VIDEO: A local man living with an extremely rare condition is not letting it stop him from serving for Boiling Spring Lakes Fire Rescue.

Morgan Morgan, who is in his thirties, was recently diagnosed with Tango2 deficiency disorder, an extremely rare condition that affects his speech, mobility, coordination and cognitive development. Research shows that fewer than 150 people have been diagnosed with Tango2.

However, even with his daily challenges, Morgan set his sights on joining Boiling Spring Lakes Fire Rescue. His mother says she thinks firefighters have inspired Morgan his whole life.

She says the family lost their home due to a fire when Morgan was a baby and, in more recent years, they had to call firefighters for lift assist after Morgan hurt his knee.

Morgan says he decided he wanted to join the crew in August of 2024. The fire rescue team embraced him immediately, making the station a home away from home.

WECT-TV NBC 6 Wilmington

The post Rare diagnosis doesn’t stop man from serving Boiling Spring Lakes Fire Rescue in North Carolina appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

The Tacoma Fire Department responded to a house fire early Friday morning in the 600 block of E. 32nd Street.
Crews were called to the scene at about 12:16 a.m. and arrived to find the house fully engulfed in flames. Firefighters initially took a defensive approach, battling the fire from outside before moving inside to extinguish the remaining flames.

Ladder trucks allowed crews to attack the fire from above, helping get the blaze under control enough for firefighters to transition to an offensive strategy. The home was vacant and boarded up and was located close to neighboring homes. Firefighters evacuated homes on all sides while they battled the fire.

No neighboring homes were damaged. The fire was under control shortly before 1 a.m. Crews remained at the scene to put out small spot fires. No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

KING-TV NBC 5 Seattle

The post Firefighters battle flames at vacant Tacoma home appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

VIDEO/PHOTOS: A small plane crashed Thursday in a heavily wooded area west of the main runway at Paine Field Airport in Snohomish County, and the pilot is confirmed dead, airport officials said.

Firefighters received notification of the crash shortly before 3 p.m. Thursday, according to Kristin Banfield, a public information officer for Paine Field Airport.

The plane had been cleared for takeoff before the crash, according to airport officials.

Paine Field fire crews responded to the crash site on airport property and were searching the area. A single airplane and pilot were involved; there were no others on board, according to officials.

The cause of the crash was not immediately known, and officials were working to determine the type of aircraft involved.

KOMO-TV ABC 4 Seattle

The post Pilot dies in single-engine recreational plane crash In Snohomish County appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

About 20 minutes into the morning briefing, the Arcadia 20 Transitional Hand Crew announces it’s time for “Six Minutes of Safety.” While there’s some absences from the 18-man crew, of the just over a dozen in attendance, most chime in with concerns.

First, that the crew in the training image does not appear to have an anchor point. Second, that the teams are working in opposite directions. Six Minutes of Safety, one of several topics covered during the morning debrief.

“We’ve been seeing thunderstorms in this region,” the meeting leader says while describing the potential for lightning. Another comment, “Great Basin is cooking off,” is in reference to fire activity across the state.

Just like all other wildland crews, the Arcadia-20 wears their issued uniform to the briefing. But unlike other crews, the back of their sweatshirt is covered in a phoenix.

KHQ-TV NBC 6 Spokane

The post Arcadia 20: how former inmates end up on the fire line appeared first on Daily Dispatch.

VIDEO: Firefighters know that every time they start the engine on a big diesel truck, they are burning money. Diesel is averaging $7.42 a gallon, up $2.35 from this time last year and just shy of the record of $7.47 set in September. Fuel prices are so high that fire engines might as well be measured differently. “It could be more like it gets a couple gallons per mile,” Darrington Fire Chief Joel Johnson joked.

In reality, the trucks get 8 or 9 miles per gallon on a good day, and they burn fuel even when parked because engines run to power the pumps. In Darrington, fuel costs have climbed 30% to 40% in recent weeks. The department expects to spend more than $26,000 on fuel by the end of the year.

“We try to project, but I don’t think anybody was projecting fuel prices were going to hit this high,” Johnson said. Fire departments across the state are freezing vehicle maintenance, putting off equipment upgrades and scaling back driver training to pay for fuel. At the same time, demand is growing. Darrington’s call volume is steadily rising — up 8% from last year.

KING-TV NBC 5 Seattle

The post Diesel prices are burning through rural fire department budgets appeared first on Daily Dispatch.