State Takes Over Warehouse Fire Investigation
Thursday, May 08 2014
Lauren Rosenthal/KUCB
Now that a stubborn fire inside a warehouse on East Point Road is finally out, state investigators are stepping in.
Fire chief Abner Hoage says local crews extinguished the fire around 6 p.m. Wednesday night. That’s a full thirteen hours after it started. The building was full of highly-flammable wooden pallets and fiber board for shipping fish.
Once the fire was out, residents of the bunkhouse next door were allowed back into their rooms around 7 p.m. Their employer, Pacific Stevedoring, had been renting out the warehouse.
Hoage says emergency personnel and city employees took turns monitoring the scene overnight, to watch for flare-ups. They also blocked off the warehouse with caution tape to keep people out.
But that’s where their work ends. Now, it’s going to be up to the state fire marshal’s office to determine what caused the fire. Deputy marshal Chris Grooms is scheduled to fly into Unalaska Thursday afternoon to investigate.
This is a developing story. Check KUCB for more updates.
Don't let it burn on Monday, May 12 2014:
If you have been or currently a fire fighter, please go ahead and post- if not, let the Firemen do their job!
Jim on Friday, May 09 2014:
Yea, screw the people in the bunkhouse next door, throw them a garden hose and let them fend for themselves......SMH
Let it burn IMHO on Friday, May 09 2014:
The fire would have incinerated all the pallets and fiber by itself in less than 8 hours if it had not been doused with water and foam. Stand by in case the wind shifts but wasting time and expensive WATER and foam when nothing inside or the structure can be saved is ludicrous.