Communities in southern Southeast Alaska lost power for a few hours Thursday afternoon, due to a failure along the power grid in Ketchikan. Wrangell, Ketchikan, and Petersburg all lost power around noon on April 25. Jeremy Bynum, the electric division manager for Ketchikan Public Utilities said the outage was caused by a failed part on a power pole near the Landing Hotel in Ketchikan, which caused a fire to spark. The failed part was an insulator, which protects the power poles from electrical current. Wood conducts electricity, so electrical wires are connected to the wooden poles that hold them by insulators – silicone or porcelain gadgets that look like discs stacked on top of each other. Ketchikan, Wrangell, and Petersburg receive most of their electricity from hydropower.  

A massive fire broke out at an apartment complex in Randolph, Massachusetts, on Sunday night, prompting large-scale evacuations and warnings from police and town officials about smoke in the area, as well as low water pressure. The Randolph Fire Department was called to the multi-family residential blaze at 60 Bridle Path Circle just after 6 p.m., and the fire was still active late Sunday night. The acting fire chief told NBC10 Boston that there were multiple collapses, including the roof and walls. According to the fire chief, one person was injured after he jumped from a second floor balcony to the ground. He was taken to the hospital with minor burns. There were no sprinklers inside, the fire chief said, and the building is a total loss, leaving more than 80 people without a home.  

The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) will host the 43rd National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend (Memorial Weekend) on May 4-5, 2024 in Emmitsburg, Maryland. This year's national tribute will honor 89 firefighters who died in the line of duty in 2023 and 137 firefighters who died in previous years. Detailed information about each of the 226 firefighters being memorialized can be found on the 2024 Roll of Honor. "National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend is a time for our nation to pause and reflect on the heroic efforts and selfless service of the fallen firefighters we are paying tribute to this year," said NFFF CEO Victor Stagnaro. "We will always remember the bravery, commitment, and sacrifices of each of these 226 heroes—and their families."  

VIDEO: Multiple tornadoes tore across Oklahoma on Saturday night, leaving a wide trail of destruction, leveling homes and buildings and knocking out power for tens of thousands of residents and businesses. At least four people were killed in the state, including a child. The region remained on high alert for severe weather after thunderstorms and tornados rolled through Friday and Saturday from Texas to the Great Lakes. About 106 tornadoes were detected in six states on Friday, with Nebraska and Iowa the hardest hit, officials said. Officials in Pottawattamie County, in southwest Iowa by the Nebraska border, said one resident was killed and three others hurt by severe weather that hit Friday. In Oklahoma, a tornado ripped through Holdenville, a small town of about 5,000 people, around 11 p.m. Saturday night, destroying or damaging several buildings in its path.  

VIDEO: University of Texas students created a robot that can help protect firefighters. Their startup is called Paradigm Robotics. The technology is meant to assist with search and rescues in structure fires or other dangerous situations. Recently, the Austin Fire Department reported two firefighters were injured after searching for a person inside a house fire. The invention is called FireBot. Founder Siddharth Thakur said fire departments around the country are testing the robot. World's first high temperature resistant, un-manned," Thakur said. "So think remotely controlled search and rescue robot, designed to enter structural fires or other hazardous situations and provide life-saving, mission-critical situational awareness."