Two people are safe after a fire broke out at a home in the Mendenhall Valley on Friday afternoon, Capital City Fire/Rescue responders said.
John Adams, an engineer for CCFR, was off duty and going to pick up his daughter from Mendenhall River School at about 2 p.m. when a call came across the scanner that there was a house fire on nearby Grant Street. Adams quickly rerouted and was the first person on scene.
He saw what he described as a light amount of smoke coming from one of the first-floor windows, he told the Empire later at the scene. As other responders arrived, they opened the front door and saw black smoke at knee height. Adams and other responders were able to ensure that the two people in the house — a grandmother and her grandchild — were safe.
Adams said they were able to knock down the fire within minutes. It appeared to have originated in the kitchen, both he and Assistant Chief Chad Cameron said, but Cameron said the Fire Marshal’s Office will be conducting an investigation.
There were also three birds in the house at the time of the fire, Adams and Cameron said. Responders got the birds out of the house, and even provided the birds with oxygen. Cameron said they don’t have any mask specifically for small animals such as birds, but they sometimes blow oxygen at their faces to increase the amount of oxygen around them.
Despite the efforts, one of the birds died, both Adams and Cameron said. They said it was likely from smoke inhalation. They weren’t sure of the type or the names of the birds, and the occupants of the house declined to comment on the fire. The birds were returned to the owners shortly afterward.
“They’re smoked up and singed a little bit,” Cameron said of the birds. “I hope the other two made it.”
• Contact reporter Alex McCarthy at 523-2271 or amccarthy@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @akmccarthy.
Two Capital City Fire/Rescue firefighters investigate a house fire in the Mendenhall Valley on Friday, March 30, 3018. (Alex McCarthy | Juneau Empire)