Butte hangar fire damages 3 planes, sends 8 responders to hospital

A Butte airplane hangar fire earlyTuesday morning sent eight emergency responders to a local hospital for smoke inhalation and possibly destroyed three planes, according to a written statement from the Matanuska-Sustina Borough. Fire departments from Butte and Palmer responded to the hangar, at 17901 E. Maude Road, about 2 a.m., according to the statement. Four Palmer firefighters, three Butte firefighters and one medic were taken to Mat-Su Regional Hospital for smoke inhalation, the borough said. As of 9:14 a.m., the hospital was evaluating two of the responders and had already admitted one, according to the statement. Megan Peters, Alaska State Troopers spokeswoman, said there was no one in the hangar at the time of the fire. CHECK BACK FOR UPDATES ON THIS DEVELOPING STORY. Reach Benjamin Brasch at bbrasch@adn.com or 257-4349. Twitter: twitter.com/ben_brasch Read more here: http://www.adn.com/2013/12/17/3235001/butte-hangar-fire-damages-3-planes.html#emlnl=Breaking_News#storylink=cpy