
A Balchen Drive home suffered extensive fire damage Friday. (Rich Jordan/KTUU-DT)by Ted Land
Friday, November 06, 2009
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A family in Spenard is cleaning up after a fire that broke out Friday morning. Firefighters say a space heater is likely to blame.
It happened in the 3400 block of Balchen Drive.
An adult living there was using it to keep a bedroom warm for two children in the home.
The smoke alarms went off around 10:30 a.m.
The occupants tried to put out the fire, but could not. They all escaped unharmed, but their dog perished in the smoke.
Fire engines arrived to find flames in the rear of the house and smoke billowing out of the front. They say damage is extensive.
"It's really important that if you're going to use your space heater that you make sure it's a clear area, that you rate it, that you examine its cord. If it's a few years old, you should think about replacing it and especially check your smoke detectors when you have things like this and don't leave a space heater going alone with young children in the room," said Andrew Provencio, a senior captain with the Anchorage Fire Department.
Firefighters say faulty heating systems are the number one cause of fires in cold weather.
Contact Ted Land at tland@ktuu.com
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