The Alaska Fire Service has called on specialized canines to help protect firefighters battling the Isom Creek Fire along the Dalton Highway. Fire information officer Sam Harrel says a handler and two dogs from the Alaska- and Montana-based Wind River Bear Institute, have been hired to deter bears from fire camps. "Oftentimes we can have a bear that is pretty persistent and becomes a nuisance, so to be able to avoid that and have the opportunity for some non-lethal hazing, we're giving a try of these Karelian Bear Dogs," he said. Harrel says use of the dogs in wildfire camps is a first for the Bureau of Land Management, an effort aimed at safety and conservation. "We're hoping we can manage a problem bear in a way that is much better for all of us," he said.  

VIDEO: Firefighters battled a massive house fire in Billerica Thursday evening that left the home a total loss. Crews responding to the scene on Riveredge Road found smoke and flames pouring out of the house. "I was sleeping on the farmer's porch and the smoke just came out right around me," homeowner Rob Rawson said. "Panic city." Within minutes, the flames destroyed the years of work Rawson put into his home. SKY 7 HD flew over the scene around 6 p.m. to find it totally engulfed. By about 6:15 the flames had been mostly extinguished. Rawson said that as soon as he began smelling smoke, he ran through banging on doors to make sure he and his two roommates would escape safely. "I'm shocked I got the guy upstairs out. Shocked," he told 7NEWS. "There were lots of sparks the lines were catching on fire. it just moved very quickly." Multiple explosions could be heard within the inferno as nearby vehicles caught on fire — including an Xfinity van parked in the driveway.  

The union representing Baltimore's firefighters is calling on residents living in certain neighborhoods to oppose possible firehouse closures. The two firehouses slated to close are Engine 4 on Cold Spring Lane in north Baltimore and Engine 55 on Bush Street in Pigtown. The city fire union said both companies are responsible for bringing water to fires and have life-saving medical equipment. Baltimore City Councilman Bill Henry, D-District 4, released a statement Thursday calling on Mayor Jack Young to keep the companies open. Henry's statement said, in part: "As far as I know, every member of the City Council is against these closures. We voted for cuts to other parts of the budget which would have provided the mayor with sufficient funds to restore the two fire companies that are being shut down. The mayor has chosen not to use that money and is closing the fire companies anyway.  

After a serious storm, it's not uncommon to see the world come to a standstill. Traffic lights often go out, homes are ruined and businesses stay closed, but one restaurant tends to stay operational and consistent, despite the chaos and damage. In many places, Waffle House has become synonymous with stormy skies; the business is able to make decisions in the face of serious storms that have caught the eye of first responders and federal officials like Craig Fugate. Fugate was the Director for the Emergency Management Division for the state of Florida when he first noticed the trend. "What we had seen was the Waffle House was getting open before anything else did," he said. Fugate was responding to Hurricane Charley in 2004 when he first thought up the "Waffle House Index."  

Every week there are numerous scientific studies published. Here's a look at some of the more interesting ones: Researchers with the Cleveland Clinic developed a first risk prediction model for healthcare providers to predict an individual patient's likelihood of a positive COVID-19 test, in addition to predicting their outcomes from the disease. The model, called a nomogram, evaluates the relevance of age, race, gender, socioeconomic status, vaccination history and current medications in COVID-19 risk. The results were published in the journal CHEST. The actual test can be found here. "The ability to accurately predict whether or not a patient is likely to test positive for COVID-19, as well as potential outcomes including disease severity and hospitalization, will be paramount in effectively managing our resources and triaging care," said Lara Jehi, Cleveland Clinic's Chief Research Information Officer and corresponding author of the study. "As we continue to battle this pandemic and prepare for a potential second wave, understanding a person's risk is the first step in potential care and treatment planning."  

VIDEO: The Indianapolis Fire Department (IFD) has become the first fire department in the country to develop an in-house fire gear cleaning system. IFD said "Project Washout" integrates advanced ozone technology with comprehensive gear maintenance, management and repair. On Wednesday, IFD Chief Ernest Malone unveiled the new system which fire officials said "was created for the sole purpose of better protecting our suppression personnel and implementing cancer preventive initiatives, to help fight the unseen enemies our personnel face every day, including COVID19." IFD explained the new process uses ArtiClean Ozone, which provides firefighters with hospital-grade sanitation and cancer carcinogen removal, which was only previously available through outsourcing. "The idea of putting a gear washer in every fire station was quickly identified as too costly and for some stations, not logistically possible," fire officials said.