Aerial firefighting is a dangerous job and few make the cut in this fast- paced adrenaline-fueled world. Water-scooping Single Engine Airtanker (SEAT) pilot Mikaela Young, a born and raised Alaskan, fits right in, with her desire to do anything that, "gets the heart rate up." At the age of 26, she is considered the youngest to ever pilot a Fire Boss and the first female in the world. She is praised for her impressive flying and instincts beyond her years, according to officials at Dauntless Air, the company that owns the contracted firefighting airplanes. Young grew up homeschooled along with four siblings on an off grid, 320-acre homestead near Talkeetna, Alaska. Her family lived in tents for three years while building their house. When she turned 15, she started logging seven days a week to pay for her first truck.  

The cool, rainy weather that set in last week over much of Alaska has dampened this year's fire season, which was shaping up to be one of the worst in recorded history. State and federal agencies are sending some crews home, but officials warn that the fires could come roaring back after a day or two of dry, warm weather. Hot and dry weather earlier this summer created the perfect conditions for the wildfires that have burned nearly 3 million acres in Alaska this year, making it the sixth-worst fire season on record. In response, agencies have mobilized 2,000 firefighters from around the state and Outside. And they were about to raise the state's fire-preparedness rating to its highest level. "We're at four now," state Forestry Division spokesperson Sam Harrell said. "Five is the top. Last week and the week before, we were planning level five."  

VIDEO: Boston firefighters battled a five-alarm fire inside multiple East Boston triple-decker homes Tuesday evening. First responders rushed to the scene in the 300 block of Princeton Street amid temperatures in the low 90s. Video from Sky 5 showed smoke and flames pouring from what appeared to be a staircase leading to the roof of the home. Paul Burke, the Boston fire commissioner said at least nine firefighters were injured battling the fire, primarily due to the heat. "The heat has been a problem today," Burke said. "We've had to circulate firefighters in and out because the heat is so bad." "There was heavy fire in the rear when they arrived and they had a hard time getting access to it," Burke said. Approximately a dozen firefighters could be seen standing on the roof, working to knock down the smoke and flames.  

VIDEO: Amassing more than 116,000 followers and more than two million likes, the Sacramento Fire Department TikTok gives viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the everyday life of a firefighter. They share videos of themselves cooking, rescuing puppies, and safety tips. Some of their videos have more than 400,000 views. Wendy Aguilar, a spokesperson for the Sacramento Fire Department, said the goal was to inform the public, but they're seeing another benefit as well. "It's working. We have young users who are reaching out and saying, 'When I grow up, I want to be a firefighter,'" said Aguilar. This video of the Sacramento Fire Department Station 17 cooking up some al pastor street tacos has more than 266,000 views. Capt. Frederick Goerend cooked up some tortas when ABC10 visited to meet the people behind the videos.  

VIDEO: As soldiers risk their lives on the front lines, crews of first responders are busy clearing out and re-building the areas that have been destroyed. Those crews, some of which are from other countries like America and Australia, aren't only clearing debris. They're also finding bodies. As a result, they're suffering from deep emotional stress. That's why a group of South Florida firefighters are headed to Poland to lend mental health support to the teams who need it most. "When you have a group of what we consider our brothers and sisters, wherever they are in the world, going above and beyond for something like this, the unthinkable, you want to be there for them," said Miami-Dade firefighter Lucianna Genova, who is among the first responders heading to help those on the front Ukrainian.  

VIDEO: A volunteer firefighter is recovering from surgery after being injured while working a scene on I-40 Monday night. Captain Ted Presgraves with the Tennessee City Volunteer Fire Department suffered a leg injury after officials say a U-Haul driver plowed into their tanker near mile marker 155. "It doesn't take much for somebody to be in a life or death situation that's out there risking their lives," explained firefighter Luke Williams with the Tennessee City Volunteer Fire Department. That was the case around 9:30 a.m. Monday as Williams said around a dozen personnel from multiple agencies worked a tanker truck fire — many volunteers. "We don't want to die while we are out on the interstate trying to work an accident," stated Williams. Captain Presgraves was working the pump panel when Williams said the driver of a U-Haul van — later identified as 78-year-old Samuel Farmer — came full speed through the closed lane.  

VIDEO: Driving boats, riding in planes, and learning the ins and outs of helicopter rescues - may sound like an action movie, but it's a reality for some east metro kids. WCCO went out with Ramsey County Sheriff's rescue team as a group of eager teens hit the water, too. Paw Htoo of St. Paul says, "I think it's really nice, this is a great opportunity for us." The Learning Jet program is hosting this first responders camp - and Paw is responding well, "I like helping people so they talk about CPR so I was really interested when we talked about it ." Tahjai Green is intrigued as well - his favorite part, "Probably seeing the fire trucks shoot the water." The students learned about fire rescues and now they are learning about the heaviness of water rescues.