Of the 593,000 adults over the age of 18 in Alaska, 114,117 have already received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine. That's a vaccination rate of nearly 20 percent. Over 48,000 Alaskans have received both the initial vaccine and booster shot, and over 82 percent of residents of congregant care facilities, such as Pioneer Homes, have been vaccinated. The State of Alaska has been the vanguard in getting vaccines out in an orderly fashion, and now is vaccinating those over 50 years old who have any underlying health condition that puts them at greater risk of complications or death from COVID-19. Interestingly, all teachers are eligible, but only police officers over 50 are eligible for a vaccine at this time in Alaska. Most other states have prioritized police officers.  

Firefighters are battling a massive house fire early Friday morning. The fire started around 2 a.m. at a duplex on Montgomery Drive near New World Drive. Firefighters arrived to find flames shooting up through the roof of the house, which was nearly fully engulfed. The strong winds made the fire more difficult for firefighters to get it under control. A second alarm was requested after flames got so bad that firefighters were ordered to evacuate the duplex. The occupants on both sides of the duplex made it out safely. No injuries were reported. American Red Cross is assisting the displaced families. The home is believed to be a total loss with damage estimates at $200,000. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.  

On Broadway, just south of Lincoln, is another Wichita landmark that is hidden in plain sight: the Kansas Firefighters Museum. The museum is small in size but uses the space wisely. The walls, ceilings — every square inch, it seems — is full of memorabilia. There are photos, plaques, logbooks and, best of all, old fire equipment. The museum has the station's original horse-drawn wagon; a chemical truck that was pulled and pushed by four men; and a 1921 American Lafrance fire engine. David Wilson — "DD" to his friends — is a retired firefighter and recording secretary for the museum. He's passionate about the vocation and its history. "I've been researching Wichita firefighters, and [now] the state," Wilson said. The museum was once Wichita's Fire Station No. 6; it was built in 1909. "At the time, seven firefighters were here and those seven firefighters worked seven days a week," Wilson said.  

Yes, Stipe Miocic still works as a firefighter when he is not fighting inside the UFC octagon. The current UFC heavyweight champion is a long-running member of the Oakwood and Valley View Fire Departments in his hometown Ohio, where he works as a dedicated firefighter and a paramedic. Over the years, many have cast doubt over his ability to balance the two professions, but Stipe Miocic has proved them all wrong by giving his best to both his careers and not compromising with either. In fact, Miocic has occasionally participated in fights to raise money for the Firefighter's Foundation and other charities associated with the cause. Stipe Miocic has been a firefighter for over a decade now, starting well before he was even a known name in the world of MMA. He now has a net worth of more than $4 million and makes between $750,000 to a million for every fight he contests in, which means he has absolutely no need for a second job.  

February 10, 2021, marked 40 years since the second deadly hotel fire in three months shook Las Vegas to its core. The city was already reeling from the November fire that claimed 87 lives at the old MGM Grand (today Bally's). Then, on February 10, 1981, it was a terrible case of déjà vu. This time it was the Hilton (now the Westgate), which was the largest hotel in the world at that time. "The flames went right through the hallway," one hotel evacuee described to News 3 as firefighters were still mopping up. "It scorched all the halls. It was so fast." "I was in the casino when they closed it down," another woman said after reuniting with her husband. "I went right to the phone to tell him there's a fire in the hotel, to try to get out as fast as he could." It had started as a normal night at the Hilton with a packed house in the showroom featuring dancer Juliet Prowse and singer Andy Williams.  

Together, they have fought fires, cut back metal to extricate accident victims from cars, taken turns compressing the chest of someone whose heart isn't beating and, since last fall, warmed baby bottles and changed diapers. A shared love of helping their neighbors led Hopewell Volunteer Firefighters Jim and Annie Ferry to fall in love with each other. Jim was first to be smitten with emergency service. In 2003 his grandmother suffered a massive heart attack. Her town's volunteer EMTs responded and revived her. "I was blown away," said Jim. "I thought, how is this possible, and what is this world of emergency medicine that I know nothing about?" The next year, he volunteered in Plainsboro, where he lived at the time. "I got hooked on having the ability to help people in some of the worst times in their lives," he said. He used his the skills he learned to switch careers, becoming a paid Princeton EMT, and later persued more training and became a volunteer firefighter as well.