public safety

The civil suit comes as the troopers await trial in their state criminal and federal civil rights cases. They’ve pleaded not guilty in both cases.

The Kenai City Council last week agreed to spend $97,641.61 on the initiative, which includes decontaminating the city fire trucks.

The most recent quarterly report from the state Department of Public Safety identifies nine people missing from the Kenai Peninsula who are Alaska Native, American Indian or of unknown race.

An architect with K + A designstudios says the newer building already meets some of the departments’ needs.

Cooper Landing Emergency Services Chief Dan Osborn says no one was injured and confirmed Wednesday afternoon the fire had been extinguished.

In December, a Kenai superior court judge sentenced 37-year-old Nathaniel Erfurth to 77 years and one month in prison, with most of that suspended.

Thirty-six-year-old Kirby Calderwood has accepted a plea deal through which he would serve 87 years in prison. This is a developing story and will be updated.

Kenai Fire Chief Jay Teague says structure fire risk tends to increase during the winter months, but the two recent hotel fires are anomalies.

An Alaska judge on Friday delayed the troopers’ state criminal trial in response to the federal case.

Although sentenced to 77 years and one month, a majority of that sentence was suspended. Erfurth’s active jail time is 20 years and one month.