Unalaska's Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services has been selected for two prestigious awards by the Governor's Alaska Council on Emergency Services. At a City Council meeting Tuesday night, Mayor Vince Tutiakoff Sr. presented Fire Captain Ben Knowles with the statewide award for 2020 EMS Provider of the Year for his outstanding contributions to the EMS field, as well as his exceptional work for the City of Unalaska. "We recognize and commend your exemplary service and dedication to our community," said Tutiakoff. "This is the kind of citizenship demonstrated every single day by this hero. He routinely goes above and beyond the call of his paid and voluntary duties to serve the citizens of this island. He saves lives."  

The Mat-Su Borough is rolling out tools for the public to help improve response times to emergencies in the valley. One program, Community Connect, provides a way for residents to provide information about their homes that can help in situations such as house fires. Another, Smart 911, allows people to provide important medical information such as allergies and medication needs to first responders for situations where a person is not able to communicate that information. "In an emergency, we say it all the time, seconds count," Brian Davis, deputy director of Fire for the Mat-Su Borough said. "A fire can double in intensity every minute or two, smoke is building up in a house constantly, and literally we play a game of time, everything we're doing is against the clock, and the more we can do on the front end to save time and get into that residence faster to get occupants out or mitigate that emergency, the better the outcome is for everybody."  

Tracy L. Smith was promoted to the rank of Assistant Chief of the Columbus Division of Fire (CFD) on October 18 after 22 years of service. She is now the highest-ranking woman in the history of CFD. "It's not significant that it's me. It's significant that over the years, the city has changed in the opportunities it gives all people to succeed," Smith said. "I hope this sends a message to young women everywhere that if they work hard and stay focused, they can do anything." Smith entered the division on October 25, 1998. She was promoted to lieutenant in 2006. In 2011, she was promoted to captain. In May 2013, she was promoted to Battalion Chief, and in May 2020, she was promoted to Deputy Chief. "I've known Tracy and her work, her pursuit of excellence, for decades. She has consistently done an outstanding job," said Columbus Public Safety Director Ned Pettus, Jr.  

The United States reached a daily record for coronavirus when more than 90,000 cases were reported on Thursday, according to the latest NBC News tally. More than 30 states reported more than 1,000 cases. It was the first time the U.S. has crossed 90,000 cases in one day, almost 10,000 more than the previous high of 80,662 cases, which was set just a day before on Wednesday. The record, of 90,456, also came after the U.S. logged 9 million COVID-19 cases, only hours after reporting a single-day record crossing 80,000 cases for the first time. The U.S. recorded 982 deaths on Thursday, leading the world death toll with nearly 230,000 deaths, according to the John Hopkins University COVID-19 dashboard. Reports of COVID-19 infections are increasing across the United States at the fastest rate since the start of the pandemic.  

One week old and weighing a little more than 1 pound, Ellie Whitehall is beating all the odds in the Norton Children's Hospital neonatal intensive care unit. From Lebanon Junction, her family credits a firefighter for not only delivering Ellie but also saving the child's life. Ellie's mother, Brianna Whitehall, thought nothing of the pain she felt at the 24-week mark of her pregnancy. "I was thinking it was Braxton Hicks (contractions), false labor basically," she said. Minutes later, however, she was on her bathroom floor delivering a baby girl. "My first phone call was my mom," said Edelin Whitehall, Ellie's father. "Who doesn't need their mom? I don't care how old you are." Edelin Whitehall's next call was to 911, though. Ellie needed immediate care when she decided to come into the world 16 weeks early on the bathroom floor. When the Whitehalls' call for help went out over the radio, a volunteer firefighter for the Lebanon Junction Fire Department, William Brown, just happened to be a two minutes away.  

A tragic fire killed eight people, including three young children, and destroyed St. John's Catholic Orphans Home back in 1912. The fire started around 4:30 a.m. on Oct. 30, 1912, at the orphanage on the corner of San Saba and W. Houston Street, where CHRISTUS Santa Rosa now stands. According to the San Antonio Light, 87 children, ranging in age from 2 to 12 years old, and nine nuns were in the building at the time of the fire. San Antonio Fire Chief Wright, at the time, told reporters the work of the nuns "was all that saved those little tots." After the fire broke out, the first work of the nuns was devoted to saving the children. They woke up the sleeping orphans and marched them all, single file, down the only fire escape on the west side of the building. The death of Mother Mary of the Cross was one of pure courage, as she learned Francis O'Brien, a baby, was missing. Without hesitation, she ran back upstairs, found the boy and struggled to a window with him in her arms.  

VIDEO: Five years ago, Carol Cody and her husband Bob Gross, along with Bob's daughter April, turned their barn into a pirate ship for Halloween with the idea of inviting the public and taking donations to raise money for non-profits. They do Halloween at 73 New Road in Penobscot the way other people might do Christmas, or New Year's Eve. The barn is a Haunted Witches Castle this year instead of a pirate ship, but it's still scary and still raising money for a great cause. They started getting the castle ready in August for what has become an annual October event. A lot of adults who bring their kids, and some that just come as adults," Carol said. "And they really like it because they're usually blown away at the amount of detail we do, and just how it looks really neat." There's no charge to enter this terror-dome, but they are asking for donations to help support Penobscot firefighter Jim Flannery, who's been diagnosed with ALS.