WASILLA -- A stubborn fire burning for hours Tuesday morning in a commercial building just outside downtown Wasilla drew a massive response from Matanuska-Susitna Borough firefighters but caused no injuries, authorities say.
Reader Ryan Smith shared the video above, which he shot on the way to the gym at about 5 a.m., he wrote.
The fire was reported just before 5 a.m. in a two-story building off Wasilla-Fishhook Road near Nelson Avenue that contains Crescent Electric Supply Company and a thrift store, according to Mat-Su emergency services director Dennis Brodigan. Two adults and two children escaped an upper-floor apartment and were getting help from American Red Cross of Alaska.
The building also housed the offices for Hope for Heroes Inc., a nonprofit that helps military families and veterans in need.
Officials called "just about every piece of fire apparatus between Palmer and Houston" to the scene," Brodigan said. The incident commander asked for help from Chugiak fire crews at about 7 a.m.