Pair of fires keeps responders hopping

WASILLA — Firefighters responded to two structure fires Thursday evening, authorities said.

No one was injured in either case, though buildings in either instance were a complete loss, and a cat died in one fire, said Ken Barkley, the newly appointed Deputy Director of Fire for the Mat-Su Borough’s Department of Emergency Services.

The first fire started about 1 a.m. in the basement of a two-story ranch house on North Winona Street, Barkley said. Firefighters were initially uncertain whether two or three residents at home at the time had made it out of the house, but finally ascertained that everyone home at the time had escaped, except for a cat, according to Barkley.

Firefighters from the Central Mat-Su, West Lakes, and Palmer fire departments responded to the scene of that fire.

The second fire started about 4:32 a.m. in Willow in the 30-by-40 foot shop of Alaska Custom Tile on South Donal Way.

The fire was under control at about 7 a.m., Barkley said.

“The shop itself is a loss, but they did salvage quite a bit of equipment, including a front-end loader,” he said.

Firefighters from the Talkeetna, Willow, and Houston departments responded to the second fire.