"It had been going quite awhile before we were paged," said KES Chief Bob Cicciarella, who received the call at 5:35 p.m. and was on the scene 10 minutes later.

By the time Cicciarella arrived, flames were eating away at the center part of the main structure, plus an addition to one side where Cicciarella said it appeared the fire started. Also involved were a large two-story garage and shop near the home.

No one was at the residence at the time the fire began, but "they came back to the house on fire," Cicciarella said.

American Red Cross of Alaska was contacted to provide assistance to the Carroll family, said Kelley McGuirk, disaster preparedness and response director. The Carrolls have chosen to stay with family members in the area for now, but will be meeting with a local Red Cross volunteer later this week.

A donation jar has been set up at the Fritz Creek General Store, according to Janet Middleton, a friend of the Carrolls. Families at McNeil Canyon Elementary School, where one of the Carroll children is a student, have given clothing donations for Middleton to share with the family, but for now, she said, "they're just getting toothbrushes and trying to figure out what's next."

Fuels and ammunition made for a dangerous situation for firefighters.

What appeared to be a 300-gallon and a 500-gallon home heating fuel tanks, a 55-gallon drum of what is believed to be gasoline and several 90-pound propane tanks were in close proximity to the shop and home.

"Large fuel tanks they had there for heating fuel were probably venting 30 feet into the air with flames," Cicciarella said. "It was definitely a heart-pounder. Everybody was pretty much standing back because of explosions and the ammunition."

No injuries occurred, although one firefighter was overcome by heat. After a brief break, the firefighter returned to the scene. One of the family's cats remains unaccounted for.

A driveway around the entire perimeter of the house proved helpful to firefighting efforts, helping contain flames and decreasing the risk of a wildland fire.

"The biggest issue was that it was down a long, single lane dirt road that was very narrow, and then went down a long driveway ... so water and tanker operations were very difficult to set up," Cicciarella said.

The nearest space large enough for two local water haulers - Water Works and Quick Draw -to make deliveries was some distance from the scene, requiring hand-laid hose to deliver it directly to the site of the fire.

All KES apparatus and 16 firefighters responded, with about the same number of personnel and additional equipment coming from Homer. Anchor Point also supplied equipment and firefighters.

"Homer was running a recruit class, so a lot of their guys got some first-hand experience," Cicciarella said, adding, "Everybody really stepped up to the task and all companies worked great together."

Anchor Point supplied two tankers and extra personnel.

Firefighters were able to salvage a small excavator on a flat bed truck, but "that was about the best we could do," the chief said. "There was a lot of metal and tin roofing that had to be pulled back in order to get to the rest of the fire. It was extremely hot because of the fuels and the size of the buildings."

Although the cause of the fire is still under investigation, Cicciarella offered one cautionary note for the public.

"The biggest thing people really need to be aware of is the amount of fuel and propane that they store in or near their homes," he said.

McKibben Jackinsky can be reached at mckibben.jackinsky@homernews.com.