VIDEOS: Helena is home to one of only three airport firefighting training facilities in the western United States, drawing crews from across the country and Canada to learn life-saving skills.

The Rocky Mountain Emergency Services Training Center in Helena has been training airport firefighters since 1996. Firefighters from Pullman, Washington and Victoria, Canada recently came together at the facility to take advantage of its classroom instruction, fire trucks, and hands-on drills.

The center features a specialized aircraft fire trainer that lets firefighters experience what the inside of a burning plane may be like. For exterior fire training, crews use a large spill trainer that burns about 100 gallons of propane every 30 seconds, simulating how a real aircraft fire may behave.

Training Center Coordinator Mike Anderson said the facility stands out among its peers. “This is one of the best engineered and built training facilities in the U.S.,” Anderson said. Crews spent the day training to extinguish engine, wheel brake, and large spill fires, as well as interior fires, which place firefighters in a tight space with near-zero visibility.

KXLF-TV CBS 4 Butte

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There's a lot of noise out there still. Sticking to the facts will help present you with a clearer picture.

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VIDEO: One person suffered burns in a large trestle fire near Harvey Airfield in Snohomish on Tuesday. 

Snohomish County Fire District 4 was dispatched to a brush fire about 5:19 a.m.

The response was upgraded to a commercial response once crews saw heavy smoke and reports came in that the railroad trestle was on fire.

The fire district said access was difficult, because there aren’t roads in the area. 

About 50 firefighters attacked the fire from two locations, using four tenders and an aerial attack involving a ladder truck and handlines.

The fire burned approximately 300 feet of trestle, Snohomish County Fire District 4 said. 

Crews contained the blaze by 6:30 a.m.

The person who suffered burns was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The response shut down Airport Way for about 1.5 hours as emergency crews responded to the fire burning near the train tracks, Snohomish County Fire District 4 said in a Facebook post.

KING-TV NBC 5 Seattle

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VIDEO: Community members were forced to make new plans Tuesday after learning Lewisville Regional Park was closed for the day because of a fire that destroyed its largest picnic shelter.

“We just found out when we got here,” David Rogers said.

The Central Shelter went up in flames around 1 a.m., according to Clark County officials.

Clark-Cowlitz Fire Rescue responded but ultimately – the building was deemed a complete loss.

How the fire started is unknown.

However, the fire district said it “appears to be suspicious in nature.”

The county fire marshal and sheriff’s office are investigating it as a possible arson.

“If that’s what it was, that’s scary, especially out here,” visitor Athena Anderson said. “It’s more rural … not in the city, so you just kind of feel like it’s safer.”

Susan Baxter-Harwell, county parks and nature superintendent, spent the morning on scene.

She called the fire “devastating” considering how old the shelter is.

KPTV FOX 12 Portland

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The Spokane Fire Department’s swiftwater rescue team recently conducted training in the Bowl and Pitcher area of the Spokane River as crews prepared for a busier summer on the water.

The department said more people are expected to be in the river during the upcoming season, which can lead to more rescue calls.

Fire officials noted that river conditions can shift quickly, even when water flow appears low, highlighting that strong currents and other hazards can still be present.

The department urged people to wear a personal flotation device while on the water and to call 911 immediately if someone goes missing in the river.

KHQ-TV NBC 6 Spokane

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