For those wondering what it takes to be a firefighter, the Anchorage Fire Department and the Anchorage Fire Fighters Union brought in people from the community to go through the same tests as the brave men and women who fight blazes every day. Fire ops 101 is a program that brings in members of the community to see what it's like to be a firefighter for a day. According to Jason Dolph, the Sr. Captain for AFD, he says the general population are the ones who make decisions about public safety by either voting on ballots or at assembly meetings. So, in order for them to make informed decisions, it's critical that they see what's going on behind the scenes. As Nick Glorioso, the President of the Firefighters Association says, there's so much more than just putting out flames. Firefighting, he explains, is a man powered and technical job.  

A man was seriously burned Wednesday night in a grease fire at an apartment on Stedman Street in downtown Ketchikan. Ketchikan Fire Chief Rick Hines says the blaze was reported at about 9:20 p.m. "We arrived to find a male who was pretty significantly burnt outside the structure. It was a grease fire on the stove that water was applied to," Hines said. "We took care of the injured person, obviously, and transported him to PeaceHealth Ketchikan Medical Center." Hines says after the man received initial treatment, he was flown to the burn unit at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. The multi-unit apartment is located across an alleyway behind the New York Hotel. Hines says firefighters accessed the building from a stairway across from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union hall and were able to extinguish the blaze fairly quickly.  

A car burst into flames after it slammed into a box truck along U.S. 1 in Miami, triggering a search for the driver who fled the scene on foot, police said. According to City of Miami Police, the driver of a Kia was heading south on South Dixie Highway when they rear-ended a truck carrying frozen foods near Southwest 17th Avenue, at around 6 a.m., Sunday. A nearby surveillance camera captured the sound of impact. The force caused the driver of the Kia to jump a curb before coming to a crashing stop underneath an overpass, causing the vehicle to ignite. Investigators said everyone inside the Kia took off running and left the scene. Amaury Ruiz, the driver of the box truck, said he was making deliveries on his morning route when he was hit from behind.  

VIDEO/PHOTOS: A gunman was shot and killed by a Houston police officer after allegedly setting a fire to lure neighbors outside, killing three people in southwest Houston on Sunday morning, according to investigators. At about 1 a.m., officials responded to a fire and a person down at 8020 Dunlap Street. As the Houston Fire Department arrived at the scene, firefighters said the suspect began shooting, leading them to take cover. According to authorities, when Houston Police Department officers arrived a short time later, an officer spotted the suspect and opened fire. HPD confirmed that the suspect died and described him as a Black man in his 40s. Investigators said they believe the suspect set fire to prompt neighbors to come out of their homes and shoot at them.  

PHOTOS: For more than a decade, Golden Gate Bridge officials have labored to build a massive net to catch people who jump from the span. Now, as the estimated $215 million project nears completion late next year, work is beginning to solve another problem: how to help people out. On Friday, the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District voted to purchase a new $824,000 training facility near Mill Valley. The idea is to train Bay Area first responders, law enforcement and bridge ironworkers on how to recover people who may be injured in the 20-foot fall after hitting the stainless steel net. Rescue crews face multiple challenges, including what to do if a person is uncooperative or if they attempt to jump from the net into the waters 200 feet below.  

PHOTOS: "This is phenomenal," the governor gushed, following his speech to a large crowd of community members. "It is exactly what these firefighters deserve," he continued. The $6.5 million facility is state-of-the-art and will allow for better response times, in addition to improving the living and working conditions for department members. "Our old house had some deterioration and was actually past its life of use, so the city deemed it necessary," said Chief Doug Simpson. There's also a human element to this as many of these firefighters are required to live in the house for a few nights each week. "We want them to be able to relax, feel like it's their home, and have some type of a decompression," Chief Simpson added. The men and women of this department, despite being hundreds of miles away from the devastation from the tornadoes in western Kentucky and flooding in eastern Kentucky, answered those calls too.  

PHOTOS: Unused, unwanted and in disrepair, an old fire truck that began service in Rockport when President Dwight D. Eisenhower was in the White House has been sold. But the 1928 American LaFrance ladder truck will not be far away when it settles soon into its new home, a cavernous, backyard former chicken coop on Barnstown Road. Andy Swift of Hope bought the truck from the town in early August. His $1,213 offer was the only bid received for the vintage vehicle that arrived in Rockport from the Rockland Fire Department in 1955 and has been out of service for 32 years, according to Rockport Fire Chief Jason Peasley. "I just want to have it," Swift said. "I'll have to get it running in my spare time." His firm, Firefly Restoration, restores antique fire engines and trucks. Typically, trucks have ladders, engines do not.