Boy dies in house fire

WASILLA — A 9-year-old boy died in a house fire Wednesday off Sylvan Road.

According to Alaska State Troopers, two men driving past the home spotted the fire shortly before 11 p.m. While one man called for help the other went inside and helped a 12-year-old boy escape, receiving burns to his arm and hand in the process.

At that point the flames were such that the good Samaritan couldn’t go back in to help a second boy. The two men left soon after firefighters and troopers arrived on scene.

Firefighters quickly located the second boy, the 9-year-old brother of the boy who made it out. The younger boy had died next to the front door.

The 12-year-old was taken to an Anchorage hospital in critical condition.

The fire completely destroyed the trailer home. Troopers report that the two boys were the only people home at the time.

Troopers are withholding the name of the boys while they work to notify their families.

Anyone with information about the fire or the two good Samaritans are is asked to call troopers at 373-8328 or 745-2131.