Nearly three months after a fire destroyed the Tukurngailnguq School in Stebbins, the Alaska Department of Public Safety (DPS) has released an incident report detailing the circumstances that may have caused the fire. The heavily-redacted document describes the fire as a non-criminal incident, although the precise cause of the fire was not determined.
The incident report includes details filed by Alaska State Trooper Brian Wassmann, who was in Stebbins at the time of the fire.
Trooper Wassman said in his report that employees of Wasilla-based 3E Construction, LLC were on site to paint portions of the school. The report said that the fire was first witnessed in a building next to the school by employees of 3E Construction at approximately 6:43 p.m.
Witnesses reported seeing smoke coming from the floor assembly area of a room containing boiler and glycol heating loops. A fire extinguisher was unsuccessfully used to contain the blaze. As the fire grew, the report said that local community members began attempting to help fight the fire.
The report said that BSSD maintenance employee, Garrett Coffey, attempted to access the source of the fire by pulling back skirting panels around the foundation of the accessory building. There, Coffey found electrical components arcing and sparking beneath the building.
At approximately 7:10 p.m., about 30 minutes after the fire started, Trooper Wassmann contacted the Nome Volunteer Fire Department for assistance.
By 8:10 p.m., the fire had spread to the roof eaves of the school and rapidly consumed the school and eight other buildings owned by Bering Strait School District.
From KNOM’s reporting that evening, the first of two chartered Bering Air flights carrying Nome Volunteer Fire Department crew departed Nome soon after 8:00 pm. The second aircraft left at 8:47 p.m. Upon arrival, the volunteer crew immediately began installing pumps and hoses to contain the blaze.
According to eyewitnesses KNOM spoke to in Stebbins, 3E Construction’s crew boarded one of the Bering Air flights to fly to Nome.
Local construction company, Tapraq Rock, assisted with stamping out the fire. Heavy machinery was used to shovel water and dirt onto the fire and push buildings into the fire to establish a perimeter. While the effort was effective in containing the blaze, the incident report states that the destruction made an interior examination to more precisely determine the cause of the fire impossible.
The report stated that the school, a building housing welding and automotive shops, a six-plex and three-plex used as teacher housing, and two portable classrooms were destroyed by the fire. Two additional portables were also destroyed by heavy equipment to lower the risk of the fire spreading further through the community. The estimated value of loss has not been determined, but is in excess of $1 million.
The report drew three theories as to the cause of the fire, but stopped short of making a single determination.
One possible cause suggested by the report was the dislodging of electrical wires from the building of origin and a nearby six-plex while the housing unit was being leveled.
Another theory posited by the report was the improper installation of electrical components. The investigation also did not rule out the possibility of carelessly discarded smoking materials around or within the building of origin.
The report stated that the most probable cause was electrical in nature, but is impossible to determine due to the scene being demolished while fighting back the fire.
