On back-to-back days, two cars in Juneau caught on fire in unrelated incidents, Capital City Fire/Rescue officials say.
The first fire happened at about 2 a.m. Tuesday, according to a CCFR press release, in the 300 block of Village Street downtown. A 1991 Chevrolet S-10 pickup was “engulfed in flames,” the release states, but there were no injuries reported. Fire marshals say they deemed the car, which was not insured, a total loss.
The cause of the fire was likely smoking-related, fire marshals say, and there was also slight heat damage to a nearby fence and a car parked nearby.
At about 4:50 p.m. Wednesday, according to the release, CCFR got a very similar call, for a pickup truck on fire in the 9400 block of La Perouse Avenue in the Mendenhall Valley. When responders arrived, they found flames coming from a 1999 Toyota Tacoma, which was parked just four feet away from a 20-unit apartment complex, fire marshals say.
Fortunately, metal siding on the building kept the fire from spreading to the building, fire marshals say, but there was still a little bit of heat damage to electrical meters, windows and soffit covers about 20 feet above the truck. With help from a neighbor with a portable fire extinguisher, CCFR responders were able to contain the fire.
No injuries were reported, according to the release, but the car was deemed a total loss. The truck was insured, fire marshals say, and the cause of the fire was determined to be mechanical failure in the engine compartment.
Fire Marshal Dan Jager said Thursday that the owner had worked on the engine and ignition system on the truck during the previous couple days.
“We believe it is that work that may have contributed to the mechanical failure and fire,” Jager said.
• Contact reporter Alex McCarthy at 523-2271 or amccarthy@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @akmccarthy.
