Alaska lost part of its history on Tuesday , when a pre - dawn blaze demolished the old Matanuska Maid Dairy warehouse building in Palmer .
demolished
alaska lose history tuesday pre dawn blaze demolish old matanuska maid dairy warehouse building palmer
Alaska lost part of its history on Tuesday , when a pre - dawn blaze <m> demolished </m> the old Matanuska Maid Dairy warehouse building in Palmer .
http : / / www . alaskapublic . org / 2012 / 08 / 07 / matanuska - maid - building - burns - down /
Matanuska Maid Building Burns Down
August 7 , 2012 - 5 : 46 pm
Alaska lost part of its history on Tuesday , when a pre - dawn blaze <m> demolished </m> the old Matanuska Maid Dairy warehouse building in Palmer .
The Matanuska Maid Dairy building was located on the nine acre site on which stand many structures dating back to Colony days .
In the afternoon sun , only charred rubble remained
“ And it ’ s , of course , as you can see , a total loss , ” Palmer Public Safety Director Jon Owen said at the site of the fire Tuesday .
“ We have a light breeze , as you ’ ve noticed , has picked up .
And the breeze has ignited a hot spot over there .
We ’ re just making sure that the scene is safe .
Our crews are going to be out here all day . ”
Palmer firemen were hosing down hotspots on the rubble of the old Mat Maid building late Tuesday , after the early morning fire demolished the antique structure in Palmer ’ s historic district .
Owen says the fire call came in at 3 : 30 a . m .
“ The Palmer fire chief and the Palmer police arrived within a minute or two , ” Owen said .
“ The fire chief drove around the perimeter of this nine acre city block and saw fire coming out from under the eaves of this building . ”
“ Within a moment or two , the entire roof was engulfed in flame . ”
Owen says Palmer and Mat Su Central fire departments responded with ladder trucks , to allow firefighters to attack the blaze from above .
He says the firemen also had to protect nearby buildings .
“ It ’ s called surround and drown , when you are fighting from the air , ” Owen said .
“ And the big thing was we had to protect Crowley Petroleum , from the fire from spreading to the gas and the petroleum products that are stored at Crowley Petroleum , right next store here , because of the danger of an entire conflagration . ”
State Fire Marshall John Bond surveyed the scene Tuesday afternoon to help determine the cause of the fire .
Not much was left of the building except some charred wooden beams and metal remnants which had plunged into the building ’ s basement .
The heat of the blaze was so intense it melted the paint off nearby cars .
The old building was in private ownership .
Last year , Palmer voters approved a bond measure allowing the city to purchase the historic district containing the Mat Maid building and several other wooden structures .
Those plans have not been finalized yet .
Owen says it will be about a month before a final determination as to the cause of the fires is known .
Director Owen says no injuries have been reported in the blaze .
He said there was no power or gas on in the building , nor was lightening a possible cause .