VIDEO: While lots of police departments use K9’s, it’s not often that you see firehouse dogs these days. However, a member of the Robins Air Force Base team traded wagging tails for wired processors.

Spot is the installation’s robotic dog created by Boston Dynamics. He cost the department $275,000 and is a monthly tool for the crew.

Spot is made of metal, but what he lacks in fur, he makes up for in functionality.

Using cameras and sensors, he can navigate through smoke, debris and hazards — giving firefighters critical information before they ever step inside a risky scene.

“We don’t have to get our guys in hazmat suits to collect air samples,” Beal explained. “Spot can go in first and give us everything we need before we send in an action team.”

Each month, firefighters at Robins use Spot in hazardous materials scenarios. Crews can mount gas meters, oxygen sensors and high-resolution cameras on his back.

WMAZ-TV CBS 13 Macon

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VIDEOS: The pilot and passenger who miraculously survived a small plane crash in the icy Hudson River were in “good spirits” and cracked jokes after they swam to shore Monday night. The pair was found by first responders in Newburgh inside a waterfront warehouse, where they had changed into dry clothes they had found.

“The pilot was making jokes to us about the clothes he was wearing because they had taken clothes from the warehouse that weren’t theirs — obviously to get out of the wet clothes,” Carrie Massari-Carey, Assistant Chief at the Town of Newburgh Emergency Medical Services, told The Post Tuesday.

“They were definitely in good spirits.” Their Cessna 172 went down in the frigid river near New York Stewart International Airport around 8 p.m. — with the pilot and passenger swimming to safety in a feat Gov. Kathy Hochul called “another miracle on the Hudson.”

Video from the scene Tuesday morning show the plane submerged in the river with its tail sticking out, surrounded by ice. Moments after the crash, first responders were deployed to the shoreline up and down the river to account for the strong current that could quickly whisk away the plane and passengers.

New York Post

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Spokane Fire Department responded to a call just before 11am about an accidental kitchen fire that started on the stove at a condo complex on Spokane’s South Hill along Regal Street. One person returned to their apartment and saw the fire. They called it in. No one was inside at the time. Fire Captain Corey Newman says Station 11 responded to the call, and SFD sent five engines and three ladders to the fire. That is standard protocol for commercial structure fires. The call came from the Ferris Garden Court Condominiums complex on S Regal St. SFD vehicles blocked the right southbound lane of Regal between E 39th Ave and E Thurston Ave.

Fire officials say they arrived and saw clear smoke coming from the second floor of one of the buildings. They went inside and put the fire out quickly. Afterwards, SFD reports firefighters climbed onto the roof as a precaution in case they needed to clear smoke that reached the attic. However, no smoke had reached the attic at the time of emergency response. Newman tells KREM2 News no one was injured. The only tenant displaced is the person whose apartment caught fire. They tell us they have people in the area to stay with for the time being.

KREM-TV CBS 2 Spokane

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A family in Grandview is recovering after a fire rendered their home uninhabitable on Sunday afternoon. In the afternoon of March 1, Grandview Fire Department crews responded to a reported house fire on Apache Drive. Firefighters were able to put out the fire, but the home was severely damaged.

According to a family member of the residents of the home, the house has been rendered uninhabitable and several items inside were destroyed. Family members said multiple generations of one family lived in the home, and the residents are heartbroken to have experienced the fire. The residents of the home are now working to find a new living situation.

Apple Valley News Now

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Firefighters responded to a house fire on East Hartson Avenue on Friday morning that was determined to be caused by electrical wiring. The City of Spokane Fire Department (SFD) said in a social media post that an off-duty firefighter in the neighborhood reported seeing smoke at aruond 9:30 a.m. When crews arrived under five minutes later, they saw “pressurized smoke coming from the eaves of the single-family home.”

Firefighters cut ventilation holes in the roof and additional crews arrived to help with fire suppression. The fire was contained within 15 minutes. No injuries were reported, and SFD said the Red Cross assisted an adult resident and two dogs with temporary housing.

“We remind property owners that vintage wiring in older homes often does not meet current fire and life safety codes and can be prone to failure,” SFD said. “If you have concerns about your home’s electrical system, consult a licensed electrician to determine appropriate corrective action.”

KHQ-TV NBC 6 Spokane

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