Four individuals died in a car wreck that occurred Tuesday morning on Mitkof Island when their SUV drove off the roadway near the 27 mile marker of Mitkof Highway at a high rate of speed, according to a press release from the Alaska Department of Public Safety. Two of the passengers were Wrangell citizens Siguard Decker, 21, and Helen Decker, 19, according to the ADPS press release. Another passenger was identified as 29-year-old Ian Martin of Petersburg, according to the press release. There was a fourth passenger in the SUV that was killed, but the individual's name had not been released as of Tuesday evening. At about 10:18 A.M. on Tuesday, Alaska State Troopers received a request for a welfare check on four people who were last known to be headed south on Mitkof Island towards the Blind Slough area, according to the ADPS release.  

VIDEO: A bridge over Tempe Town Lake has caught on fire and partially collapsed after a train derailed. Tempe Fire Department officials say the derailment happened around 6 a.m. on July 29 and involved a Union Pacific train. At least 90 firefighters are on the scene. One person is being treated of smoke inhalation, officials say. Officials with Union Pacific say eight to ten rail cars caught on fire. Three tank cars fell into the park below; two of them contained cyclohexanone with the third containing a rubber material. Cyclohexanone is a flammable, colorless oily liquid, and nearly 95% of its manufacturing is used to make nylon, according to the National Library of Medicine. None of the rail cars are reported leaking, and the cause of the derailment is under investigation. The bridge had recieved its yearly inspection on July 9, train officials say.  

World Trade Center (WTC) first responders are at risk for developing dementia, according to two studies led by Stony Brook University researchers and presented virtually at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference on July 28, 2020. The studies included individuals with signs of cognitive impairment (CI) who show neuroradiological abnormalities and changes in their blood similar to that seen in Alzheimer's disease patients and those with related dementias. One study in Alzheimer's and Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment and Disease Monitoring (DADM) shows that many responders with CI have reduced gray matter thickness in the brain consistent with neurodegenerative conditions and evidence their brain "age" is about 10 years older on average than the normal population. This research is in collaboration with scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.  

Easy access to fire hydrants is a requirement of every city's building codes, but Reno Fire Department says depending on the location and type of fire, getting to fire hydrants can be extremely difficult. Last week a south Reno apartment complex was engulfed in flames, destroying 14 of 21 buildings. No one was injured in the vacant building blaze, but RFD Battalion Chief Jeff Voskamp said water was particularly hard to access for crews to put out flames. "You had Geiger Grade and Veterans Parkway," said Voskamp. "So we place hydrants where buildings are actually at, not necessarily on streets. Two hydrants were able to be accessed, the other ones were basically in the middle of the fire ground." Voskamp said firefighters were eventually able to attach eight different fire hydrants to hoses to battle the blaze, but crews had to go through backyards, across streets, and into other neighborhoods to access them.  

Local fire department leaders are speaking out about the calls to increase mental health screenings for first responders following the overdose death of a Winter Park EMS captain. Winter Park fire Capt. A.J. Isaacs overdosed on painkillers, which were stolen from his own department. "I know, without a doubt, there's definitely PTSD within the fire service," his widow, Heather Isaacs, said. It's something local departments recognize and try to prevent. "As firefighters, we're taught and we're trained to be professional in every situation and dealing with these types of incidents through the years, we've learned to push our emotions to the background," Orange County Fire Rescue Safety and Wellness Chief Antonio Demings said. OCFR revamped its behavioral health program a few years ago to include daily call for service reviews and regular chaplain visits to crew members in order to identify potential trauma early on.  

Florida on Tuesday hit a new statewide record high for number of coronavirus deaths reported in a single day since the pandemic began — 186 residents. And while there are signs hospitalizations may be leveling off, the virus continues to upend life there and across the country. Nearly half of all states are now part of the government's so-called "red zone" due to rising cases, including Missouri, North Dakota and Wisconsin. Dr. Deborah Birx on Tuesday said hot spots threaten regions where cases are controlled. "We can see the virus moving North," she warned. "What we're seeing across the South right now is both rural infections, as well as small metros and major metros, simultaneously." Birx said. This week, Dr. Birx was in five states where cases are on the rise and recommended that some states close bars and limit capacity.