Weekend blazes leave area families homeless

April 18, 2006

By MARY AMES

Frontiersman

WASILLA - Several families are without living quarters after two fires ripped through fourplexes Friday night and Sunday evening.

The 911 call came into Central Mat-Su Fire Department about 9 p.m. Friday for a complex with two apartments on the first floor and two on the second floor under construction at 215 E. Danna Avenue.

According to Jack Krill Jr., chief of Central Mat-Su, a contractor had hung drywall and planned on mudding and taping the walls the next day. Electricians had wired in two 240-volt heaters, which were designed to be mounted in walls. The woodchip pressboard subflooring had been covered with a layer of paper, and the heaters were placed directly on the papered subfloor, with no supports.

The heater in the second-floor bedroom fell over, Krill said, and the fire spread quickly into the attic space and roof. The firewall in the attic prevented the fire and smoke from spreading into the whole space, he said.

More than 30 firefighters from Central Mat-Su responded to the blaze, which was brought under control in about 30 minutes. Firefighters used a piercing nozzle, a 3-foot pipe with a titanium tip that can puncture Sheetrock and thin wood, to douse the fire in the attic. The piercing nozzle has holes in it so water can flow in all directions, allowing firefighters to get water on a fire without pulling down the Sheetrock.

Mat-Su Borough property records list Carleson Homes and Development Inc. as property owners.

About 6 p.m. Easter Sunday, a neighbor reported flames climbing up the back of a fourplex at 1600 North Centurian Place, a series of four two-story units. The fire started on the back deck of apartment No. 2, burned into the apartment and climbed up the outside wall into the attic space, Krill said.

More than 40 firefighters from Central Mat-Su and Meadow Lakes responded to the fire, with a total of four engines, seven tankers and a ladder truck. They contained the fire in about 30 minutes, Krill said.

Although Krill can't conclusively say what caused the fire, he has a good idea.

The Russian family who lived in the apartment had gone to church and had left their salmon smoker going on the back deck, Krill said.

&#8220There was a problem with the language barrier, and they were afraid they were in trouble,” he said. &#8220So they said they were just drying fish. But a neighbor said they had been using a smoker.”

By Monday afternoon, Krill had determined the family had been using a wooden, homemade smoker with a hot plate in the bottom. Although there is no conclusive evidence the smoker caused the fire, and it was just a melted clump of aluminum after the fire, there was no other source of ignition found in the area, Krill said.

The conflagration destroyed the roofs of the first three apartments, but only the residents of the second unit lost everything inside, according to Krill.

After firefighters doused the flaming roof, while the debris was still smoldering, firefighters covered most of the contents in the first and third units with tarps to protect the contents, he said. Then they put more water on the collapsed roof to put the fire completely out, and the weight of the roofing remnants plus the water-soaked Sheetrock brought the ceilings down.

The tarps saved the contents from being a total loss. The fourth unit sustained very minor water damage, Krill said.

Borough property records show Donald and Mitsuko Mencl own the fourplex, which the borough assessed at $235,000 this year. Although the structure was insured, none of the renters had insurance, Krill said.

The No. 1 cause of fires in Alaska is improper use of equipment such as space heaters, kerosene heaters and other heating appliances, according to Krill.

&#8220We strongly encourage that you read and follow all manufacturer instructions and directions for all heating appliances in your home or job site,” Krill said. &#8220Never leave portable heating appliances unattended.”

Only one person was at home when the fire started, and that person got out safely, according to Krill.

A total of 12 people were displaced by the fire, according to Nancy Hall, executive director of the American Red Cross. The Red Cross supplied debit cards for food and clothing for all of them, and shelter for 10.

Contact Mary Ames at

352-2284 or mary.ames@

frontiersman.com.