WASILLA -- A stubborn, long-burning fire destroyed a commercial building just outside downtown Wasilla Tuesday despite a massive response from Matanuska-Susitna Borough firefighters, authorities say.
No one was hurt in the fire, though a family of four was displaced, along with an electrical parts business and a nonprofit that helps veterans and military families in need. Authorities said Tuesday they don't know what caused the blaze.
The fire was reported just before 5 a.m. in a two-story building off Wasilla-Fishhook Road near Nelson Avenue that contains Crescent Electric Supply Company and the Happy Dawn's thrift store. Callers said the blaze appeared to start on the second floor of the metal building. First responders said a quarter of the building was already engulfed in flames by the time they arrived.
A family of two adults and two children escaped an upper-floor apartment and got help from American Red Cross of Alaska, according to Mat-Su emergency services director Dennis Brodigan.
The building also housed the offices for Hope for Heroes Inc., a nonprofit that helps military families and veterans with food, clothing, living expenses and other assistance.
Numerous fire crews began working hours before first light Tuesday morning to save the building and make sure the fire didn't spread. Officials called "just about every piece of fire apparatus between Palmer and Houston" to the scene, Brodigan said. The incident commander asked for help from Chugiak fire crews -- a rarity in the Valley.
The building was a large warehouse built in 1970, according to borough records. The second floor was apparently built on top of the original structure, roof and all.
Crews were still spraying water on stubborn flames in the roof into mid-morning. A plume of smoke hung over Wasilla for much of the day as the smell of the fire filtered into nearby businesses.
An abundance of "synthetic products" containing rubber and other electrical products fueled the fire, Brodigan said. "The roof collapsed but it left an air pocket so it was just really hard to get out."
Emergency officials declared the fire under control around 11 a.m. Fire officials spent the day at the site. An excavator tore apart debris to help crews find hot spots that still needed dousing.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Borough fire investigator Rich Boothby was at the fire scene Tuesday afternoon and said he planned to meet with the owner's insurance representative and start his own investigation this week.
The building is owned by three partners doing business as Triple Bs LLC, according to borough and state records databases. None of the three returned calls for comment Tuesday.
Parts of Wasilla-Fishhook and Nelson remained closed into early afternoon to give emergency vehicles access to the fire and nearby hydrants. Matanuska Electric Association shut off power to the area due to a downed live power line to the building, Brodigan said. The Palmer-based electric cooperative estimated that about 200 members lost power into early afternoon.
Iditarod Elementary School, located on Wasilla-Fishhook, was closed early Tuesday morning, Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District spokeswoman Catherine Esary said. Children en route to school went instead to Wasilla Middle School just up the road, where elementary staff greeted them, Esary said. Students were allowed back into the school around 10 a.m. after fire vehicles made room for buses to enter, emergency officials said. After-school activities were canceled.
Crescent Electric didn't return a call left at corporate headquarters in Iowa.
Hope For Heroes board president Barbi Montagne said she and founder Jennifer Baker -- a U.S. Air Force veteran and former Air Force spouse -- raced to the building after hearing about the fire before 6 a.m. They arrived to see fire hoses pointed at the roof from cranes and the other side of the building engulfed in flames, Montagne said.
"As soon as we got there, Jenn fell to the ground," she said. "She created this group. She created the organization three years ago. So she's put her blood, sweat and tears into it. Hope For Heroes is her baby."
Within 30 minutes, Montagne said, they saw flames shooting from the roof on the nonprofit's side of the building. By 8 a.m., the outside wall came crashing down.
The group shared its 1,800-square-foot bay with a wrestling association. Lost in the fire: everything from furniture, food, merchandise and other donations to the wrestling ring, registers and concession equipment.
The group has set up a GoFundMe account and can be found on Facebook or by calling 907-414-0086.