At least three people were injured — one seriously — when fireworks accidentally detonated in a crowd during Sitka's Independence Day celebration. The incident occurred shortly before midnight on July 3, during the finale of the half-hour show. Sitka Fire Chief Dave Miller was standing by with a fire engine and ambulance, about 150 feet away from the fireworks area on the old boat ramp near the UAS Sitka building. A crowd of onlookers was gathered about one hundred yards down the beach in a grassy area by the Mt. Edgecumbe ballfield. Over the course of the finale, medics were first summoned by a 9-1-1 call to attend a man who had suffered an eye injury by the ballfield. Next, they were flagged over to the beach. "Right there in the grass there were two people down, and they appeared to be to have been struck by fireworks in some way," Miller said.  

VIDEO: A three-alarm fire broke out in an office building on Columbia Road in Hanover around 2 a.m. Wednesday. The fire has since been extinguished, but fire crews are still on scene at the three-story building, which houses the Jack Conway Realtor's office and other businesses. The fire appears to have started at the back of the building, which is believed to be a total loss. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Roads in the area were temporarily closed but most have since reopened. Hanover Fire Chief Jeff Blanchard said when first responders arrived on scene, they found heavy smoke and fire. Firefighters were initially unable to enter the structure because of those conditions. There was an automatic fire alarm in the building but it did not work, according to Blanchard, and firefighters had difficulty with the hydrants.  

Rhode Island firefighters are counting on state lawmakers to guarantee higher-paying, tax-free disability pensions to firefighters who get any form of cancer. And it looks like they made a winning case to the Democratic leaders in the House and Senate. Both the House and Senate Labor Committees have scheduled votes on Wednesday, during the lead up to next week's special summer session, on bills that say: "Any type of cancer found in a firefighter is conclusively presumed to be an occupational cancer." The proposed law would be retroactive "to all cancer-related illnesses, injuries and disability claims pending on or after" the proposed law takes effect. Disability pensions in the state system equal almost 67% of pay, tax free, for life. They represent a significant amount of the pension liabilities in certain Rhode Island communities.  

VIDEO: Water rescues near dams can be particularly harrowing as the churning waters known as "the boil" can pull in people and rescuers. The Elgin Fire Department is painfully familiar with that, after two of its own died in 1974 during a rescue near the city's dam in the Fox River. The department now has a new tool expected to enhance safety, a Waterwog 3 rescue boat made by Creature Craft that works well near low-head dams, fire officials said. Its most salient feature is an overhead roll cage. "If the boats tip over because of the current, it still has the capacity to keep everybody safe and we can still perform a rescue," Lt. Michael Przybylski said. The nearly 14-foot boat has backup safety in the form of a rope about 300 feet long that can be pulled from shore, he said. The total cost was $33,800 including training, but the city spent $14,910 after a grant from the Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation.  

PHOTOS: On April 30, 2016, a United States Post Office letter carrier in Fall River, Massachusetts, left his truck to do a 20-minute loop by foot to deliver some mail. When he got back to the truck, the dashboard was on fire. The next day, on the other side of the country, a letter carrier in Chandler, Arizona loaded his truck with the day's mail. After driving for about 10 miles, the truck lost power and the engine abruptly shut off. He pulled over, got out of the truck and called his supervisor. While on the phone, white smoke came out of the truck. He started walking towards the truck to investigate when he heard a "whoosh" noise. The truck burst into flames. Less than 24 hours after that, in Newport News, Virginia, a letter carrier driving her mail truck heard a loud pop and smoke started to come out of the engine. She turned the truck off and by the time she got out, a neighborhood resident came running out of their home to tell her the truck was on fire.  

Talk to federal disaster preparedness and response agencies like FEMA, the U.S. Coast Guard, the National Guard and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration about training, and one thing comes to the surface repeatedly: Experiential training is the gold standard. To prepare their employees to do the work of saving lives in a disaster response situation, these first responders emphasize exercises that put their employees through their paces. But what happens when a pandemic prevents those employees from coming together physically to do just that? "I don't think there's any substitute for actually exercising a plan," USCG Vice Adm. Steven Poulin, who took over as commander of the Coast Guard Atlantic Area last month, told Federal News Network. "We're doing as much as we can virtually to ensure readiness, and we are ready, and we're going to continue to be ready."