Fire at downtown Anchorage apartment building injures 2 residents

Two residents of an Anchorage apartment building people received minor injuries during an exterior fire early Thursday, firefighters said.

Erich Scheunemann, the Anchorage Fire Department's deputy chief, said the injured occupants suffered symptoms related to smoke inhalation. They declined treatment at the scene from medics, who assessed several others for possible smoke inhalation.

Scheunemann said calls reporting the fire, on the 1000 block of M Street along the Delaney Park Strip in a building with four to six units, came in just before 4 a.m.

Initial responders called a second alarm for the fire and alerted a total of 22 AFD units, Scheunemann said, but the fire was reported under control about 10 minutes after it was called in.

"It turned out not to be a big deal – they got it under control pretty quick," Scheunemann said.

Crews determined that the fire started near the building's entryway, but Scheunemann said no exact cause or damage estimate had yet been determined.

The Red Cross of Alaska said it is assisting six displaced residents, but that number could jump to a dozen. Most will likely return to their homes sometime over the weekend, said communications officer Lisa Williams in an email.