Where there’s smoke, there’s not always fire.
While Juneau police cordoned off a two-block radius around the Mendenhall Tower Apartments on Monday morning, Capital City Fire/Rescue evacuated the downtown high-rise after smoke was reported in the upper floors.
Assistant Chief Tod Chambers said residents reported smoke, though the alarm system hadn’t activated. He said crews found haze starting on the fifth floor all the way to the top of the 127-unit complex on Fourth Street.
CCFR pulled the alarm system to evacuate the building as a precaution.
“We searched every room, every apartment from the 10th, the 11th and the 12th floor; we found nothing as a cause,” Chambers said. “We did note that there was some work that appeared to be going on in the boiler. There was something going on in the boiler that may have been the cause of the problem.”
Chambers said investigators searched for more than an hour but couldn’t identify the source of the smoke or the odors.
“The manager, the staff at the Mendenhall Towers and the people that live there were very cooperative,” Chambers said. “Once we explained to them what was going on, they were patient and they followed through. They did what they were supposed to.”
CCFR ventilated the building to get rid of the smoke and the smell.
An apartment spokesperson said the last time the fire alarm was activated was a couple weeks ago when a young person inadvertently hit the bar with their backpack.
