Commentary: Saving lives in Fairbanks, a PulsePoint at a time

Every day, people die when their heart stops pumping because of heart disease and other causes. In the Fairbanks area alone, more than 50 people die annually from cardiac arrest. Many times, there are people nearby that are trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR. CPR can sustain a life in the crucial first few minutes following a cardiac arrest. The problem is that the people trained in CPR often aren’t aware that somebody nearby needs their help. We are fortunate that in Fairbanks we have ambulances staffed with highly trained, well-equipped emergency medical technicians and paramedics, a first-class 911 system to dispatch them, and a superb emergency department at our community hospital. Even in the very best system, though, it takes several minutes for someone to dial 911 and for emergency medical personnel to arrive at the scene of the emergency.
Daily News-Miner

In deadliest avalanche month for US – 26 fatalities – Juneau ’dodged a bullet’ this weekend

The United States ended an historically deadly month for avalanches with an apparent near-miss in Alaska's capital city. Officials in Juneau braced for "historic avalanches" this weekend as the city's urban avalanche forecast reached "extreme" danger, leading to evacuations of some residents in a particularly danger-prone area on Saturday night. Bu Sunday, however, City Emergency Programs Manager Tom Mattice offered a measure of reassuring news in the day's advisory report. "Although natural avalanches are still likely I think we may have dodged a bullet for the time being on the big one," he said. On Saturday, however, Mattice was worried, predicting that any avalanches would be "of great size" and issuing an extreme avalanche warning for the first time, KTOO-FM reported. It was also the first time since 2008 that the city recommended that residents in the Behrends Avenue neighborhood evacuate their homes due to the avalanche danger, according to KTOO.
USA Today