Anchorage Fire Department crews saved four people from a blaze early Friday at a vacant three-story building that was once a Spenard hotel.
More than 30 firefighters responded just before 7 a.m. to the fire along Spenard Road at the former Americas Best Value Inn and Suites, according to a Facebook post from the department.
“Firefighters arrived on scene within minutes,” AFD officials wrote. “They could see the flames engulfing part of the building and four individuals huddled on a balcony trapped by the fire.”
Department spokeswoman Megan Peters said all four people were rescued from the burning building’s top floor using a ladder truck.
“The top floor is pretty much gutted,” Peters said.
No injuries were initially reported in the fire, according to Peters, and no firefighters were hurt. The building where it occurred had previously been damaged in a July 2022 fire, according to the Anchorage Daily News, displacing nearly half of the hotel’s 44 guests at the time.
There wasn’t any immediate word on the origin or cause of Friday’s fire, or whether the building was considered a total loss. The rescued people “did not stick around” to answer questions about the blaze, Peters said.
Peters said an additional shift of firefighters relieved initial crews Friday morning, shifting to putting out hot spots within the structure.
“They’re going to be on scene pretty much all day,” she said.
