A fire burned through the public safety building and city jail in the Western Alaska coastal community of Chevak in the early morning hours of July 8. City officials said that the building is a total loss.
City Administrator Nathaniel Atchak said that city officials believe that the fire was caused by aging electrical wiring.
"They believe it was electrical due to the age of the building and past experiences with electrical at the building," Atchak said.
The state confirmed that a deputy fire marshal traveled to the community on July 9 to investigate the cause of the fire, but did not provide additional information.
Atchak said that at least one worker was in the building at the time of the fire, but that no injuries were reported. He said that a construction crew working to extend the community’s airport runway responded to the fire with a water truck between the hours of 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. on July 8.
"As the fire started, one of our officers, according to the report, went up and asked for assistance from them, and these construction guys came [...] and helped put out the fire," Atchak said.
Atchak said that the fire left the public safety building standing, but flames completely gutted the interior, which included several holding cells.
“It could have been worse than what it was if it weren't for the water truck, because reportedly they were having trouble finding […] the hoses for the fire hydrants. And luckily those guys were there to start extinguishing the fire before we could get set up with what [the] city has,” Atchak said.
Atchak said that the community is working to clean out the old trooper housing building for public safety operations, but that it could take a week or longer. In the meantime, people in Chevak with public safety issues are directed to call 907-858-2409.
The State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) said that that Chevak hadn’t requested specific assistance as of July 9.
This fire is one of several public building fires in Chevak in recent years. Early in 2024, Chevak’s hardware store and corporation headquarters was destroyed in a fire. And in 2021, a fire burned the old Chevak school building to the ground, putting plans to turn the building into a community building on pause. That 2021 fire threatened the public safety building, but didn’t end up burning any buildings other than the old school.
