Explosion at gas plant at Point MacKenzie

Three explosions went off at Point MacKenzie this morning. An employee of Fairbanks Natural Gas Company reported an explosion at 7:16 a.m. Deputy Fire Chief Mike Keenan reported a second explosion as he was enroute to the scene before 8 a.m.

The gas company is at mile 2.5 Ayrshire Road in the rural Point MacKenzie area. No one was injured. One neighbor reportedly evacuated. Firefighters from Central MAT-SU Fire Dept. responded. At the peak of the fire, two engines, three tankers, a hazardous materials team, and a rescue team were on scene.

A maintenance building burned to the ground, said Dennis Brodigan, Director of Emergency Services for the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. A production building was close enough to the blaze that firefighters protected it by dousing the nearby flames with water. Firefighters also protected tanks that were near flames. The gas flow was turned off.

The fire is outside of the Central MAT-SU's protection area. The State Fire Marshal will be on scene investigating the cause of the explosion. After 9 a.m. firefighters pulled back from the scene a quarter of a mile away when they witnessed a third explosion, possibly from a semi-truck or oil barrel that had been inside the burning building. The truck had been venting as the building burned and likely had vented all its gas. “It probably exploded because of its diesel fuel,” Brodigan said. As of 10 a.m. the fire is just burning the debris of the building, the cool temperatures of 7 degrees are keeping the fire in check. Most of the firefighters are returning to station now to prevent equipment from freezing up.

Some firefighters are standing by to assist the Fire Marshal.
Officials from Fairbanks Natural Gas Co. are on scene.

Photo of FNG plant by Patty Sullivan, MSB. Taken last spring.

Photo at right taken by Dep. Fire Chief Mike Keenan after fire.

For more information call Patty Sullivan at 355-0103 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.