Almost three dozen fire departments around the state will be better equipped to help suppress both structure and wildland fires thanks to grants from the Alaska Division of Forestry (DOF). DOF recently awarded more than $159,000 to 34 rural fire departments around the state to improve firefighting capabilities and enhance protection in the wildland-urban interface. The funds come from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service (USFS) to the Division of Forestry each year as part of the federal Volunteer Fire Assistance (VFA) program. DOF distributes the money to rural volunteer fire departments that apply for the annual grants. To qualify for the grants, fire departments must serve a population of 10,000 or less, be a registered fire department with the Alaska Division of Fire & Life Safety and provide a minimum of 10 percent non-federal matching funds. Fire departments use the money to purchase items such as personal protective equipment, hoses, pumps, tools and other resources used to help fight both structure and wildland fires.  

VIDEO: Crews from the Phoenix Fire Department faced massive flames as they battled a mobile home fire Wednesday night. Video showed flames shooting into the night sky as the home burned near Fourth Street and Broadway Road in south Phoenix. Firefighters got the call just after 7 p.m. Crews arrived at the scene to find the home fully engulfed in flames. Firefighters were forced to take a defensive position and surround the building, hitting the fire with water from the outside. Crews quickly brought the fire under control but the home was a total loss. Fortunately, everyone was able to get out of the home safely, and nobody was hurt. Fire investigators are now trying to figure out how the blaze began. A community response team is assisting the home's two displaced residents.  

VIDEO: Local first responders have a new way of training during the COVID-19 pandemic. Austin-Travis County EMS (ATCEMS) is now using virtual reality training programs. "We can basically do anything that you can do in real life, you can do in virtual reality," said Commander Keith Noble, ATCEMS. With the help from the City of Austin, Augmented Training Systems, and a grant from US Ignite, ATCEMS is now implementing virtual reality training. "I bring the research together with staff members here and in this case, it was EMS. We sit down and we figure out what we need. What is something that's doable by the university researchers and something that's a challenge or would help in this case, our first responders," said Ted Lehr, Data Architect for City's Communication and Technology Management Department.  

VIDEO: Tuscaloosa Fire Rescue's Station 2 and Station 12 each house some of the departments' most unique and largest trucks, which also provide special rescue and firefighting capabilities. Station 2, located on Paul W. Bryant Drive, has been home to the fire department's first and only Tractor Drawn Aerial apparatus, also known as a tiller truck, since 2017. The truck, Truck 32, was purchased for $1 million and was dedicated in memory of former Tuscaloosa fire chief Bob Delbridge, according to previous reports. The vehicle is 58 feet in length and uses two drivers to operate the front, the tractor driver, and the rear, the tiller operator. It is equipped with a 107-foot, steel-frame ladder and other rescue tools and equipment, such as road rescue equipment, extrication equipment and other ground ladders.  

VIDEO: Even though a devastating house fire took their home and belongings on Tuesday night, the Moniz family is praising God. On Wednesday, professional surfer Kelia Moniz posted to Instagram that her parents' home in Hawaii had burned down overnight, incinerating everything inside. "My parents house, my childhood home went up into flames. Very crazy you have quickly things can change," she wrote alongside a carousel of photos showing the house's charred foundation and her parents, Tony and Tammy Moniz. Moniz shared that under normal circumstances, the entire family, which includes five siblings and four grandchildren, would have been gathered inside during the time the fire started. "So last nights scenario could have had a much different outcome," she wrote. "Today we remember a house full of love, and so many (memories) thanking God we have my mom and dad here with us."  

VIDEO: Even with the race to vaccinate as many Americans as possible accelerating, some experts are warning that if Americans do not also follow proper safety and mitigation measures, the U.S. could see a COVID-19 resurgence. Although the country's national daily case average continues to fall -- about 32.5% over the last month -- nearly a third of all states have seen their average number of cases rise at least 10%. Those 15 states are: Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon and West Virginia, according to an ABC News analysis of state data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Several states -- Delaware, Idaho, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon and West Virginia -- have seen their case averages increase by at least 25% in the last week.