FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 28, 2009
Contact: Jennifer Collins 317-9929

Early Morning Structure Fire at Pepper Mill Restaurant

At approximately 6:30 a.m. this morning, Anchorage Fire Department Dispatchers answered a 911 call from inside the Pepper Mill restaurant reporting the smell of smoke coming from the ceiling of the kitchen area. This multi-level commercial structure is located at 4101 Credit Union Drive.

Within four minutes, the first arriving apparatus from Stations 4 and 5 arrived on scene and did not immediately report seeing smoke or fire. Upon further investigation from the roof, Truck 5 noticed smoke emitting from the ventilation system and began searching for an exact area of origin. Once their investigation began, it became clear to firefighters that the area of origin was in a wall on the west side of the structure and not in the HVAC system. Firefighters made entry to the area of origin from both the interior and exterior of the wall and were able to quickly extinguish the smoldering fire before it spread any further into the wall or attic space. It was determined by crews on scene that the cause of the fire was a stove left turned on for many hours that eventually heated the wall to its ignition point. A total of 10 units responded to the fire and no injuries were reported.