Anchorage couple injured in residential fire have died, family says

A couple seriously injured Thursday in an Anchorage house fire died the next day from injuries suffered during the blaze, relatives said this week.

An Anchorage Fire Department spokeswoman on Monday confirmed the deaths of two people in the fire on the 3600 block of Young Street. Kathy and James Gould died Friday afternoon, according to Matt Carrington, who is related to the family through marriage.

Firefighters who responded to the multi-family home near East 36th Avenue and Lake Otis Parkway around 1:45 a.m. Thursday rescued two people who were hospitalized with severe injuries, the fire department said.

An investigation into what may have caused the fire was ongoing Monday, said Lexi Quass’uq Trainer, a spokeswoman for the Anchorage Fire Department.

Carrington in an interview Monday said his sister and her four children — the Goulds’ nephews and niece — lived in a unit next to the couple. They ran from the fire in their pajamas, he said.

Carrington described the Goulds as longtime residents of King Cove who moved to Anchorage more recently to be near family.

His sister and her children lost everything in the fire and are staying at a hotel until they are able to find a place to rent, he said.

At least 11 people have died in fires across the state so far this year, including two men who died in separate Mat-Su fires last week.