Kenai Peninsula Borough residents will have a new option to request emergency help starting Jan. 16, when Text-To-911 launches. This service will allow residents to contact emergency services via traditional cellphone texting services by simply sending a text to 911, according to a press release from the Soldotna Public Safety Communication Center. Though texting is convenient, the release said that residents should only use text messaging to contact 911 in a situation where calling is not an option. "Text-to-911 was not developed as a replacement to a voice call to 911 in an emergency situation, but rather as an enhancement," the release said. Texting is an option to improve 911 functionality for those who experience a hearing or speaking disability, those who are in an emergency that renders them incapable of speech, or those who cannot speak for fear of putting themselves into danger. "Call if you can; text if you can't" is a tagline for the service.  

VIDEO: Fire crews continue to monitor for hotspots after a huge fire destroyed a Schaumburg commercial building Thursday night. Fire officials said Friday they will continue to watch for hotspots and they plan to determine if the building is structurally sound. It took about two-and-a-half hours to get the fire under control Thursday after it broke out at around 6:30 p.m. in a building in an industrial area on Lunt Avenue. Part of the problem for firefighters was the walls in the structure collapsed, very quickly limiting their abilities. Another issue was the building layout. "The building is separated into many different compartments so we had a lot of access issues to get to the fire from the front end or the back," said Gus Tsoulos with the Schaumburg Fire Department. It's divided into storage units, but no word yet on what was inside that could have started this fire.  

VIDEO: The Orono Fire Department is going to be riding around in style thanks to the work of one of their own. "Art has always been a passion of mine. My twin brother and I, even through grade school, we were in art class and what not," said Dennis Bean of the Orono Fire Department. "My high school art teacher actually encouraged me to attend an art school in Boston. And I took a look at it. I went to Boston and fell in love with the school. And I said you know what? I want to do this," Bean added. But Bean was working towards another dream as well. "At the same time, we had such a desire in the love for the fire service. And I thought, ‘Wow, if I could put the two of them together, what an awesome thing that would be," Bean said. Bean has used his artistic ability for a number of things at the station.  

PHOTOS: The Chatsworth sinkhole that made national news this week when it swallowed two vehicles and led to the harrowing rescue of a mother and her daughter, was created by pounding torrential rain in the San Fernando Valley on Jan. 9. Now city crews are investigating how it happened. A mom and daughter in their Nissan, and a male driver and his passenger in a pickup truck, escaped from the dark, gaping, flooded hole on Monday night after their vehicles fell, without warning, into a cavernous gap in Iverson Road just yards from the 118 Freeway in northern Chatsworth. Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey said on Wednesday Jan. 11 that the second vehicle, carrying the two men, fell into the hole and landed atop the first car in which the women were trapped, and the men "got out on their own and scrambled out of the sinkhole prior to our arrival."  

VIDEO: It was stepped up training for first responders as they learned to spot human trafficking at airports. Miami-Dade firefighters are helping combat a sad reality. "It does exist, it is a daily crime that is hidden right in our backyard," said Jessica Barriel, of the Miami-Dade Police Department Human Trafficking Squad. MDPD trained the firefighters at a crucial place, the airport, Thursday. According to officials, 70% of victims are trafficked through airports. Miami International Airport is no exception. Florida ranks third in the U.S. in human trafficking cases reported, and Miami-Dade reported the most cases in the state. Recently, MDPD officers arrested a couple accused of recruiting and then traveling with a 17-year-old girl to solicit sex clients. They were caught at a Northwest Miami-Dade motel. In December, a man, Monriko Clements, who also goes by a rapper name, King Swuice, was arrested, accused of bringing a young woman to Miami to sell her body.  

The Norristown Fire Department will honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by serving the community of Norristown on Jan. 16 with its 5th Annual Smoke Detector Blitz. In partnership with the American Red Cross and students from Ursinus College, all on-duty fire department staff will conduct a neighborhood Smoke Detector Blitz from 10 a.m. to noon in the 500 and 600 blocks of Astor, Chain and Corson streets. Over 100 homes will be given the chance to have a firefighter install a smoke detector on each level and a smoke and carbon detector on their bottom floor. "On this day we answer Dr. King's call to service by stepping up to participate in this year's Day of Service" said Fire Chief Tom O'Donnell "It is a terrific way to honor the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr." According to the municipal Buildings and Code Compliance department, close to 11,000 smoke detector violations (missing, no battery, expired, etc.) were recorded in residences from 2016 – 2021.