UPDATE: AST has tentatively identified the identities of the two victims of the fatal Napakiak jail fire as Becca White, age 24, and Isaiah Parka, age 22, both of Napakiak. They also revealed that the guard who suffered injuries attempting to rescue them from their jail cells has been medevaced out of state for further treatment of what has been described as serious injuries.

Positive identity has yet to be revealed by the SME office in Anchorage.

ORIGINAL: AST is reporting a fatal fire at the Napakiak Jail early on Sunday morning that took the lives of two prisoners housed there and injured a jail guard.

The call went in to Bethel troopers from Napakiak at 1:27 am this morning reporting that the jail in that community was fully engulfed in flames. Both guards successfully made it out of the structure, but the two prisoners, who have yet to be positively identified, did not.

According to the report, one guard attempted unsuccessfully to free the prisoners and received significant injuries for his efforts. That guard was medevaced out of the community for treatment of his injuries.

The second jail guard reported to troopers that one of the prisoners had set their mattress on fire in the cell. Patrol troopers responded to the scene and after the fire was out, located the remains of the two prisoners. The remains are being sent to the State Medical Examiner’s office in Anchorage for autopsy and positive identification.

“Deputy Fire Marshals and an ABI investigator from Anchorage responded to the community to investigate,” troopers reported.

  death, fatal, fire, injuries, investigation, jail, mattress, napakiak, prisoners