Fire badly damages abandoned restaurant building in Midtown Anchorage

An abandoned restaurant building in Midtown Anchorage was badly damaged by fire Tuesday evening.

The first firefighting crew arrived at 204 E. Fireweed Lane within five minutes of the report of the blaze just after 6:30 p.m., and crews spent about two hours extinguishing the fire, said Anchorage Fire Chief Jodie Hettrick.

The fire took longer to control because it was an old building with a basement, which gave the flames more places to go, said Hettrick.

The building was abandoned but had previously housed the China Garden restaurant. Hettrick said it appeared someone had recently been inside the building.

It’s unclear what caused the fire but an investigation was ongoing.

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