Fire at 8 mile, second house fire in a month

The Wrangell Fire Department and other public safety officials were called out the road Thursday afternoon, March 27. Dorianne Sprehe, with the fire department, said they received a direct call about a house fire at 2:03 p.m., had a fire engine out of the station three minutes after that, and were on-scene by 2:14 p.m.

According to Sprehe, the blaze was a chimney fire in a house at 8 mile on Zimovia Highway. The home belonged to the Naumann family, resident Robert Naumann confirmed. The fire was put out by 3:03, Sprehe said, and there were a total of 21 people responding. They were called back out there later that evening to check on some hot spots along the roof, but found nothing to worry about.

"It was a super group effort," she said.

Fortunately, Sprehe said, the fire was mostly contained to the attic and there was minimal damage to the building's structure. No injuries were reported.

Sprehe commented that there seemed to be more fires than usual in Wrangell right now. This is the second house fire this month. The department also responded to a vehicle fire on March 17. She asked that everybody remember to check their smoke detectors and to have their chimneys swept regularly.

"We'd just like to thank the fire department and everyone else that helped," Naumann said.