NORTH STAR FIRE NEWS
PRESS RELEASE
FROM: Jerry Hanson, Deputy Chief DATE: February 22, 2007
For Immediate Release: North Pole, Alaska.
On Thursday evening, Feb. 22, 2007
just before 5:30 PM the North Star Volunteer Fire Department was dispatched to
a reported vehicle fire on East Athena Circle, off of Plack Road. Engines 31, 32, and Battalion 3 (302)
responded from Station One. While en
route, dispatch stated they were receiving calls of a large column of black
smoke in the area. Engine 31 arrived on
location within 6 minutes and reported a full size pickup with heavy fire in
both the passenger and motor compartments.
Firefighters on location pulled a 1-3/4 inch preconnect from Eng. 31 and
extinguished the fire. Eng. 32 and
Batt. 3 arrived on scene and firefighters from Eng. 32 supported the fire
attack and overhaul. The fire was
extinguished and the damaged area was checked with a thermal imaging camera to
verify the fire was out.
The vehicle was recently parked on a
vacant lot. The owner is in the process
of building a log house on the lot. The
driver reported shutting the vehicle off and was walking through the trees on
the lot when he noticed smoke from the area where the pickup was parked. He returned to the vehicle, found it on
fire, and called 911. The vehicle, a
1996 ¾ ton Chevrolet 4x4 Pickup, was extensively damaged and is considered a
total loss. Damages are estimated at
$5,000. The owner has insurance on the
vehicle and there were no injuries as a result of this fire.
