PORT ANGELES – Fire heavily damaged a unit at Panorama Manor apartments in Port Angeles on New Year’s Day.
No one was injured in the blaze, and besides the tenants of the affected unit — who were out of town at the time — no one was displaced from the 23-unit, two-story building at 805 E. Fifth St. The fire occurred at around 3 p.m. Saturday.
Port Angeles Fire Lt. Jeremy Church said the blaze appeared to have started on a patio on the ground floor and then spread into the adjoining apartment.
“On our arrival, fire was venting out the porch and fire had extended into the apartment,” Church said.
“There was fire shooting out of the apartment.”
Investigators are continuing to look into a cause.
A smoke detector alerted neighbors who witnessed flames, Church said.
“A neighbor noticed and they applied four fire extinguishers. There was too much smoke and fire and it overwhelmed them.” he said.
Port Angeles firefighters, with assistance from Clallam County Fire District 2, were able to quickly quell the blaze while occupants of the building waited on the front lawn or across the street in a light rain. Most were allowed to return to their units after about an hour.
Church said a damage estimate was not available at the time.
Port Angeles Fire Department Lt. Jeremy Church, left, and Chief Ken Dubuc look as firefighrers mop up a blaze that damaged a first-floor unit at Panorama Manor apartments, 805 E. Fifth St., on New Years Day. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
