Firefighter's Crash: Community Rallies for Him & His Dogs

0:00It's April 16th. Welcome to Anchorage News Today, powered by AI, I'm Corey with the story. A volunteer firefighter from Houston Fire Department in Alaska, Michael McMartin, crashed his vehicle on the parts highway Tuesday, landing in a ditch, with his two dogs. He swerved while checking on them in the back seat, which pulled the wheel and caused the wreck. He ended up with a fractured vertebra kneading, surgery, while his five-year-old Malamute required operations too, and the puppy just had a minor paw scratch. Bystanders jumped in fast, including an off-duty firefighter who turned out to be his neighbor of five years. She and her captain from the department arrived minutes later, recognizing his truck right away. They shifted to work mode despite the shock, treating him like any patient before the ambulance took him away. Earlier that winter, he'd been the first to help pull her son's car from a ditch. Now he's walking short distances, post-surgery, with community support pouring in $1,600 dollars raised on his GoFundMe for medical bills.

1:02And nearly $19,000 donated straight to the vet for his dog's care, leaving him even more grateful to give back once he's healed.