Fire doused in Mat Maid power house

PALMER — Almost a year after the Matanuska Maid warehouse burned to the ground firefighters and police returned to the same block early Tuesday morning to put out another apparently human-caused fire in an old building.

According to a press release from the city of Palmer, the fire was reported at 12:04 a.m. at the old Matanuska Maid Power Plant, a concrete block building near the famous Palmer water tower.

“Palmer Police responded and pushed the door open to see flames inside,” according to the press release.

A city fire crew extinguished the flames.

According to the press release, an investigation from the state Fire Marshal’s office found “numerous signs of trespassing” including numerous tea candles — small candles usually packaged and sold in small tins — inside and outside the power plant building.

“The fire started on the floor of a mezzanine located on the west side of the structure,” the press release states. “At least one tea candle was located in the area of origin.”

The investigation has ruled out electrical, mechanical and natural causes for the fire. It’s unclear, the city said, if the fire was accidentally started or intentionally started.

On August 7 of last year the historic Matanuska Maid warehouse on the same block burned down. No one was hurt but officials at the time said that the fire was suspicious.

It was suspicious, at least in part, because like a lot of the historic properties on that lot there wasn’t any power running to the building and it wasn’t supposed to have been occupied.