VIDEO: A 1929 Mack fire truck that served the Detroit Fire Department, the Detroit Zoo, and the Franklin-Bingham Farms Fire Department is at the center of a community restoration effort — and a family’s tribute to the man who dedicated himself to bringing it back to life.

Gary Roberts, a Franklin firefighter and self-described gearhead, spent years working to restore the historic truck before dying of esophageal cancer at age 70 a few weeks ago. Now, his children are picking up where he left off and launching an online fundraiser to get the Mack parade-ready within the next two years.

The truck’s connection to the Roberts family spans generations. Gary’s father, David, was also a Franklin firefighter who rode the Mack in parades and worked to keep it running after the engine gave out. When David died, Gary took over the restoration. Gary’s son Ben Roberts grew up watching his grandfather tinker with the truck and has his own memories tied to it.

“This has always been part of the family. Been very much engaged on playing with it. I remember very much as a little kid, there used to be a bell that was about right here. You’d ding it all the time. Kids love climbing on this thing in parades. It’s a huge, basically a centerpiece for the Franklin community,” Ben Roberts said.

WXYZ-TV ABC 7 Detroit

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VIDEOS: A new public service announcement from the 9/11 Memorial & Museum is aimed at a generation of Americans who have no memory of the attacks. “I wasn’t there. I didn’t see the planes,” a voice says in the 60-second spot.

The campaign targets the roughly 100 million Americans who were not alive on Sept. 11, 2001, those who never witnessed the terrorism and heroism, and never experienced the service and sacrifice of that day.

Among them is 12-year-old Kylie Corrigan. Her father and uncle serve with the FDNY, following in the footsteps of her grandfather, retired FDNY Capt. James Corrigan, who died in the collapse of the South Tower. When asked to take part in the PSA, she agreed immediately.

“I wasn’t there, but I’ll never forget,” she says in the campaign. “I kind of just think of him as my dad because everyone always says that they look alike and they have the same personalities,” Corrigan said.

The PSA is part of the Memorial & Museum’s “Never Forget” fundraising campaign, which aims to raise $25 million.

WABC-TV ABC 7 New York City

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VIDEO: Fire and EMS crews on the Colville Reservation say the size of the territory, small staffing and long travel times come with unique challenges in protecting its land and its people. Notably, the reservation is twice the size of Rhode Island. NonStop Local met with Fire Chief Chance Cruger and Assistant Chief Richie Gorr of Colville Confederated Tribal Fire & EMS at their station house on the reservation to talk about how serving their community looks different from the Inland Northwest’s urban centers.

“I thought I knew the ins and outs. But when I got out here and its 1.4 million acres and I’m lost at where I’m supposed to go—that was the challenge was how big it was,” said Cruger. Cruger has three years under his belt as Fire Chief for the department, with decades of prior service firefighting in the military. Gorr, who is from the reservation, started with the department 30 years ago.

The duo says they typically staff just two or three people at their fire house at a time, all while handling about 900 calls a year across their massive response area. “It gets rather chaotic,” said Gorr. “But we also thrive in that environment.” While the distance from one end of their service area stays the same, the men say actual drive time across the diverse terrain can vary greatly.

KHQ-TV NBC 6 Spokane

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A fire near Highway 24 about 15 miles east of Moxee has grown to an estimated 2,000 acres, according to Yakima County Fire District 4 Deputy Chief Chris Munson. Munson said crews working the fire had reached 50% containment. The fire is burning in a very rural area with almost no homes, and no evacuations have been ordered. Several crews are assigned to the fire, including air resources and multiple dozers.

KNDO-TV NBC 23 Yakima

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VIDEO: A semi-truck carrying watermelons caught fire on Wednesday in Snohomish County, according to the Washington State Patrol (WSP). The incident occurred just before 7 p.m. on Pioneer Highway west of Interstate 5, and the roadway is fully blocked. Snohomish Fire District 19 said a 53-foot trailer was engulfed in flames after the brakes caught fire. The roadway has since reopened.

KING-TV NBC 5 Seattle

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