out of there." Butkus has been with the Chicago Fire Department for three decades. He spent 28 years in the field. He says when he was starting out wearing an oxygen mask wasn't considered a priority. "I don't care how long you wear a mask for, how many bottles you go through, you're still going to get some of that stuff in your lungs," said Butkus. Even with better safety gear, today's firefighters battle blazes in homes made of more synthetic and petroleum-based materials that are extremely carcinogenic.  

PHOTOS: It started with an old black and white photograph from the Grand Junction Fire Department archives. Next came about a half a ton of sheet metal. Then it was time for Jeff Bates to go to work. That was about three months ago. On Tuesday, tucked under a weathered white cowboy hat, Bates and a pair of helpers installed the finished sculpture on the cinderblock wall of Grand Junction Fire Station No. 6 at 729 27 Road. "It's a real feather in my cap to have this featured on a fire station," Bates said Tuesday. "It was a great opportunity. "It really represents the community as well and this is historically accurate, it's based on a historic photograph from the Grand Junction Fire Department." The intricate metal work shows two horses pulling a fire wagon with a pair of old-time firefighters.