Wasilla home destroyed in early morning fire

JOHN DAVIDSON/Frontiersman reporter

WASILLA -- Flames ripped through a Wasilla residence early Friday morning, nearly collapsing the roof of a 2,500-square-foot home off Lucille Street and leaving a family of four homeless.

Ralph and Rory Burghart awoke Friday morning to the smell of smoke and quickly discovered thick black smoke and flames pouring out the top of the bathroom door.

Mat-Su Central Fire Chief Jack Krill said the couple was able to get their two boys, ages 7 and 11, out of the house safely, but they left the front and back doors open so their pets -- which they were not able to find amid the blaze -- would have a chance to run out of the burning house.

But opening the front and back doors created a wind-tunnel effect, Krill said, causing the flames to race through the house. The heat became so intense it caused a phenomena called "flashover" -- when the heat in a room gets so intense that every object in a room reaches its ignition point and bursts into flames.

As a result, the house sustained more heat damage than fire damage, Krill said, with almost all the contents of the house destroyed, except portions of a back office.

Krill is unsure what caused the fire, but said the high heat levels made the fire more destructive than

it otherwise would have been. An investigation is under way.

"[The fire] was roaring out of the windows and the roof when we got there," Krill said. "We anticipated losing the whole roof, but everyone did an excellent job and we put a good stop on it."

But the house, which is still standing, is a total loss, with half the roof gone and many rooms gutted.

The Burgharts, homeowners who had lived in the ranch-style house for 10 years, received food and clothing from the American Red Cross Friday morning. The family is reportedly staying with friends in Anchorage.

Krill said an insurance investigator will likely be coming to inspect the house and conduct a private investigation to determine the cause of the fire. According to 2003 borough tax records, the house was valued at $156,000.

Thirty firefighters, five tankers, two engines, as well as rescue and ambulance vehicles, responded to the call, which came at around 3 a.m. Friday.

"The firefighters did a great job. A lot of these guys had to go to work [Friday] and they only got a few hours of sleep," Krill said. "But they're some pretty dedicated folks. For what we saw when we got there -- flames shooting out one window and flames coming through the roof -- they did a great job and stopped the fire more quickly than we had anticipated."

Contact John Davidson at john.davidson@frontiersman.com.