A girl died in a duplex fire in South Anchorage early Wednesday morning, according to police.
Anchorage police detective Sgt. Slawomir Markiewicz said the fire was considered "suspicious," but he could not provide additional information until the investigation into the fire's cause progressed. Police were investigating with the Anchorage Fire Department, he said.
"We are trying to get to the bottom of it and get some answers," Markiewicz said.
A 911 caller reported the fire at at 2:43 a.m., said Senior Capt. Tony Schwamm of the Anchorage Fire Department. The flames tore through part of a duplex near Old Seward Highway and O'Malley Road.
Schwamm, from Station 9 on Huffman Road, was part of the first engine company to arrive at the duplex on the 1000 block of Fred Circle.
"By the time we got to Old Seward, we could see an excessive amount of smoke," Schwamm said. "When we got there, there were flames at least 15 feet high on the front and side of the building."
Three people had been in the brown, two-story structure. When crews arrived, Schwamm said, only two people were outside -- a third remained in the home.
"When we heard there was someone trapped inside we went into rescue mode, which kind of changed our strategy," Schwamm said.
Instead of fighting the seed of the fire, the crew used a ladder to get into a second-floor room. But the heat and flames forced them out, said a statement from AFD.
"When they say someone needs rescue it gets us more on edge," Schwamm said. "Seconds count. Lives are in the balance. Rescuing people, that's what we're here for. When we're unsuccessful, it's hard on the families, but also on the first responders because we have families too."
According to Schwamm, the fire began on the lower level of the wood-framed duplex. Then it broke through the windows and spread to the upper level. The fire did not spread into the other half of the duplex.
Firefighters had to knock down the flames before they could resume their search inside the home. They reached a second-floor bedroom, where the victim was found, said the statement from AFD.
AFD spokesperson John See said the department was withholding the victim's identity pending the results of the investigation.
Lisa Huffman, principal at Sand Lake Elementary School, sent a letter home with students in a fifth-grade class Wednesday about the unexpected death of one of their peers. An email was also sent to all of the school's families about the death of a fifth-grade student in a house fire, according to Heidi Embley, school district spokeswoman, who confirmed it was the South Anchorage fire.
The letter provided information on ways parents could help their children deal with the death. Answer their questions, it said. Continue their routine. "Do not try to shield your child from grieving," the letter said.
A school psychologist and school counselor will be available over the next few days, Huffman said in the email.
"I will forward any information to the Sand Lake community about services and the family's wishes as I learn them," she said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the family at this time."
Schwamm with the fire department said he did not know the condition of the home's other two residents, only that they'd been rushed to an Anchorage hospital shortly after his arrival early Wednesday.
The statement from AFD said it was unclear whether the duplex had smoke detectors. The Red Cross was called to help two families with housing, it said.
Markiewicz said the girl's body was being sent to the State Medical Examiner's Office for autopsy.