An Alaska salmon hatchery operator will pay $1 million and plead guilty to illegally burning waste oil and jet fuel at a remote site in Prince William Sound in a 2018 incident that severely burned an employee, according to a plea agreement unveiled last week in federal court. The Prince William Sound Aquaculture Corp. will pay a $450,000 fine and plead guilty to one count of illegal disposal of hazardous waste, the 18-page agreement says. The private nonprofit company will also pay $550,000 in restitution to the employee, and follow an environmental compliance plan during a five-year probationary period, the agreement says. The company operates five hatcheries in the Prince William Sound region, including three owned by the state, providing salmon for fishermen.  

Virginia State Police is continuing to investigate a deadly crash and septic tank fire that resulted in road closures for Interstate 95 in Richmond. At around noon on Wednesday, Nov. 2, state troopers were called to I-95 near the Belvidere Street overpass for a reported vehicle fire. When units arrived, they found a 2007 Sterling Silver LT8500 septic truck fully engulfed in flames. Police said the driver of the septic truck — now identified as 36-year-old Brent Szarzynski of Chesterfield — died at the scene. An investigation revealed that a 2020 Cascadia Freightliner had been driving on I-95 with a load of I-beams that, according to police, were over-height. The I-beams reportedly struck the Belvidere Road overpass at high speed before striking the septic truck.  

VIDEO: Some of Hawaii's first responders are now using a high-tech tool to protect themselves from fentanyl exposure on the job. It's a mobile laboratory that can identify a variety of different drugs and results are available in seconds. It's called a TruNarc portable spectrometer and it allows first responders to know what kind of drug they're dealing with without ever having to touch it. That's especially valuable given how widespread fentanyl has become. "According to the manufacturer, you can do it through a zip lock bag," said Gary Yabuta. Yabuta, the head of Hawaii's High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, says the portable spectrometer has become a tool first responders are constantly turning to. "Not only for overdose deaths," he said. "But law enforcement use it when they recover suspected illicit drugs from a crime scene. It's simple. Easy to carry."  

It's been a year since the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District added advanced medical providers to its list of first responders. It's a sign of the times nationwide. Scott Perryman is a battalion chief with Metro Fire. "I started in Southern California as paramedic," he said. Perryman loved medicine so much, he put himself through physician assistant school at Stanford. When he went back out into the field, he realized "that there were a lot of issues I was seeing as a paramedic that could be treated in the field and they didn't have to go to the emergency room." A lot of 9-1-1 calls were for something as simple as medication, so he decided to pilot a program in Sacramento where physician assistants or nurse practitioners accompany the paramedic. "The beauty of that is it saves the patient from going into the emergency room and spending resources there," Perryman said.  

The Firefighters Charities of Pasco has kicked off a no-shave November fundraiser to benefit firefighters impacted by Hurricane Ian. Normally during November, Pasco County firefighters grow their mustaches to raise money for firefighters impacted by cancer. The mission is different this year as firefighters will raise funds for fellow firefighters impacted by Hurricane Ian. Firefighters will keep their mustaches until November 19th when an event called "Movember Shave Off" will take place at Double Branch Brewery in Wesley Chapel. According to Captain JJ Martinez, Vice President of Pasco County Professional Firefighters Local 4420, firefighters are unable to grow their beards due to respiratory masks and personal protective equipment used in hazardous environments. One firefighter who will receive help from the fundraiser is Cody Janski.