Agencies respond to Thursday morning fire

WASILLA — Fire destroyed one structure and damaged a few more Thursday morning in a cluster of closely spaced buildings off of Moose Meadows Road.

The neighborhood is off of Schrock Road near Mile 4. The home in question was just past the Moose Meadows Road bridge over the Little Susitna River.

“The back structure is a total loss,” West Lakes Fire Department Battalion Chief Allen Swett said on scene. “The two-story structure (in front) kind of started to light off when we got here, but they knocked (the fire) down and saved it.”

He said the fire was fought from the outside — he didn’t send any firefighters inside.

“It’s not safe to go in at this time because the floor is burned out,” he said just before 11 a.m.

In addition to West Lakes firefighters, Houston and Central Mat-Su fire departments also responded with trucks and crews.

Outside the building there were numerous items that firefighters might describe as “exposures” — potentially flammable things close to the blaze. They included diesel fuel tanks and propane tanks, as well as things like old vehicles and a lawnmower.

Pointing to an open door, Swett said it would have been difficult for his crews to make entry as some parts of the structure were full of belongings that would need to be pulled out to make a path. Time spent doing that, he said, means more time for the fire to grow in size and intensity.

From the front, the building appeared to be two stories with the bottom possibly a shop space. Around back the structure that was destroyed appeared to be a trailer home.

Another trailer sat further back on the lot, partially boarded up. The yard contained various items, including a television, a dog kennel and a door with a broken window. A white Plymouth Neon in the driveway sat on a jack with its front left tire missing and a donut-style spare tire partially installed.

By mid-afternoon, Swett and the other firefighters had left the scene. He also said the blaze was contained to the rear structures, but that was where the woman who lived there was residing.

“The living space was a total loss,” Swett said.

He said he did not have a determination for how the fire started. The State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating.

Contact Andrew Wellner at 352-2270

or andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com.