The noise of an explosion early Wednesday morning alerted residents of Valley Boulevard that something was awry, leading to a call to emergency services, said the fire marshal.
When Capital City Fire/Rescue firefighters arrived, they found the automobile, a Toyota Rav-4, completely consumed in flames, said CCFR fire marshal Dan Jager.
“Fortunately, no one got hurt,” Jager said “There was no property damage other than the vehicle itself.”
Now, it’s being investigated as an intentionally set fire.
“We were told by dispatch that someone had heard some sort of an explosion,” Jager said in a phone interview. “There’s always fuel issues with any sort of vehicle fire. That made it a little tricky but not too difficult.”
Capital City Fire/Rescue fire marshal Dan Jager said a vehicle on Valley Boulevard was destroyed early Wednesday morning in what appears to be an intentionally set fire, Oct. 20, 2021. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)
Now, the Juneau Police Department and CCFR will investigate the fire. Jager said he canvassed the neighborhood on Wednesday, seeking home security footage that might have a view of the incident.
“The location, the timing, and having that much involvement in the fire that early — there’s no reason for it to have caught fire,” Jager said. “We still need to make contact with the owner.”
The vehicle will be towed away, Jager said, to remove the eyesore of the slagged vehicle as well as prevent children playing in the area from doing themselves a mischief. Jager said there’s no indication at this time that this fire is related to other vehicle fires in the Juneau area.
“I can’t draw any kind of conclusion at this time,” Jager said. “I don’t see any connection with previous car fires.”
Anyone with information about this fire is asked to contact Jager at dan.jager@juneau.org or 907-586-5322 ext. 4323.
• Contact reporter Michael S. Lockett at (757) 621-1197 or mlockett@juneauempire.com.
