Fire burns condo in Anchorage, doesn’t spread

The burned unit on Lunar Drive.
The burned unit on Lunar Drive.

A fire severely damaged an Anchorage condo near Tudor and Baxter on Thursday afternoon, but fire crews contained it before it spread to other units and structures.

The Fire Department received a 9-1-1 call just before 2 pm saying the three story condo on Lunar Drive was engulfed in flames. Senior Fire Captain Mike Davidson said when the nine fire units arrived on scene, the sole occupant of the home was outside.

“The important thing was the occupant himself had a functioning smoke detector, there were people outside who alerted him. He was able to immediately leave the house and not go back in. That’s the biggest thing we tell people is they need to get out, they need to not go back in. Because when they do go back in it often doesn’t work out well for them.”

Davidson said the fire was contained within 20 minutes, but the condo was heavily damaged.

A Fire Department press release said two firefighters sustained minor injuries and were transported to the hospital. The fire is currently under investigation and the cause is unknown.

Anne Hillman is the healthy communities editor at Alaska Public Media and a host of Hometown, Alaska. Reach her at ahillman@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Anne here.

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