NOME, Alaska — Despite initial assessments otherwise, the Alaska State Fire Marshal will respond to the community of Emmonak after a fire destroyed five commercial buildings over the weekend and caused at least $3 million of damage.
Megan Peters is a spokesperson for the State Fire Marshal and the Alaska State Troopers. She said deputy fire marshals will likely arrive in Emmonak on Tuesday to investigate the cause of the fire, which is still unknown.
At first, Peters said marshals chose not to respond because hazardous materials in the burned buildings would prevent them from conducting a thorough investigation. After further review, she said they decided the fire’s significant impact on Emmonak warrants a closer look after all.
“These are large buildings in the community,” said Peters. “Certainly, it’s a large dollar value that’s involved with the loss. Just the community impact is really a big thing.”
While marshals investigate, Peters said they can’t share what contaminants are in the buildings.
The fire broke out on Saturday afternoon when smoke was seen billowing from the Kwik’Pak Fisheries warehouse.
Emmonak VPSO Jay Levan was a first responder to the fire, along with local Troopers. He says they used a city-owned fire/crash rescue truck to try to suppress the flames. But between cold temperatures and narrow hoses, Levan said the former Air Force vehicle didn’t allow them to access enough water to smother the fire.
“The fire hydrants behind the building were frozen,” he said. “So when we ran out of water in the truck, we had to go get water and bring it back. I think I made four or five trips with water before everything froze up and the fire was out of control and we couldn’t do anything.”
The fire spread, destroying five buildings owned by Kwik’Pak Fisheries and Yukon Marine Manufacturing — both subsidiaries of the Yukon Delta Fisheries Development Association.
While all structures were completely destroyed, Levan said the Kwik’Pak buildings were primarily used for office space with the exception of an area to process fish eggs. He said that means fishery operations may not be severely affected.
“The manager for Kwik’Pak Fisheries was here yesterday, and they’re already making plans,” he said. “Their main production facility is on barges and they have another building with a million dollars worth of processing equipment. So it’s just going to be a logistics thing of housing and feeding workers. I think they’ll be up and running.”
Levan said he’s not exactly sure when they’ll be up and running, and the Yukon Delta Fisheries Development Association did not return multiple requests for comment. Meanwhile, Troopers said the fire is still smoldering but contained. No one was harmed in the fire.
