Two early morning residential fires in South Anchorage that displaced up to a dozen people remain under investigation, an Anchorage Fire Department spokesperson said Thursday.
The first calls began coming into dispatch around 3:30 a.m., with residents reporting a burning fourplex in the 1100 block of Golden Dawn Circle, said Al Tamagni, the department's spokesperson. It was not initially clear if anyone inside the homes was in danger, but when responders arrived the occupants were outside, he said.
Eight fire units from three stations responded. Firefighters reported the building was fully engulfed when they arrived at 3:34 a.m.; they had the fire under control in about 30 minutes, Tamagni said.
Assistance from Red Cross of Alaska was requested for two to five displaced residents.
Tamagni said the department did not yet have an estimate of the damage.
At 7:39 a.m., a caller reported a residential complex fire in the 2100 block of Lore Road, an eight-minute drive from the earlier fire.
The fire department dispatched seven units, also from three stations, the first of which arrived at 7:45 a.m. Responders reported flames on one of the units' back decks as well as on the building's exterior and in the attic. People were evacuating as firefighters arrived, Tamagni said.
Red Cross reportedly responded and offered assistance to seven people.
The cause and extent of the damages in the second fire are under investigation. Responders were still on scene late Thursday morning.
By JERZY SHEDLOCK
Alaska Dispatch