Katie Hickman was walking around an Anchorage neighborhood on Tuesday, using an app on her phone to pick up an item being donated to her when she suddenly noticed a house on fire. What Hickman did next might have kept the fire from turning into a deadly one. "I just go straight to the house, I open the door, I try to go in but the smokeis already to like waist high," Hickman said. Hickman says her instincts kicked in as soon as she saw the house on fire. "I just start banging on the floor, banging on the floor, ‘Is anybody here? Is anybody here? Answer, call out!', and after about 10 or 20 seconds I hear a voice," Hickman said. "All up in the panic, I don't remember what she said, but it was like, ‘I'm here, I'm something'. I keep banging, ‘Follow my voice, follow my voice, follow the banging!' and as soon as she gets where I can actually see her feet I just grab her and pull her."  

About 40 percent of interior Alaska is underlain by ice-rich permafrost—permanently frozen grounds made up of soil, gravel and sand—bound together by ice. Certain conditions, such as climate warming, have intensified tundra wildfires which have profound implications for permafrost thaw. Surface vegetation plays a dominant role in protecting permafrost from summer warmth, so any alteration of vegetation structure, particularly following severe wildfires, can cause dramatic top–down thaw. Severe wildfires remove the vegetation and surface soil organic matter, and the loss of this insulation increases the ground heat flux and promotes permafrost thaw. This thaw triggers ground sinking and thermokarst (ground-surface collapse from permafrost thaw) development and leads to surface water inundation, vegetation shifts, changes in soil carbon balance and carbon emissions, all impacting climate warming.  

PHOTOS: A two-alarm fire gutted a South Jersey home Tuesday night. It happened just before 8 p.m. on the 200 block of Port Elizabeth-Cumberland Road in Maurice River Township. Action News obtained dramatic video of the inferno-like scene from the ground as intense flames burned through the two-story house. Authorities have not reported any injuries. The cause of the fire is under investigation.  

Three Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) teams containing IAFF members continue to search for survivors in the aftermath of the deadly Feb. 6 earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. The death toll has now surpassed 36,000. "Our USAR team members are dedicated fire fighters trained to work in harrowing situations," said General President Edward Kelly. "Their training and resources are vital to supporting disaster operations. "We pray for their safety as they work to help others," he said, "and we keep the people of Turkey and Syria in our prayers as they recover from this devastating earthquake." "The people our members are assisting are facing an unimaginable level of devastation. But what our members' are doing is important. They are bringing trapped victims to safety and giving hope to Turkish and Syrian citizens," said General Secretary-Treasurer Frank Líma.  

New Philadelphia has extended the time that firefighters have to earn their paramedic certification in hopes of expanding the pool of potential employees. On Monday, council approved an ordinance that gives firefighters hired by the city two years to earn their certification. Previously, they had one year to do that. All new hires are required to have certification as a 36-hour volunteer firefighter and emergency medical technician. The move was taken before the city offers a civil service exam on March 21 for new firefighters. Fire Chief Jim Parrish explained that people working to earn their paramedic certification have to attend more than 900 hours of class time to do so. That is difficult for someone with a full-time job who wants to become a firefighter.  

PFAS chemicals help protect firefighters by repelling water and oils off their gear. They're also used to make fire-suppressing foams "extremely effective." Firefighters were found to be more likely to get diagnosed with cancer and more likely to die from it, according to research by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Lawmakers and researchers believe the presence of PFAS class of chemicals in their gear is likely a key reason for this disparity. PFAS have also been linked to other health issues. Several bills this session aim to help Indiana draw attention to this harmful class of chemicals' impact on firefighters – but alternatives aren't available. "What we're finding out is that same piece of equipment that we think is helping us is also hurting us to a certain degree," South Bend Fire Chief Carl Buchanon said in an interview.  

The city of Hoover has been chosen to host the 2023 U.S. National Firefighter Challenge Championship with up to 300 firefighters from around the country participating in skills-based competitions in September. The firefighters are expected to come from more than 125 fire departments in 19 states, competing in events that simulate the physical demands of real-life firefighting, such as climbing a five-story tower, hoisting, chopping, dragging hoses and rescuing a life-sized, 175-pound "victim" as they race against opponents and a clock. The firefighters will be wearing full turnout gear and a self-contained breathing apparatus as they compete in individual, two-person and five-person (relay) events, and they will be divided into developmental, competitive and pro divisions and compete in age and gender brackets.