Assistant Chief Ken Akerley
The circumstances indicate that Ken may have suffered a heart attack October 19, 2006 while riding his beloved Harley in Daytona, Florida.
As Past President of the Alaska State Firefighters Association, Ken’s dedication and leadership moved the Association in new directions. He spearheaded the creation of the annual Harley raffle to provide funding for the Association, led the move to hire Billie Jo Gehring as our Financial Administrator and ultimately to us receiving our 501(c)(3) tax exempt status.
Ken’s passion though, was training. During his presidency the Travel Training Grant to bring rural firefighters to conference was brought to fruition. As a Fire Service instructor, especially with Project Code Red and PRISM, Ken shared his experience and knowledge with firefighters in all corners of the State of Alaska. His impact to Alaska’s Fire Service was enormous and the loss will be felt across the state.
Tim KcKeown
Long-time emergency medical technician Tim McKeown died of what appears to be natural causes while on an ambulance call early September 1, 2006
McKeown officially joined as a responder in 1998, but actually began responding earlier to emergencies in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. He was a responder with two ambulance service districts: District 4 (Talkeetna, Trapper Creek, Sunshine) and District 5 (Houston and Willow). He, his wife Virgie Hartley, his son Christian Hartley, and his daughter-in-law Alma Hartley have all been active responders.
McKeown responded with Virgie in the Sunshine ambulance to a call for a patient having trouble with a pacemaker. McKeown did not show any signs of illness. As he reached to put oxygen on the patient, McKeown fell over. A call went out for "medic down,” and CPR and cardiac arrest procedures began. Responders from the Trapper Creek, Talkeetna, Willow and Houston ambulance services responded, as did the Talkeetna rescue unit. LifeGuard Alaska’s helicopter support was called, but there was dense fog in the area and the Providence hospital helicopter could not respond. Responders worked on him for about 45 minutes.
McKeown’s peers and supervisors with the Matanuska-Susitna Borough express condolences to the family. “McKeown was always there for us and for his community,” said Clint Vardeman, Deputy Director of Public Safety. “Tim was dedicated to the service and a passionate advocate for quality emergency medical care. He will be greatly missed, both as a medic and as a person,” Vardeman said.
Emergency Services Director Dennis Brodigan spoke highly of McKeown’s service. “He wanted to serve his fellow man more than anything.”
Services for Tim will be at the Willow Community Center at 3 pm Sunday, September 10, 2006 with a potluck to follow.
Molly Ahlgren
Molly touched many lives and had many friends. She walked lightly on this earth, with long strides and most of the time with a dog by her side. This woman had a brilliant mind, and always seemed at peace with herself. She was a life-long learner and her intellect was astounding. Molly was an inspiration to all because of her courage, perseverance, and authenticity. She had amazing blue eyes, a warming smile; she was one of those rare human jewels. Sitka and the world will be lessened without her light. These were a few of the comments made by friends during Molly's funeral service.
Molly O. Ahlgren, 47, of Sitka, Alaska died in the line of duty on November 30, 2004 in a boating accident. Molly and another rescuer answered a medical call on the Siginaka Islands; a police recruit had been injured during a training session. The boat ran aground throwing Ahlgren violently to the lower deck. The fall caused severe cervical spine injuries, which killed the new EMT immediately.
Ms. Ahlgren was an emergency medical technician and a rescue diver with the Sitka, Alaska Volunteer Fire Department. She had been a member of the dive team with the fire department since 1994. In 2003, Molly decided to become an EMT and began actively volunteering with the department the same year.
Molly was an aquatic ecologist and a professor at Sheldon Jackson College in Sitka. She was an active researcher, publishing much of her scientific work. Ms. Ahlgren was named president of the Alaska Chapter of American Fisheries Society and was a dedicated environmentalist. Molly felt her purpose was "to show people how to encounter the mystery of nature," said Professor Art Cleveland. A scholarship through the American Fisheries Society is established in Molly's name.
Molly, stating she needs to add more adventure into her aging adulthood, took up ballet. She not only studied the art of ballet, but performed the part of Mother Ginger in "The Nutcracker Suite." She became one of the founding members of the Sitka Ballet Company.
Chief Michael Fenster
On April 15, 2004, we lost one of the greatest members of Capital City Fire/Rescue, Chief Michael Fenster.
Chief Fenster was a long time member of the Juneau community. Along with being a firefighter, he was an avid pilot. He began working as a pilot for Southeast Skyways in 1971. In 1982, he co-founded Wings of Alaska,
a small airline company that serves Southeast Alaska.
Chief Fenster joined the fire department in 1972 as a volunteer. In 1991, he became a full time paid chief. He is remember fondly by his co-workers. Chief Fenster was always happy, had a great sense of humor, and was always doing something for someone in the department.
Chief Fenster strove for "Readiness, Dedication and Service" throughout his career with CCF/R. He was instrumental in providing increased care and service to all citizens of Juneau. Mike was a valuable asset and loved by all. He will be missed beyond measure.
Assistant Chief Alpine Kameroff
The Kenny Lake Volunteer Fire Department lost their most dedicated volunteer to a vehicle crash on Sunday, April 18th. Assistant Chief Alpine Kameroff, 36, joined the Kenny Lake Volunteer Fire Department in 1987. Assistant Chief Kameroff loved fighting fire and was always happiest when on the fire scene. Alpine was also very active as a wildland firefighter for the Division of Forestry where he assisted Hot Shot crews, helitack operations and many other roles on fires. Every summer during many of the big fires in Alaska and throughout the nation Alpine made his presence known. He was very close to the Tazlina Hotshot Fire Crew as he supported them since their inception. If the Department from Kenny Lake went to a fire, whether wildland or structure, Assistant Chief Kameroff was on that crew.
His fellow volunteers spoke very highly of Assistant Chief Kameroff. They felt he was the most dedicated and loyal volunteer on the department. He always responded when available, never backing down to a challenge on an emergency scene. Alpine had a physical disability, which impaired him in speech and movement and even with that he would usually outwork most around him. He never used it as an excuse to shirk work and disliked it when people treated him differently.
Though his family was from the Lower Kalskag area Assistant Chief Kameroff was born at the Alpine Inn (his namesake) at Mile 61 of the Glenn Highway. He was raised in the Kenny Lake area since birth.
Many will miss Assistant Chief Kameroff. Those that fought fire with him every season whether on wildland fires or structure fires but most especially his family and the members of the Kenny Lake Fire Department.
Firefighter/EMT Jerome Prahl
Jerome B. Prahl, 46, of Juneau Alaska died July 6, 2007 of natural causes in Auke Bay, Alaska.
He was born April 11, 1961 in Duluth, Minnesota to Walt and Kathryn (Lemieux) Prahl.
After growing up and spending the early part of his life in Minnesota, he moved to Juneau Alaska in 1983. His early days in Alaska were spent working in construction, as a volunteer Firefighter for the Douglas Fire Department, as a seaman on a tugboat, and as a mechanic for the City and Borough of Juneau. In 1989 he became a full-time Firefighter with the Capital City Fire/Rescue in Juneau. Throughout his 18-year career with the Fire Department, he achieved numerous certifications including EMT III, Ice Rescue, Airport Rescue and was actively involved in training volunteer Firefighters in the region. He took great pride in his work with the Helicopter Medevac Program, which he headed up for the Department from 1998 to 2007.
For a number of years he also owned and operated the “In and Out” convenience store on Douglas Island.
He loved to fish, hunt and spend time at the cabin, his special place in Tenekee Springs, Alaska. He was a gourmet cook, loved to garden, and an expert mechanic.
He was preceded in death by his father, Walter; his brothers, Robert Prahl and Steven Prahl.
He is survived by a son, Jaron Prahl of Deer Park, Washington, daughter, Natalie (Gordy) Wedin of Duluth, grandson Brady Wedin of Duluth, Mother, Kathryn Adams of Duluth, his sisters, Margaret (James) Anderson of Duluth, Mary Schrock of Duluth, Susan (Larry) Zimmerman of Little Falls, Minn.; brother Walter (Marian) of Duluth; and many nieces nephews, relatives and friends.
The family would like to thank Capital City Fire/Rescue for their friendship with Jerome throughout the years, and the support provided at the time of his passing.