One dead in South Anchorage house fire

A person was found dead after a fire destroyed one house and threatened to spread to others in the Sand Lake neighborhood of South Anchorage early Sunday, according to the Anchorage Fire Department.

At 2:08 a.m. Sunday, the fire department received multiple 911 calls reporting a fire in a one-story home on the 5000 block of Strawberry Road, the fire department wrote in an online report. According to the report, by the time crews got to the house, flames were already “showing through the roof and coming out the windows.” The fire was spreading into trees and wood fencing, threatening nearby homes, the report said.

Crews had the fire under control by 2:55 a.m., according to the report, and when fire fighters searched the house they found one victim. The building was so damaged that officials could not immediately determine what had caused the blaze.

Assistant Fire Chief Erich Scheunemann said a total of 13 fire apparatus, including fire engines, ladder trucks and ambulances, were involved in the response. None of the surrounding houses in the neighborhood were damaged, he said.

More information was not immediately available. The investigation is ongoing.