Brother helps 12-year-old escape fire

PALMER — A 12-year-old boy is safe after his brother helped prompt him to leave his burning house Monday evening.

Zachery Doss was inside the house at 7350 N. Esther Drive at about 5 p.m. and his brother, 14-year-old Brandon Doss, and friend Devin Johnson were playing outside, said Jon Owen, director of public safety for the city of Palmer. Brandon and Johnson heard the crackling from the fire.

As Johnson ran home to call 911, Brandon attempted to gain entry through the front of the house and alert his younger brother. Flames and smoke forced him to run to the back of the house and bang on a window, directing his brother to flee the burning structure through the back door.

The 911 call came it at 5:09 p.m. Owen, who was already on his way home, arrived within minutes of the initial call to a fully engulfed one-story home. The blaze drew response from Palmer and Mat-Su Central Fire Departments.

Once on scene firefighters quickly attacked the fire from the front and the back of the house where they had to cut through a chain-link fence.The cause of the fire is not known. No one was injured in the blaze, but the house is a total loss and two cats are missing.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.