An ongoing debate across Alaska over the past few years about how to improve emergency dispatch service has resulted in an administrative order from Gov. Mike Dunleavy to establish the Alaska 911 Advisory Board. A press release issued by the governor's office Thursday said the board "will help improve public safety response" across the state. The press release also stated that this is the first time an effort has been made to bring together a permanent place for all 911 stakeholders such as first responders and local governments to present ideas and plan a process to improve the 911 system. Dunleavy previously issued administrative order 320 creating the 9-1-1 and Dispatch Consolidation Working Group in 2020. Dunleavy's plan charges the advisory board with improving 911 services in rural Alaska to allow dispatchers to track the exact location of emergency calls made from cellphones.  

Anchorage police are reporting an avalanche blocking Hiland Road up South Fork Eagle River Friday morning with depths of up to 40 feet. According to a community alert, police responded around 1:15 a.m. to a section of Hiland Road, near South River Lane, that was blocked from a slide. Police said a section of Hiland Road was "under 40+ feet of snow," and after surveying the area by foot and with a drone, said no homes were directly affected by the avalanche and no people appear to be trapped in the snow. They added that residents in the area may have limited utilities. Anchorage police said they received help from a variety of sources, including the Anchorage Fire Department, Mat-Su Search and Rescue, Solstice Dogs, Alaska Mountain Rescue, the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities and municipal street maintenance.  

A fire at Empower Field at Mile High Stadium in Denver was extinguished after it sparked a plume of smoke that could be seen for miles on Thursday afternoon. Investigators are holding a news conference at 3 p.m. to discuss the fire. Watch it live on CBS News Colorado. Fire crews arrived at the stadium to find heavy, thick black smoke and flames. Firefighters got the fire under control shortly after arriving. Sprinklers from the fire suppression system attempted to stop the fire but firefighters were needed to completely extinguish the fire. Six rows of seats in two sections were destroyed in the fire near the suites. About 100 people were attending an event on the second level, but the stadium was otherwise empty. Six rows of seats in two sections were destroyed in the fire near the suites.  

Trey Anthony Loomis might have died that horrible day 26 years ago. The 2-year-old was trapped in a 1995 Kansas City house engulfed in flames. A firefighter found the child in a closet and pulled him free. The firefighter who rescued him probably never thought the toddler, burned over 90% of his body, would live. At that time, people died from burns half as bad. Only his soaked diaper kept him from being burned everywhere. Had Loomis not survived, a Kansas City Public School teacher would not have had the pleasure of teaching "one of the most beautiful people" she said she's ever met. His guardians, Debra Hughes and John Walker, would never have had the satisfaction of raising a severely injured boy into an active, funny and loving man. "Our family owes a tremendous debt to that firefighter who saved Trey's life," said Hughes, Loomis's older adoptive sister, who took responsibility for him after their mom died in 2009.  

In 2021, ahead of the 20th anniversary it the 9/11 attacks, a Howell Township man penned his thoughts into a song and then recorded it and released it for all to hear. Vinnie DeMarinis focused on what happened that day and in the days, weeks, and months that followed in a song named 'Hold On (A Tribute to 9/11)' which was just one of the many ways people all over continue to grieve, remember, honor, and keep what happened that day in the front of everyone's minds. The importance of remembering what happened and honoring our heroes is what helped State Senator Anthony Bucco (R-25) pen legislation that could soon require schools to include 9/11 instruction in the curriculum. It has gained some traction as on Thursday, the New Jersey State Senate, approved this legislation.  

VIDEO: Thieves made off this week with thousands of dollars worth of life-saving firefighting equipment taken right off of a parked fire engine in Graham and the city's Fire & Rescue Department is working to find ways to protect its gear. The thefts have become more and more common across Western Washington in recent months. Battalion Chief in training Matthew Black said it's heartbreaking that thieves are targeting the fire department considering that the thefts can keep them from serving the rest of their community. He said firefighters had just wrapped up a safety training exercise on Wednesday and drove their fire truck to a Safeway for lunch when the most recent theft happened. In the brief time the crew was inside, they said someone opened a compartment of their fire engine and stole a large red bag that contained equipment used to save trapped firefighters, like an extra air supply and other tools.  

Two-and-half years after a fatal propane explosion in Farmington, a federal agency is sharing new insight into the tragedy. The 73-page report from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) reveals new information on the moments leading up to the tragedy. It includes the clearest timeline to date of events leading up to the explosion which claimed the life of Captain Michael Bill and injured six firefighters. WMTW News 8 spoke to Farmington's interim Chief Tim Hardy off-camera. Hardy stated the department participated in the report voluntarily after the tragic blast in an effort to ensure nothing like it occurs in the future. Representatives from NIOSH spent weeks speaking with his department, says Hardy, in the immediate aftermath.