VIDEO: The Office of Fire Investigation is searching for clues that may point to what caused a fire in Englewood, damaging three homes. The fire broke out at a home near 64th and South Carpenter Street around 3:00 a.m. Saturday morning. The man who lives there was not home. Upon arrival, firefighters found flames coming from the roof of home which then spread to the house next door. The house on the other side was also at risk. Firefighters searched for anyone who may have been in the home. The Battalion chief said the main challenge of the fire was the cathedral-style home, which allows the fire to race straight up with nothing to stop it. It took crews an hour to put out the fire. A family living next door was able to escape with the help of their service dog.  

PHOTO: Kewanee Firefighters got an unusual call early Friday morning: They had to use their rope rescue skills and put it to the test when both stations responded to the call and worked together to rescue a 2-year-old pit bull from a cold well in Kewanee. "I looked down the hole, and I realized we didn't have a small puppy," said Lt. Joe Rediger, a Kewanee firefighter. "We had an 80-pound pit bull down there, and realized it was going to be a little more intense than we thought it might be." Kewanee crews hurried to a house call involving Gypsy, a 2-year-old pit bull, on Friday morning. She was stuck in a well that only very few people could fit in. Luckily, the Kewanee Fire Department had just the right man for the job. "The biggest thing that was going through my head was how are we going to do this safely and efficiently," said Kewanee Firefighter Anthony Rushing.  

PHOTOS: A fire engulfed an apartment building in Ashland early Monday morning. At 3:52am, Monday, emergency personnel were called to 1100 West Centre Street in Ashland for an apartment building fire. Fire Chief Phil Groody arrived on scene and called in a working fire after finding the whole rear of the apartment building along 11th Street engulfed in flames. The fire would hit a 2nd alarm calling in units from across northern Schuylkill County and eastern Northumberland. It would take firefighters more than an hour to bring the fire under control, with the fire being held to the original fire building. By 5:30am, some units were being released from the scene. At least 2 people were reported to live in the building and escaped unharmed.  

In a significant move aimed at transforming how emergency services are funded, the Board of Fire Commissioners has passed a resolution to include a fire benefit charge proposal on the August 6, 2024, primary election ballot. The Wenatchee Valley Fire Department is championing this initiative, asserting that it offers a fairer method of funding compared to the existing system. Under the current model, funding for emergency services is solely derived from a fire levy that is based on the assessed value of properties. This setup leads to a disparity where two identically-sized houses might incur vastly different fire levies simply due to their location within the fire district. "This means two houses of the same size can pay very different amounts depending on their location within the fire district, while the cost to put out a fire at both is the same," explained a spokesperson for the fire department.  

In response to Gov. Josh Green proclaiming April as Tsunami Awareness Month in Hawai'i, the University of Hawai'i Sea Grant College Program (Hawai'i Sea Grant) partnered with organizations across the state to promote tsunami preparedness by creating a new 2024 Hawai‘i Tsunami Preparedness video. This year marks 78 years since the deadly 1946 Aleutian Islands earthquake that generated tsunami waves over 50 feet high in Hilo, caused tragic loss of life and $340 million economic damage to the state. To prepare for future tsunamis which can strike with very little warning and occur anywhere, at any time, Green's proclamation highlighted the importance of awareness, education and action in preparing the state for potentially deadly tsunamis.