Metlakatla home fire kills man trying to rescue dog, troopers say

Update, 9 a.m. Thursday, April 8: Troopers identified the man who died in the fire as 36-year-old Joshua Maxey of Metlakatla.

An investigation into the fire by a deputy fire marshal showed that the area surrounding the wood stove is where the fire began, troopers wrote in a statement Wednesday. The stove had been fully stoked prior to the fire, troopers wrote.

Original story:

A man died early Tuesday in Metlakatla when he tried to rescue a dog from a burning trailer home, Alaska State Troopers said.

The volunteer fire department in the Southeast Alaska town responded around 4 a.m. and said the trailer was engulfed in flames, troopers wrote in an online statement. Austin McDaniel, a spokesman for the troopers, said there were two people in the home when the blaze began.

“Initially, all occupants had escaped, however, one of the residents went back into the trailer in an attempt to locate a dog, and did not return,” troopers wrote.

Crews controlled the fire and found the body in the home, according to troopers. McDaniel said the man was in his mid-30s. His name was not immediately released.

Two dogs inside the trailer also died, McDaniel said.

A deputy fire marshal will determine the cause of the fire, troopers said.