VIDEOS/PHOTOS: With peak wildfire season approaching, scientists with NASA’s FireSense project have created low-cost thermal sensors to install on fire bulldozers that will alert firefighters when heat from a nearby fire reaches a dangerous level.

The sensors also provide researchers with important data on what happens beneath the canopy during a fire.

In April, researchers and firefighters gathered in southern Alabama to discuss challenges and advances in firefighting, and to demonstrate the new technology.

The event was part of a collaboration between NASA and the Alabama Forestry Commission (AFC). The goal: to make firefighting safer and gather critical data on fire behavior.

“As we try to develop technologies that allow us to understand and respond to wildfires with our partners, ground observations are vital to provide context for what we are seeing from space,” said Ian Brosnan, program manager for wildland fires at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

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VIDEO/PHOTOS: At the Reedsburg Fire Department, one family’s history stretches back more than a century.

It’s been said that the fire house community can feel like a family. For the Dempsey family, the Reedsburg Fire Department truly feels like home.

The Dempsey family’s bloodline at the Reedsburg Fire Department goes back to 1902.

“It wasn’t long after the department started that we had a family member on the department,” Reedsburg Fire Department Assistant Chief Steve Dempsey said.

Charlee and Hunter Dempsey are siblings, and both serve as volunteers at RFD. They are a part of the fifth generation of their family to serve in the department.

“It truly is an honor to be able to carry on that legacy and continue to do what we sod as a family here,” Hunter Dempsey said. “Carrying on that legacy and helping others and helping our community.”

The family’s fire line all started with their great-great grandfather, William Friede.

That legacy continued with their great grandfather John Scoles, their grandfather Chuck Peterson, then onto their dad Steve Dempsey, who serves as the assistant chief and fire inspector.

Spectrum News 1

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Central Pierce Fire and Rescue (CPFR) was not horsing around Wednesday when they responded to a horse rescue in Graham. They say a 32-year-old horse, Marge, was unable to free herself after becoming trapped between two trees.

They used a high-point mechanical advantage system and carefully lifted and freed her from the tight space. Marge suffered a few minor scrapes and scratches. CPFR says calls like this are a reminder that they help every member of the community, including the four-legged ones.

KIRO-TV CBS 7 Seattle

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The Reidland-Farley Fire Department received a new Spartan Gladiator fire engine, replacing a 2001 engine.

The post KY Fire Department Receives Long-Awaited New Fire Engine appeared first on Fire Apparatus: Fire trucks, fire engines, emergency vehicles, and firefighting equipment.

Redkey Town Council approved new radios for the Volunteer Fire Department, funded by the county.

The post Redkey (IN) Receives New Radio Equipment appeared first on Fire Apparatus: Fire trucks, fire engines, emergency vehicles, and firefighting equipment.