Anchorage

Pet food processing facility damaged in Anchorage warehouse fire

Anchorage firefighters responded to a two-alarm fire in a Ship Creek warehouse Thursday night that damaged a pet food processing facility, officials say.

No one was injured in the fire reported just before 8:10 p.m., according to assistant chief Alex Boyd, spokesman for the Anchorage Fire Department. The fire was under control about an hour later.

The first firefighters to get to the warehouse complex that covers the 2500 block of North Post Road discovered heavy smoke and flames showing from the second floor of one building, Boyd said. Commanders called for a second alarm, bringing the total units responding to 20 from about a dozen.

Crews were able to get inside the building and keep the fire isolated to the building where it started, which suffered significant smoke and fire damage, he said. An apartment in the complex was not occupied when firefighters arrived.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, Boyd said. Investigators are reviewing mechanical systems in the area where flames appeared to ignite, he said.

The commercial buildings are on property owned by the Alaska Railroad and leased to Tim B. Hester Holdings LLC, according to a railroad spokeswoman.

A company called Purr-Ferred Pet Food LLC operates a facility there, according to the company website. The company’s processing plant provides “fresh, ground, frozen salmon, straight from the Alaska waters, as well as fresh cod, halibut and ocean white fish” for addition to pet foods, the website says. The company also operates a brokerage company that delivers products to pet food manufacturers across the country, it says.

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A company representative said Friday that officials expected to issue a statement after speaking with the fire department.

[Correction: An earlier version of this story said municipal property records indicated the buildings involved in the fire were owned by the Alaska Railroad. The railroad owns the property, but not the buildings.]

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