Anchorage Daily News

An accelerant-detecting dog sniffing through the rubble at Peter's Sushi Spot has detected chemicals in several areas near the fire's point of origin, leading investigators to send samples to a laboratory to determine whether arson could be a factor.

The fire broke out early Saturday morning at the popular Midtown restaurant near its east wall by an entrance that leads into an office, said Anchorage Fire Department spokeswoman Jen Klugh. Investigators have been unable to determine conclusively if the fire started in the office or outside the exterior door on a walkway, she said.

"The investigators are not indicating that they think it's suspicious, but because Jodi (the dog) did get some hits, they decided to get the samples to a lab," Klugh said. "It could turn out that it's suspicious, but at this point the investigators did not indicate that it was."

Two Anchorage fire investigators, accompanied by Jodi and her handler, have spent most of the week sifting through the ashes and pumping water out of the restaurant's basement as they searched for the fire's origin.

Though Jodi is trained to detect 25 accelerants, getting a hit does not necessarily mean the chemical she detected was used in an arson, Klugh said. The chemical could have been there -- in a bottle, for example -- before the fire broke out.

The cause of the fire will remain under investigation until results from the lab come back, likely within a few weeks, Klugh said. If results indicate the fire's cause was not arson, the cause might never be established, she said.

In the meantime, the scene is sealed off in case investigators need to revisit it, Klugh said.

Restaurant co-owner Sooji Park, reached at home Thursday, confirmed the business was insured and said she didn't know if she and Peter Park would rebuild. She declined to comment further.

"I don't want to talk to anything about that now," she said when asked what she thought about the dog's findings.

The fire was reported about 5:30 a.m. Saturday, when passers-by called 911. It was unclear how long the fire, at 4140 B St., had already been burning, but by 8:50 a.m., part of the structure's east wall collapsed.

The blaze drew a two-alarm response and was burning so fiercely that firefighters had to pull out of the building shortly after arriving and attack it from the outside with power hoses.

The building had no sprinkler system, a tar roof and foam insulation -- all of which worked to the fire's advantage. It is considered a total loss, with damages estimated at about $2 million, according to the department. There were no injuries.

Find James Halpin online at adn.com/contact/jhalpin or call him at 257-4589.

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