Fire at former Golden Lion Hotel in Midtown Anchorage

A fire has been reported at the building formerly known as the Golden Lion Hotel in Midtown Anchorage. The fire was reported around 3:13 p.m. According to Anchorage Fire Department assistant chief Alex Boyd, the fire was under control as of 3:41 p.m. and was confined to a single room on the third floor of the building. In an email, Boyd confirmed AFD units arrived at the scene at 3:20 p.m. and found the building’s fire suppression sprinkler system had contained the fire to just one room. The fire was declared to be under control at 3:41 p.m. Boyd also said that the fire prevention systems installed in the building worked successfully — including smoke detectors and sprinklers — which allowed residents to evacuate safely. Fire inspectors will now assess any smoke or water damage to the structure, and assist any displaced residents.
KTUU-TV NBC 2 Anchorage

Bethel Police Department has new K-9 Unit to focus on local opioid epidemic

Rural Alaska has not been left out of the epidemic of deaths and medical emergencies caused by the opioid epidemic. Many street drugs these days are adulterated with doses of the extremely potent opioid fentanyl, which is easily smuggled because there is no need to transport more than a tiny amount of the drug. First responders and law enforcement are struggling to keep up, but the Bethel Police Department has a new tool. Bethel residents may have already seen the canine officer on a short leash. “Sergeant William Charles is our canine officer. Well, he’s a canine handler. The canine officer is actually Zeus, who is a two-year-old German Shepherd,” Hicks said. Chief Leonard “Pete” Hicks introduced the dynamic duo at Bethel City Hall during the last city council meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 12.
KYUK-AM 640 Bethel

Piece of Alaska’s Air National Guard’s past still operates in the present on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson

VIDEO: The fire station for the 176th Civil Engineer Squadron Alaska Air National Guard is a modest outfit when compared to city-run operations, but a piece of the past takes up a bay in the garage on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. Retired Chief Master Sgt. Bernie Kale knows the truck well — a 1987 P18 firefighting apparatus, painted safety yellow with red lettering that serves as a reminder of its former life at Kulis Fire Department. “This water tanker — 2,000 gallons — was to resupply our crash trucks in the event of either for training or actual emergency,” Kale said. “It’s a beautiful truck.” Kale was stationed at Kulis when the truck was freshly outfitted by Kovatch Mobile Equipment, also known as KME. While the truck is still branded as a Kulis fire engine, the former air guard base was closed in 2011 after the Defense Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommended closure in 2005.
KTUU-TV NBC 2 Anchorage