Six dead in Noorvik house fire

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTVF) - Six people, including one adult woman and five children, died in a structure fire in Noorvik, Alaska on Wednesday, Jan. 24.

At the time the Alaska State Troopers received the report of a structure fire, the house was said to be a total loss, and the residents were unaccounted for. Officers dispatched to the scene that included Alaska State Troopers, Deputy State Fire Marshals and Village Public Safety Officers, were able to recover the remains of six bodies from the building.

“It was an older residence,” explained Alaska State Troopers spokesperson Tim Despain, “There were some concerns about the electrical and the heating there. But what exactly was the cause of the fire is undetermined at this time.”

The preliminary trooper report suggests the fire started near a Toyo stove that appeared to be in poor condition.

“The Deputy Fire Marshal’s investigating,” Despain added, “of course it’s very challenging, not only do you [not] have much left of it but an inch of ice covering pretty much everything.”

The remains have been sent to the State Medical Examiner’s office in Anchorage for positive identification and efforts to notify next of kin are ongoing.