Two Christmas Eve fires in Anchorage left residents displaced and at least one person injured.
The first was reported at 2:54 a.m. Thursday at an apartment building on Lunar Drive in East Anchorage, Anchorage Fire Chief Denis LeBlanc said.
According to LeBlanc, the blaze was likely caused by a fireplace fire that flickered back to life after being put out for the night.
No one was injured in the fire but residents were displaced, he said.
LeBlanc said a couple who lived on the building's bottom floor were at the scene when firefighters arrived and said they'd gone to sleep after securing a fire by closing a screen and glass doors to their fireplace.
Later, a tenant upstairs woke to hear crackling noises and realized a fire was in the walls, coming from the downstairs fireplace, the fire chief said.
"We don't know to what extent the fireplace was burning" when the couple went to sleep, he said. "Once they secured it, they probably felt comfortable, but sometimes ventilation can pull excess air into the fireplace and reignite and generate more heat."
Those details come from the initial efforts of an Anchorage Fire Department investigator who was at the scene Thursday morning, LeBlanc said.
By the time the first unit arrived, the fire had spread to the roof, LeBlanc said. In all, 25 units responded to the two-alarm fire and the blaze took about an hour to control.
All the building's tenants were safely evacuated and none needed to be taken to the hospital, LeBlanc said.
Shiloh Powell, disaster program manager for the Red Cross Alaska Southcentral District, said the fire displaced 11 people -- three families from three units. One of the families was given financial help but all had somewhere to stay and did not request housing.
The second fire began burning shortly before noon in a Government Hill apartment complex. AFD spokesman John See said they began getting reports of the blaze at 11:45 a.m. at the North Pointe Apartments on Richardson Vista Road.
See said one resident was taken to a local hospital to be treated for injuries.
"It sounds like mostly smoke inhalation," See said.
See wouldn't provide any additional information on the extent of those injuries.
Fire Capt. Richard Minkler said that when firefighters arrived at the building, smoke and fire were billowing out of a second-floor window. He said the fire was in the living room and kitchen of an apartment.
See said firefighters forced their way into several apartments to make sure people had gotten out. The fire was controlled by noon.
Shortly after noon, several displaced residents wandered outside and looked for warm shelter as firefighters worked to secure the building. Lyle Standiford was tucked away in the back entrance of a nearby complex with his four cats. Standiford told every person who walked by that he and the cats were "refugees of the fire next door."
Standiford was in his third-floor apartment when the fire broke out. When the smoke alarms sounded, he opened the front door and dense smoke poured into his apartment, he said.
"I stood at the back window and yelled for help. ... I knew there was no way I could get through that," Standiford said. "Some people heard me yelling and just walked by."
Finally, a bystander noticed Standiford's yells and got help from the Fire Department. Firefighters put a ladder up to the window and rescued Standiford. Later, they returned to the apartment to rescue his cats.
The cats -- Tippy-too, Cali, Amotto and Mig -- stared wide-eyed through the metal bars on three carrying kennels. Standiford said they seemed to be doing OK but were a little bit shaken up. Mostly, he was worried about his apartment, where he's lived for three years. He also wished he had gotten out of the house in warmer shoes instead of his house slippers.
Standiford was joined by another man and his pet who were also also seeking warm refuge. Travis Miguel had only lived in the apartment for three weeks. He and Standiford exchanged their fire stories.
"I hope we get to go back inside soon, but hey, as long as you get the important stuff," Miguel said. "When I realized there was a fire I didn't know if we'd be able to go back in, so I got the important stuff -- my mom's dog Sweety, my phone and myself."
Four people had to temporarily move because of the fire, See said. Authorities are investigating the cause.