One room at the former Golden Lion Hotel caught fire on Thursday, and multiple units of the Anchorage Fire Department responded. The fire was contained to one room on the third floor, which was unoccupied. The fire was started in an electrical heating unit, Must Read Alaska has learned.
The former hotel has been converted into low income housing at the insistence of the leftist Anchorage Assembly. It was purchased by former Mayor Ethan Berkowitz for use as a drug rehabilitation center and has been at the center of controversy ever since, as the neighbors in the area of 36th Ave., Geneva Woods, and Rogers Park were not welcoming the addition of a possible criminal element to the family neighborhoods adjacent to the hotel.
The fire was reported at about 3:13 pm and declared under control by 3:41 pm. The sprinkler system in the building was effective in containing the fire, and smoke detectors warned residents to evacuate.
