By Gretchen Wehmhoff

A structure fire on June 8 displaced residents as the small building they lived in off 9th Avenue between State and Broadway caught fire early Saturday evening. No one was in the building as the Skagway Fire Department arrived at the scene.

According to Fire Chief Emily Rauscher, “fire crews made a good knock down on the fire within minutes of making interior access.”

Rauscher explained that the “hot roof” design of the building meant the firefighters extinguished most of the fire from the exterior using ground ladders rather than from the interior.

According to the press release, the fire was believed to be accidental in nature, starting on the front porch.

The owner of the building, Kathy Shen, confirmed that it was her employee housing and that she was grateful no one was hurt.

“The fire department did an amazing job putting the fire out and keeping it from spreading to other structures. My storage trailer and other house on the property was unharmed except for some clean up,” Shen said.

This wasn’t Shen’s first experience with fire on the lot. Shen’s other building that survived this blaze, didn’t fare so well Feb. 26, 2023 when the 1940’s building to the west of the house was destroyed by a large fire. The side of Shen’s building was singed enough to need repairs. That fire was also contained and extinguished by the SVFD with a 100% call out and additional community volunteers.

The fire crew working this fire consisted of six career and two volunteer firefighters. Rauscher said three additional volunteers performed firefighter rehab.