Dog detects chemicals in fire ruins

Dog detects chemicals in ruins of restaurant: Alaska News | adn.com

An accelerant-detecting dog sniffing through the rubble at Peter's
Sushi Spot has detected chemicals in several areas near the fire's
point of origin.

Investigators are not using the word arson.
Samples are on their way to a laboratory for analysis, said Anchorage
Fire Department spokeswoman Jen Klugh.

The
fire broke out early Saturday morning at the Midtown restaurant near
its east wall by an entrance that leads into an office, Klugh said.
Investigators have been unable to determine conclusively if the fire
started in the office or outside the exterior door on a walkway, she
said.

"The investigators are not
indicating that they think it's suspicious, but since Jodi did get some
hits, they decided to get the samples to a lab," Klugh said. "It could
turn out that it's suspicious, but at this point the investigators did
not indicate that it was."

Two
Anchorage fire investigators, accompanied by the dog, Jodi, and her
handler, have spent most of the week sifting through the ashes and
pumping water out of the restaurant's basement as they search for the
fire's origin.

Though Jodi is
trained to detect 25 accelerants, her getting a hit does not
necessarily mean the chemical she detected was used in an arson, Klugh
said. The chemical could have been there - in a bottle, for example -
before the fire broke out.

The
cause of the fire will remain under investigation until results from
the lab come back, likely within a few weeks, Klugh said. If results
indicate the fire's cause was not arson, the cause might never be
established, she said.

In the meantime, the scene is sealed off in case investigators need to revisit it, Klugh said.

The
fire was reported at about 5:30 a.m. Saturday, when passers-by called
911. It was unclear how long the restaurant, at 4140 B St., had already
been burning, but by 8:50 a.m. the structure's east wall collapsed.

The
blaze drew a two-alarm response and was burning so fiercely that
firefighters had to pull out of the building shortly afer arriving and
attack it from the outside with power hoses.

The
building had a tar roof, foam insulation and no sprinkler system -- all
of which worked to the fire's advantage. It is considered a total loss,
with damages estimated at about $2 million, according to the department.

There were no injuries.

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