Anchorage Fire Department responds to partial building collapse in Taku/Campbell neighborhood

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Anchorage firefighters responded to a partial building collapse in the Taku/Campbell neighborhood on Friday morning, according to a news release from the Anchorage Fire Department.

Firefighters were called to a building in the 5400 block of Cordova Street, between East 53rd and East 54th avenues, at 9:09 a.m. on a suspected gas leak. Property records for the municipality show the owner of condominiums on the site, as well as a kitchen design business.

When firefighters arrived, they saw the building had partially collapsed. Everyone who was inside the building got out and no injuries were reported.

The cause of the collapse is still under investigation.

The fire department stressed in the release the importance of clearing snow off roofs and said there is approximately 20-25 pounds per square foot of snow load on Anchorage roofs.

It’s the latest in a series of roof failures this winter and last, which investigators have blamed on heavier-than-normal snow loads amid record snowfalls, as well as poor wood truss designs from over 30 years ago.

In December, a Spenard Builders Supply dispatch center in the Spenard neighborhood saw a massive section of its roof collapse, and just earlier this week, the roof of a warehouse in the Taku-Campbell neighborhood came down.

Last winter, there were at least five reported roof collapses in the Anchorage and Mat-Su areas, including a Crossfit gym collapse that killed a woman.

Copyright 2024 KTUU. All rights reserved.