North Pole woman dead after house fire traced to chicken coop

A 19-year-old North Pole woman died Tuesday in a house fire that started near a chicken coop, according to Alaska State Troopers.

The North Star Volunteer Fire Department got a report of a structure fire at about 1 p.m. Tuesday. Arriving firefighters saw flames and smoke coming out the attic and roof of a two-story home in an outlying area south of North Pole.

A North Star spokesperson says crews entered the structure and found an unresponsive woman. She was taken to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, where she was declared dead.

The Alaska Division of Fire and Life Safety later identified the victim as Jenna Inman. Her body will be taken to the state medical examiner’s office in Anchorage.

The North Star spokesperson says the fire was extinguished, but the house was a total loss.

The deputy state fire marshal investigated the cause of the fire and determined it began in the back of the structure, where a chicken coop had been built. The investigator found heating lamps in the chicken coop and determined the fire was accidental.

The North Star spokesperson says crews and equipment from the North Pole, Eielson, Fort Wainwright and Steese Volunteer fire departments also responded to the fire.

Tim Ellis is a reporter at KUAC in Fairbanks.

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