An early Sunday morning fire at the doorstep of a second-floor condominium unit is being investigated as arson, said Capital City Fire/Rescue fire marshal Dan Jager in an interview Monday afternoon.
The fire was reported at around 6:11 a.m. when the two residents of the unit located along Mendenhall Loop Road called the Juneau Police Department after opening their front entry door to what was described as a “wall of flame right at their doorstep,” Jager said.
When firefighters and police arrived shortly after receiving the call, Jager said the fire appeared to be extinguished, and it was soon confirmed that the residents of the unit dumped buckets of water on the blaze.
Jager said the unit’s doormat and the wood beneath it on the second-floor patio were burnt, though the fire was “relatively small” and nothing else appeared to have suffered damages. There were no injuries reported.
Jager said the fire is being investigated by police after an initial investigation on Sunday deemed there was nothing to indicate the blaze was caused accidentally.
“There was no reason for a fire to start where it did,” he said.
Jager said while the investigation is still ongoing, he believes the fire is unconnected to any other recent fires in Juneau. He encouraged anyone with possible information regarding the fire or potential suspects to share that information with CCFR or JPD.
According to Juneau Police Department spokesperson Lt. Krag Campbell, police are still investigating the incident as of Monday afternoon, and there is no one in custody in relation to the incident at this time.
• Contact reporter Clarise Larson at clarise.larson@juneauempire.com or (651)-528-1807.
