Disaster held at bay in Willow

WILLOW -- Willow Fire Department responded to a blaze at Willow Creek Service at 1:31 a.m. on Monday, arriving to see flames 5 to 6 feet high from the top of the building.

Willow personnel arrived within 15 minutes of a call from dispatch. However, District 5 Chief Steven Linkhart said the initial engine and tanker that responded could only hold the fire at bay until firefighters from other departments arrived.

"The size of the fire was too extensive to extinguish with the personnel and water supply we had available," Linkhart said. "We needed the resources of the other responding stations before we could attack the fire directly."

Two 4,000-gallon above-ground gasoline storage tanks, two fuel pumps and a 55-gallon diesel tank were exposed not far from the building. Willow Creek Grocery was 3 feet south of the burning building, flanked further south by Matanuska Valley Federal Credit Union and Willow Hardware.

Houston Volunteer Fire Department arrived minutes later with a 3,000-gallon water tanker. Firefighters also operated a water shuttle to battle the blaze.

The Houston department's arrival allowed a team of firefighters to take a position on the roof of Willow Creek Grocery and begin attacking flames directly.

Meanwhile, tanker crews from Meadow Lakes and Big Lake fire stations also arrived, as well as an engine company from Central Mat-Su Fire Department. That allowed a crew to begin attacking the fire from inside the burning building.

The blaze was under control less than an hour after the initial crew arrived. Mop-up operations continued for another hour. There were no injuries to firefighters or bystanders.

Willow Fire Chief Lori Wiertsema said Wednesday the amount of damage and the cause of the fire were still unknown.

Linkhart said firefighters did a good job keeping the fire from reaching gas storage tanks.

"If we hadn't gotten there so quickly we might still be working that fire," he said Wednesday.