PORT TOWNSEND — Investigators looking into the March 4 car fire that claimed the life of 36-year-old Melissa Graves have determined the fire originated in the engine compartment of her 2005 Honda Pilot.
“We’re reaching the consensus that it was an engine compartment fire,” said East Jefferson Fire and Rescue Chief Mike Mingee.
“There appears to be no foul play.”
Following an autopsy that took place March 6, the official cause of death was determined to be smoke inhalation and thermal burns, said Jefferson County Coroner Juelanne Dalzell.
Graves was the wife of Lawrence Graves, vice president of Frontier Bank and president of the Jefferson County Economic Development Council. She was pregnant with their first child.
Mingee commissioned on March 10 a forensic engineer from Tacoma who specializes in car fires to lead the investigation, and although the location of the fire has been determined, the cause is still unknown.
Mingee said when the forensic engineer finishes his report, expected in the next couple of weeks, the fire’s cause should be more clear.
Although the model of car Graves was driving was recalled in 2004 for issues with the gas tank, Mingee said that was not a contributing factor.
“It does not seem to be an issue with the gas tank,” he said.
