Commercial Structure Fire - March 26, 2009

At approximately 11:45 pm on Thursday, March 26, AFD Communications 9-1-1- Center received a 911 call from an employee working at 814 W Northern Lights Blvd (the old Mat Maid Dairy building) regarding heavy smoke in the building.  Eleven units from the Anchorage Fire Department were immediately dispatched to the two-story building.  Engine 5 arrived within four minutes of the call and established command.  The fire was located in the center roof area of the building and a working fire was called.  Two more additional units were dispatched to assist in fire suppression.  The fire was under control at 12:54 am and put out at 01:17 am.  The fire was caused by a roofing operation that was being done during the day and caused approximately $10,000 damage.

                        Posted Friday, March 27, 2009 by AFD Communications

For Immediate Release 
Contact: Jennifer Collins 317-9929
March 26, 2009

Structure Fire Damages Southwest Anchorage Home

At 9:45 am this morning, AFD Communications received a call reporting a structure fire at 7023 Terry Street. There were no residents home at the time; the 911 call originated from a neighbor’s house. Twelve units were dispatched to the single family home, with Engine 7 from Jewel Lake first to arrive on scene. The crew from Engine 7 called a working fire and made entry into the home. Upon reaching the second floor of the home, the firefighter from Engine 7 took a step and his foot partially broke through because of fire damage that had destroyed the flooring material. Due to the structural compromise, the crew exited the second floor and alerted arriving crews to the hazard. Crews from Stations 5, 15, and 4 established ventilation and continued to suppress the fire from the first floor. Primary and secondary searches confirmed that there were no residents inside the structure. Utilities were located, shut off, and the fire was called under control after about 45 minutes.

Fire Investigators are currently working at the home to determine the cause. Due to the structural integrity of the second floor, access is limited and no cause has been determined at this time. The home sustained heavy fire damage to areas on the first and second floors of the home. There were no human injuries reported, but a cat is currently missing.

Anchorage firefighters participate in Seattle Stair Climb 

On Sunday, March 8^th, three Anchorage firefighters will be representing the Anchorage Fire Department in the 18th Annual Scott Firefighter Stairclimbeventat the Columbia Center in Seattle, Washington.  Firefighters Grant Walker, Gary Wright, and Landon Forth will be joining 1,500 firefighters from more than 225 departments across the United States in racing up 69-flights of stairs in full fire gear and SCBA to help raise money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  The event has sold out with nearly 200 more participants than last year.

• Every five minutes, someone in this country is diagnosed with a blood cancer.
• Every nine minutes, someone dies from a blood cancer.
• Leukemia is the number one disease killer of young adults under the age of 20
• More than 617,000 Americans live with blood cancers
• Ten times as many adults as children are stricken with leukemia