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Articles from
September 2007
Vacant Spenard Building Burned
A few minutes after 3:30 a.m. this morning a fire was reported at 1305 W. 36th Ave., the former Bunny Club Massage Parlor, by nearby callers. Both callers were reporting heavy fire and smoke visible from the rear of the building. The building was boarded, believed to be vacant, and posted for sale.
Ten units from the Anchorage Fire Department were dispatched and first arriving units from the Spenard Station a few minutes later reported the building was 60% involved. Due to the heavy fire involvement, instability of the structure, believed vacancy and nearby exposures it was quickly determined the fire operations would be defensive. Fire Crews initially worked on protecting the nearby structures and as additional crews arrived their efforts were directed at suppressing the burning structure. The fire caused the roof at the rear of the structure to partially collapse keeping firefighters on defensive operations until the fire was brought under control about 40 minutes later.
An AFD Fire Investigator responded and the cause of the fire is yet to be determined. There were no firefighter injuries, and at the time of this report it’s believed there were no civilian casualties. Damage to the structure is extensive and an estimate was not yet available.
Forsythe Park Wildfire Mitigation Project
Contact Sue Barkwood 267-4902, 317-7236
09.25.07
To mitigate the risk and hazard of wildfire in the neighborhood, the Anchorage Fire Department has partnered with the MOA Parks & Recreation Department and the Anchorage School District for a wildfire mitigation project in Forsythe Park. The park is located on the east side of Birch Road, just south of O’Malley Road. This project initially began April 30; however, slash pile burning has been occurring intermittently during the summer.
Tree limbs will be burned by professional firefighters and smoke will be present in the area. Burn piles are connected to a charged water source and are fully extinguished at the end of each day. Burn piles will be seeded with native grass and spruce seedlings to limit the spread of invasive plants and to re-vegetate the site. Mechanical equipment is also being used in some areas to treat the slash. This area was especially hard hit by the spruce bark beetle.
Improving forest health in this park may be accomplished by pruning the live, residual trees to stave off a future bark beetle attack. Removing the large fuels from the forest will allow more light to encourage regeneration of spruce and birch seedlings.
Wildfires Happen . . . Be Ready!
www.muni.org/fire
Structure Fire Bayshore
9-18-2007
Contact Tom Kempton 317-7233
Twelve units of the Anchorage Fire Department were called to 3611 Chiniak Bay Drive, in the Bayshore area of South Anchorage at 5:15 PM last night.
The first arriving unit was from fire station 15 on Southport Drive, they called a working fire and advanced a hoseline in the front door, throught the house into the kitchen area and extinguished a fire that had originated outside the home from the back deck.
Investigation revealed charring near the heating and pump area on a hot tub installed on the deck. The fire apparently started at the hot tub and extended into the deck and then progressed to the exterior siding. The flames and heat caused one of the kitchen windows to break and the fire entered the kitchen and ceiling area.
No one was at home at the time of the fire, a 911 caller had noticed flames from the back of the deck and called it in. The homeowner stated that she had smelled a strange odor just prior to her leaving the house at about 4:30 PM.
Firefighters estimated the damage at $75,000. The quick action of the firefighters contained the fire damage to the kitchen and exterior deck areas.
For more information contact Tom Kempton 317-7233
September 11th Firefighters Memorial
2007
Alaska State Firefighters Memorial 1140 Airport Heights Road, Anchorage, Alaska
9:30 AM
International Association of Firefighters Local 1264
Honor Guard
&
Mayor Mark Begich and Fire Chief Craig Goodrich
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