Fire destroys building near downtown Anchorage

A two-story building in the Fairview neighborhood was destroyed in a fast-moving fire Friday morning, with no injuries reported.

Anchorage Fire Department Chief Dennis LeBlanc said crews were called to the scene, on the 1400 block of Karluk Street, just after 10:30 a.m. LeBlanc said the building that burned, initially thought by fire crews to be a small home, turned out to be "a two-story warehouse-type structure" behind the home.

Everyone in the building was able to get out safely, LeBlanc said.

At least a dozen AFD units were sent to the blaze, LeBlanc said. First responders found the structure engulfed in flames, forcing them to fight the fire defensively in an effort to contain it; the roof fell shortly after their arrival.

"The structure pretty much collapsed in on itself," LeBlanc said.

Flames were still visible an hour after the initial call. Firefighters were conducting overhaul work to secure the site by noon, LeBlanc said, and the building was a total loss.

Fifteen units remained on Karluk Street Friday afternoon, LeBlanc said, and Anchorage police were also present to help secure the scene.

"A block wall to the rear has collapsed and the entire roof is gone," LeBlanc said. "The structural integrity of the walls, the floor, is such that we're not putting anybody in it at all."

Firefighters didn't have any word on the fire's cause or the extent of losses it caused, LeBlanc said.

Municipal Light & Power said online that power to about two dozen customers was knocked out by the fire. Most were back online soon afterward, but crews were restoring power to about 10 of them Friday afternoon.

Erik Hill contributed information to this story.