It's 11:40 am. Students at Wasilla High School are busy learning reading classic novels, learning about the Table of Elements, and the logistics needed to feed 200 firefighters called up to fight a wildfire. The last one may sound like a complicated math problem, but really, it was part of the coursework students were learning in the Firefighting Science class. It's all part of the new Fire Science Program that started this year at WHS. "The idea for the program started in 2018, after a different program sponsored by the Central Mat-Su Fire Department and the Boy Scouts, called the 'Explorers,' which was aimed at getting high school aged kids into the fire departments, was discontinued," explains instructor Gabriel Bailey of WHS. Bailey teaches not only first aid and firefighting, but also teaches biology at WHS. And he is currently a Fire 1 Candidate.  

PHOTOS: According to Churchill County Manager Jim Morby, the fire has burned the entire railroad tie yard and the smoke is traveling west and northeast of Fallon. Multiple agencies are working together in battling the fire, including local and municipal, alongside the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The National Weather Service (NWS) is assisting in keeping track of the air quality and the plumes from the smoke. Morby says the railroad tires are full of creosote, which a highly flammable chemical, causing major air quality concerns. Authorities are advising the public to try to stay at home as much as possible to avoid inhaling plumes from the fire.  

Jodie Carroll's childhood was a bit … unsettled. Born in Minneapolis, she and her mother moved with her entrepreneur father to Boston, then Georgia, then back to Minneapolis. At age 11, Carroll moved with her family to a farm near Onamia, Minn. Athletic, with a love of physical activity, Carroll found belonging in sports. Still, being the only Black girl in school was culture shock. High school graduation meant a return to Minneapolis. But a year at Augsburg University taught Carroll that college wasn't for her. A series of jobs — "a little of this, a little of that" — followed. Then Carroll overheard a conversation at a party about the St. Paul Fire Department's upcoming Women's Expo. "I went," she said. "And that was it for me. I knew it." It was March 2018. She was 44 and a single mother of three girls. She threw herself into training and broke the women's record for test time, finishing the course — which must be completed in under 7 minutes — in 3 minutes, 7 seconds.  

A new photography exhibit at the New York City Fire Museum puts family members of 9/11 first responders in front of the camera as a way to illustrate the continuing impact of the attacks. The exhibition, called "One Day in September," features a series of profound, editorial-style portraits of first responders' family members, created by renowned photographer Richard Wiesel. Each photograph is paired with a short interview with the subject. The exhibit also includes images showing personal artifacts, such as fire helmets and badges, provided by first responders' family members. The photographs are rendered in black and white as a way to strip away distractions and focus on emotion, the photographer said in a press release. "The aim of this project is to share, with humility and grace, the family members' journeys of pain, strength, resilience and long-term healing since the tragedy more than two decades ago," he added.  

Towering orange flames 100 feet tall. A billowing plume of thick black smoke. An aircraft engulfed in a blaze. And it's happening along Interstate 75 toward southern Punta Gorda, not far from the highway. Don't panic and don't dial 911. It's not a real emergency. In fact, this scene hasn't even occurred yet. But later this year, it will — and it will repeat itself with increasing frequency. What you'll be witnessing is aircraft firefighting training using a state-of-the-art simulator. Newly installed at the Charlotte County Fire & EMS administration, fleet maintenance and training facility on Airport Road (behind the Charlotte County Jail and adjacent to the Cheney Brothers warehouse), this simulator is only the second one of its kind in the United States.  

It's a busy morning as Lieutenant Anderson suits up and hits the treadmill. But it's not some part of police training, or his morning routine, it's part of a new enhanced cardiovascular screening program put on by Essentia Health and the West Fargo police and fire departments. They began implementing the program after a rough scare and an even tougher loss. One that left shockwaves in the community, the force and a family. Amber Gustafson, who lost her husband, Lt. Adam Gustafson, to a heart attack last May, said, "I think that it's important and necessary that West Fargo has decided to try to eliminate one thing like a cardiac event as a reason why one of their officers won't come home at night. I think Adam would be really proud too to know that his fellow officers are being well-cared for"