Yesterday morning a fire destroyed three buildings in the village of Teller. The Nome Volunteer Fire Department responded, flying in six fire fighters before their equipment could be brought to the scene. The old Teller Commercial building, a former store, and an abandoned house all burned down. Also damaged was the Mary’s Igloo tribal office. The Teller church and the power plant were saved.
Firefighters used the village’s heavy equipment to fight the fires, but Nome Fire Chief Matt Johnson says the ground collapsed under a front end loader that was being used to push debris.
The loader eventually exploded and was destroyed.
Teller’s young men helped to put together a quick response that saved the church and power plant. The Fire Marshall will investigate.
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Matthew Smith is a reporter at KNOM in Nome.
