After a long day preparing and enjoying walrus heart soup, aqpik, and seal oil, Mat Turner headed home to settle in for the night. The lifelong Shishmaref resident had just left a welcome-home party for his mother, Darlene Turner, who returned that day from a vacation in Montana. With the Olympics playing in the background, Mat Turner closed his eyes to rest. Then, around 9:15 p.m. his niece Carmen Turner came running in.
“My niece Carmen came in and was shaking me, waking me up, telling me there’s sparks. I got up with no socks, just pants, no shirt and went outside and I saw small flames starting where the sparks were flashing by the light switch of that old shop,” Mat Turner recalled.
Mat Turner ran back to the house for a fire extinguisher and emptied it on the fire as the switch continued to spark. This worked, temporarily, but the switch kept sparking. Eventually the fire overwhelmed the carving shop located just feet away from his mother’s home. By 10:00 p.m., the fire had spread to the entire property.
The house has served as a home for the Turner and Tocktoo families since its construction in the 1970s. Darlene Turner’s brother, Vincent Tocktoo Jr., helped build the home with their father and uncle. Tocktoo recalled feeling compelled to take a picture of a collection of photos pinned to the wall before he left for the night. In it were photos of his late sisters, a memory now captured in his phone forever as the photos were destroyed in the fire.
Despite the tragedy, Mat Turner felt comforted that his last few moments in the home were spent with his family.
“I'm just glad we were together, you know, to just be happy to be with each other and eating how we grew up on the Eskimo food."
- Mat Turner
Response
By 10 p.m. a community-wide effort to slow the spread of the fire was underway. Residents reported seeing smoke from miles away as they returned by boat from summer subsistence activities. A nearby water line was tapped to fill 32 gallon plastic garbage cans that were hauled 200 feet to the fire. Residents dumped the heavy buckets around the house to prevent the fire from spreading to homes mere feet to the north and south.
Around 11 p.m. the Nome Volunteer Fire Department arrived with water pumps, hoses, and nozzles along with a four-man team. With their higher-capacity hoses and powerful pumps they were able to quickly douse the fire, leaving just hotspots and debris where the house once stood.
Despite 30 mph winds, the community managed to contain the blaze. Some injuries were reported including burns and lacerations from fighting the fire. None were life-threatening.
Aftermath
Surrounding the home the morning after the fire sat piles of discarded red fire extinguishers. Orange and yellow fire hoses flown in by Nome Volunteer Fire Department were strewn across the muddy ground. Two children at opposite ends of the ruins could be seen holding back high pressure water nozzles as they helped to stomp out any remaining hotspots.
From the second floor of the City Office, Mayor of Shishmaref Amber Fernandez met with workers from Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium that helped extinguish the fire. She credits the contributions of their workers, local volunteers, and firefighters from Nome for preventing the fire from becoming much worse.
“Thank you to all the volunteers and to the Nome firefighters for coming,” Fernandez said. “Water plant guys, the city staff, and community members really came together.”
The fire highlighted the need for additional firefighting resources in the small rural village. According to the city, they’ve had a vacancy for a part-time fire chief for several years.
As he took some time to reflect on an evening that left his right foot with second-degree burns and his childhood home in ruins, Mat Turner hoped that this tragedy would serve as a reminder that it can happen to anyone.
“I’m thankful that people had hearts to help keep everyone safe and volunteer all that hard work, just brings tears to my eyes,” Turner said. “I hope that everyone could learn that it can happen and for people to think about their communities. What could we do to make things better from here?”
Donations
Shishmaref Mayor Amber Fernandez provided the list below of items needed by the Turner family. Donations can be mailed to 323 Turner Dr. Shishmaref, Alaska 99772.
- Ladies Shirts size X-Large,Large (4) Medium Small
- Ladies Pants Large,Medium,Small, and X-Small
- Ladies underwear size 8 M. And Small
- Ladies Shoes 8 1/2, 8, 7 1\2, 7
- Ladies Jackets. X-Large, Large, Medium, Small
- Toddler Girls Shirts 2t shirts and pants diapers size 5 Jacket 3t
- Men’s shirts 2X,X-Large,large
- Men’s pants 36-32,Large,
- Men’s underwear Large(2) ,Medium,(2)
- Men’s shoes 11(3) 10
- Men’s socks Adult 9-11(4)
- Boys Shirts and pants 10/12
- Boys underwear Youth medium
- Boys shoes size 2
- Boys socks 2-4
- Bedding
- Dishes
Tissue - Paper towel
- Snacks
- Drinks
- Shower stuff
