An early morning fire at the Alaskan Hotel on Saturday caused about $2,500 in damage, according to Juneau Fire Chief Rich Etheridge. Hotel guests were evacuated, but allowed to return in about an hour.
Etheridge says the fire was caused by carelessly discarded smoking materials.
A little after 1 a.m., Capital City Fire and Rescue responded to a report of smoke in the 100-year-old hotel at 167 South Franklin Street in downtown Juneau. Etheridge says fire crews from all CCFR districts responded.
He says the fire was found in the concealed wall spaces and support structure at the front of the building.
Fire crews opened up the wall from the basement and building exterior, put out the fire and removed the charred wood.
He says the 45-room wood-framed hotel has a number of void spaces, where fires can travel throughout the building undetected. He says Saturday morning’s fire was very similar to one that occurred on Nov. 11, 2002, which was also caused by discarded smoking materials.
No injuries were reported.
