No one was in the building at the time Capital City Fire/Rescue responded to a call reporting smoke exuding from a privately owned airport hangar at the Juneau International Airport at around 8 a.m. Thursday, according to CCFR Fire Marshal Dan Jager.
Jager told the Empire at the scene later that morning that CCFR officials reached the scene shortly after the call, closed down the roadway and began extinguishing what he described as a “small fire.”
“Our biggest problem was the smoke, the fire didn’t last long,” he said. “It was more just chasing smoke.”
The fire did not affect airport operations.
Jager said through investigation CCFR determined the cause of the fire was electrical and remained confined in the wall space of the building after it ignited from a screw that penetrated a wire through drywall and was touching a metal plate.
He said the ignition was likely a “very slow” process and estimates around only 2% of the building suffered damages, which were estimated at approximately $30,000.
Airport Manager Patty Wahto told the Empire that the building, used for aircraft storage, is privately owned by L&A Bennett Second Family Limited Partnership, but the land is owned and leased out by the airport. The hangar is commonly referred to as the “LAB hangar.”
• Contact reporter Clarise Larson at clarise.larson@juneauempire.com or (651)-528-1807. Follow her on Twitter at @clariselarson.
Burnt pieces of insulation can be seen falling from a privately owned airport hangar at the Juneau International Airport after Capital City Fire/Rescue extinguished a fire in the building Thursday morning. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
