A fire at an apartment complex in Anchorage’s Spenard neighborhood left one person injured and displaced more than 40 people, authorities said Thursday.
A separate fire at a car wash on the Old Seward Highway resulted in two people seriously injured after they became trapped in a bay, according to the Anchorage Fire Department.
The apartment fire was reported at about 10 p.m. Wednesday at a 17-unit complex off West 30th Avenue and displaced 41 residents, according to a statement from Assistant Chief Alex Boyd. One resident was injured, and taken to a hospital in stable condition, Boyd said.
The fire started in one apartment and was rapidly spreading to the rest of the building when the first units arrived, according to the statement. Residents were evacuating, some with the help of Anchorage police officers, it said.
Crews called for a second alarm due to the building size and amount of fire before it was brought under control just under an hour later, the department said.
All of the units had working smoke alarms, “which aided residents in their escape from the rapidly growing fire,” Boyd wrote, crediting efforts by municipal code enforcement and AFD Fire Prevention within the last year.
Investigators determined the fire was caused by “improper use of smoking materials” and was unintentional, the department said.
Many displaced residents are staying with family, according to the statement.
Fifteen people stayed at the Spenard Recreation Center after municipal officials asked volunteers to open a shelter, according to the American Red Cross of Alaska. The shelter at the center is also open Thursday.
The other fire was noticed by firefighters while driving past en route to the apartment complex just after 10 p.m., the fire department said. They found that a vehicle inside the car wash was on fire, with flames spreading to the building, according to the statement.
Two people were trapped in the wash bay by the car fire and could not get past the smoke and flames to exit, Boyd said in an email. The crew forced entry through the overhead door to rescue them, he said.
Both were treated on scene and taken to the hospital with serious injuries, the department said. The cause of the fire remains under investigation but is not considered intentional.
The fire department responded to another fire — the third in a two-hour period — near Fairbanks Street and West Seventh Avenue just after 11 p.m. Wednesday, officials said. That fire, which burned the outside and roof of a vacant building, was brought under control quickly, they said.
The fire was caused by an apparent warming fire burning too close to the outside of the building, Boyd wrote. No injuries were reported, he said.