This year, Girdwood Fire and EMS are celebrating 60 years of providing fire and emergency medical service to Girdwood and Turnagain Arm. Saturday was a big celebration of the department's past and present at Girdwood Brewing Company. The Girdwood Fire Department got its start in 1959, providing fire protection services using a military surplus jeep and a WWII era cargo truck. EMS services were established several years later, in 1974, following an attack on two Alyeska Resort employees. As a volunteer fire department, funding and budgets can be challenging. Girdwood Brewing Co. created a beer, an American Pale Ale, called Engine 41 to raise money. One dollar of every beer the brewery sells of Engine 41 goes to the fire department to help replace equipment.  

VIDEO: Firefighters used to respond primarily to fires but in Anchorage emergency medical calls have increased by more than 25 percent since 2011, compared to an 11 percent increase in fire calls. Local firefighters say they're spread too thin. Anchorage firefighters responded to over 24,000 emergency medical calls over an area of about 150 square miles in 2018. They did that with 390 full-time staff. Pittsburgh, PA has a population of around 300,000 -- roughly the same size as Anchorage. According to the city's 2018 budget, the fire department has 660 full-time firefighters fielding about 20,000 EMS calls per year. Their coverage area is 2.5 times smaller, about 58 square miles. Falsey says fire services will likely see closures until they can create a larger operating budget for next year.  

The Ohio State Highway Patrol is investigating a crash that left two people dead early Sunday morning on Sprague Road, west of state Route 252. According to officials, 31-year-old Keith Liedtke, of Columbia Station, was driving a 2007 Pontiac G5 in the eastbound lane of Sprague Road. Twenty-seven-year-old Brent Reszler, of Columbia Station, was in the passenger seat. The Pontiac went off the right side of the road, hitting a utility pole which broke in half, bringing power lines down in the roadway. Both men got out of the car and walked across the road, coming into contact with the downed lines. Later on, 23-year-old Brett Wilson and 24-year-old Hannah Gallagher, both from Cleveland, heard the crash and went to help. Both Wilson and Gallagher also came in contact with the power lines.  

An ongoing dispute between neighboring fire department jurisdictions in northern Beaufort County could mean that, beginning Friday, the closest firefighters won't always respond first to an emergency. Leaders of the Beaufort-Port Royal Fire Department and Burton Fire District say their departments are equipped to keep residents adequately safe despite the latest escalation in the spat. The municipalities and Burton Fire District have been at odds for more than 20 years over agreements for service and compensation for properties the municipalities have annexed in the Burton area, an unincorporated community in northern Beaufort County. Under multiple agreements since, Beaufort and Port Royal have each paid Burton Fire District an annual fee for covering the properties now in city or town limits, based on established formulas.  

The recent fatal fire on Coffin Ave has brought renewed attention to the fire department's blackout policy. First responders were able to locate and evacuate 85-year-old Louise Barboza on the third floor of her three-story home after receiving reports of a structure fire, but she suffered second and third degree burns and later died at the hospital. On Thursday, the president of the local firefighters union Tom Carreiro sent out a statement, he said, in response to media questions about blackouts following the "tragic fire on Tuesday evening." The statement said that, "The First Due apparatus (for Tuesday's fire) were Engine 8 and Ladder 4 from Station 8 located at the corner of Acushnet Avenue and Davis Street. On this day Engine 8 was the ‘blacked out' (closed) apparatus for a 24 hour shift."  

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), has received just shy of a million dollars in Fire Prevention and Safety Grant money from FEMA to develop a free public safety drone compliance program that includes educational training and a searchable knowledgebase that tracks fire service drone programs and usage. Fire departments have rapidly expanded the use of drones as more communities have realized the lifesaving impact that aerial technology can have in response to structural fires, wildland firefighting, search and rescue efforts, hazardous material responses, natural disaster efforts, and any other events that would benefit from increased situational awareness. Although drone safety policies and standards continue to evolve, many U.S. fire departments are without the proper information, knowledge, and experience needed to establish and maintain a legally sound public safety program that is compliant with FAA regulations, and the standards produced by ASTM International, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and NFPA.  

After recently going solar, an Ann Arbor fire station is set to undergo interior renovations. City Council has OK'd a $208,400 contract with Allied Building Service Co. of Detroit for upgrades to Station 6 next to Briarwood Mall, including adding gender-neutral facilities. The station was constructed in the early 1980s when the fire service was made up of mostly male firefighters, officials said. As more women join the ranks, it's important to ensure fire station facilities reflect changes in gender makeup, Matt Kulhanek, the city's facilities manager, told council in a memo. "The proposed renovations to Fire Station #6 will provide gender-neutral restroom and shower facilities and living spaces, which can be used by all fire service employees during all shifts regardless of gender," Kulhanek wrote.