KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
Three fires in three days kept not only the Bayside Volunteer Fire Department busy, but required mutual aid from the island’s three other departments.
Two cars and one home were burned in what may be the latest in a series of arson fires set in the area this year.
In the early hours of Saturday, a two-alarm fire in a three-story A-frame home at 3669 Monashka Bay Road burned it to the ground, according to Bayside Fire Chief Bob Himes.
— (Fire 1 15 sec "Yeah it was fully engulfed … Bayside there.")
The home, which was unoccupied, was beyond reach of any fire hydrants, so water had to be transferred to the scene from the station, more than a mile away.
— (Fire 2 9 sec "We had to run shuttles … over 22,000 gallons of water.")
The loss is estimated at 250-thousand dollars. Himes says the fire was so bad, it’s hampering the investigation into its cause:
— (Fire 3 21 sec "We were hoping to … for it to start.")
The other two fires were definitely suspicious. One was an abandoned car across from Mill Bay Gas-n-Go on Rezanof Drive East, and the third was a car parked on Island Lake Road, not far from the State Troopers office. Himes says the vehicle was parked across the street from its owner’s home, and in the fire he lost his construction tools as well.
Two months ago eight cars were torched in one night, and a month before there was a rash of Dumpster fires. Himes says the Alaska State Troopers are investigating the fires, and he hopes the perpetrators are caught before someone is hurt or killed in the blazes.
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