Two people were displaced from their home Wednesday morning after their garage caught fire, according to the Anchorage Fire Department. Firefighters were called to a single-family home on the 6000 block of Warfield Place — near Raspberry Road and Jewel Lake Road — around 5 a.m. Wednesday, according to deputy chief Brian Keene. Firefighters extinguished a fire in the garage quickly, Keene said, and one person was brought to the hospital for minor burn injuries on their hands. The Red Cross provided financial and lodging assistance to the two people Wednesday after the blaze displaced them from their home, the agency said on Twitter. Keene said it was unclear how much damage was done to the garage, but the flames did not reach the home. The cause of the fire is under investigation.  

Every year, Hospice of Anchorage arranges for delivery of presents from Santa and a visit from a special fire truck for its patients under the age of 18. The visit is part of The Santa Project, which the nonprofit has been running for the past several years. "When you're in hospice care, there are struggles," said Amy Tribbett, the Executive Director of Hospice of Anchorage. "So we do what we can to make it a more merry Christmas, so they can enjoy the holiday and it just gives them something to smile about." The Anchorage Fire Department and Hospice of Anchorage visited Shelton McCarty's home. Seven-year-old McCarty was diagnosed with Cockayne Syndrome Type II.  

Municipal officials have agreed to set up what's called a 401(a) plan, tax-differed retirement saving accounts, for retiring public safety employees. Members of the City Council approved a measure on Monday allowing mayor Andre Sayegh's administration to set up the plan at the request of the police and fire unions. Under the proposal, the city will deposit the accumulated leave time payouts for police and fire employees into the tax-differed retirement savings accounts. Before the new year, the city is paying $1.2 million to 19 firefighters and police officers. The sum is a partial severance payout for the employees. Municipal official disclosed the city has to pay approximately $5 million in accumulated leave time payouts to firefighters and police officers. The lot includes approximately 30 employees, said officials.  

Major changes are coming to the Owen Valley Fire Department. Lt. Joe Frye said the department will lose a majority of its firefighters at the end of the year because the Owen Valley Volunteer Firefighter Incorporated Group could not reach a contract agreement with the Owen Valley Fire Territory Board. "You're talking guys that are career firemen," Lt. Frye said. "We have a lot of guys that work on career department part-time, you've got college graduates from fire science and public safety. There were some things in the contract that made it almost impossible to sign." Lt. Frye said they never had a chance to negotiate the terms in that contract. He said the department will lose about 20 volunteers, which could have a major impact on safety in the area.  

The city's firefighters union is pushing for more emphasis on mental health after losing an officer to suicide. "One of our brothers passed away of this disease," said Shawn Weeks, president of Local 1891, the union that represents Boynton's paramedics and firefighters. "Nobody thought this was gonna happen." Noting Boynton's fallen officer will "guide us into changing this profession," Weeks rolled out an early-stage proposal calling for a joint venture with the city to make a doctor available to help when firefighters experience trauma or suffer symptoms of mental illness. The union would cover treatment and travel costs. Suicide in 2017 claimed the lives of at least 103 firefighters, according to a white paper commissioned by the Ruderman Family Foundation. The Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance estimates that number was underreported and actually exceeded 250.  

Knowing how to properly handle all the equipment that's used to fight fires is a crucial part of a firefighter's job. Joseph Cross looks like he's adept and ready to go to battle, but he is actually not a firefighter – yet. He is training to become one after fighting some personal demons and ending up in prison. "It was a series of mistakes, decisions I made," Cross said. "I had some issues with alcoholism, and I ended up making some mistakes like drinking and driving, and a hit-and-run." While in prison, Cross was given the opportunity to become an inmate firefighter. He was also told that doing that work would take two years off of his four-year sentence. "That was an incentive, but at the same time you're going to be able to give back to your community, fight fires, and it makes you feel good when you go out there and give back, so it made me feel good," he said.  

Looking a the numbers at the end of the first year of the Racine Fire Department's home visit program, department Division Chief Brian Wolf said he's seen how the program "is greatly needed." For its first year, the program has been focused on cardiac patients. Fire Chief Steve Hansen said the department's partners in the program at Advocate Aurora and Ascension All Saints would like to see the program expanded, but the department's plan is to grow the program incrementally. The Mobile Integrated Health program sends specially trained paramedics to check in on patients who were recently discharged from the hospital. During those visits, the paramedics ensure the patients are following their discharge instructions, check their vital signs, provide long-term health guidance (regarding diet, exercise, quitting smoking, etc.), and check the home for potential health risks, such as tripping hazards.