The State Fire Marshal's office has opened an investigation into a fatal fire that was discovered at 11:52 pm on Wednesday night, troopers announced. Late Wednesday night an officer on patrol in the Church Road area in Wasilla observed smoke billowing up from a location in that neighborhood and investigated the cause. He observed a 5th wheeler fully engulfed on Carlbad Place. By the time the fire was discovered, it had begun to burn the home beside it. All persons in the home as well as pets were successfully evacuated. Central Mat-Su and Lakes fire departments responded to the scene and were able to extinguish the flames. A search of the 5th wheeler would reveal remains inside the mobile structure. The State Fire Marshal's office responded along with The State Medical Examiners office and an investigation was opened and the SME took possession of the remains.  

VIDEO: Three people were killed late Wednesday night after a fire truck collided with an SUV and crashed into a building in Westport. A Kansas City Fire Department truck was heading northbound on Broadway Boulevard near Westport Road on the way to a house fire shortly after 10 p.m. The fire truck then collided with a Honda CRV that was traveling westbound on Westport Road. Both vehicles ended up crashing into the building housing the former Riot Room music venue. The man and woman inside the SUV died, along with a woman who was on-foot at the scene. That pedestrian's body was pulled from the building's rubble shortly before 8 a.m. Thursday following an extensive recovery effort. "It's been complicated by the fact that the building is very unstable and presents a risk to rescuers," said Sgt. Bill Mahoney with the Kansas City Police Department.  

VIDEO: A fire helmet is a piece of equipment firefighters use every day. But the helmets can't be used forever. "These helmets, they have about a 10-year shelf life," Shanen French, Founder of Lids For Kids, said. "At 10 years, regardless of if it's new, used, or whatever, we have to figure out a way to repurpose it. In the past, we were just discarding them. We wanted to repurpose them, recycle them." Fire helmets are now recycled into the Lids For Kids program. The program gifts a personalized and autographed fire helmet, and a day as an honorary firefighter, to special individuals. It began in 2014, and as of Wednesday, has now honored 50 kids who are living life with challenges. The Lids For Kids 50th recipient is Michael Southerland. "I am happy to be a firefighter," Michael said. "I've wanted to be a firefighter forever."  

Firefighters were temporarily trapped after multiple power poles reportedly snapped and fell over in front of Hobby Lobby at Frisco Station Mall in Rogers, Ark., causing stoplights to be out all along Walnut Street Wednesday afternoon. Witnesses say they believe strong winds caused the accident. "Around lunchtime today Engine 4 was traveling down Walnut Street when several utility poles broke and dropped live electrical wires on the fire truck, trapping the crew. With the assistance of Southwestern Electric Power Company – SWEPCO technicians the firefighters were able to quickly disentangle the apparatus and escaped uninjured," according to a Facebook post by the Rogers Fire Department. SWEPCO is reporting about 3,000 customers without power. At this time there is no estimated time for repair.  

Join the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) for a special video salute to our nation's fallen firefighters. America's Tribute to Fallen Firefighters, a 1-hour tribute video, features both the Candlelight and Memorial ceremonial events from this year's NFFF 40th Anniversary Memorial Weekend. America's Tribute to Fallen Firefighters will premiere on Sunday, December 19th, at 7:00 pm Eastern time, 4:00 pm Pacific time on the NFFF Facebook Channel and on YouTube at NFFFTV. Hosted by CBS News Anchor Norah O'Donnell, the program recognizes heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty serving their communities and their country. Eighty-seven firefighters died in the line of duty in 2020. Eighty-two firefighters died in 2019. Forty-six firefighters who died in the line of duty in previous years were also honored.