SEQUIM — A Sequim man saved from a fire near Woodcock Road on Sunday was involved in one of four fires the Clallam Fire District 3 had to quell this past weekend.
Assistant Chief Dan Orr said fire crews fought a fire in Diamond Point on Friday night, a fifth wheel trailer blaze on Saturday night in Blyn, a structure fire off Woodcock Road on Sunday night and another structure fire early Monday morning near Old Olympic Highway.
• At 10:35 p.m. Friday, firefighters arriving at Greta’s Place in Diamond Point found smoke coming from underneath the single-story home, Orr said.
Residents evacuated prior to fire crews arriving, he said, and firefighters attacked the fire from behind the building to knock it down successfully.
However, smoke damage led fire investigators to deem the building uninhabitable at a loss of $275,000 for the home and its contents, Orr said.
Clallam County Fire District 2 assisted with a medical aid call while fire crews were on scene.
• Firefighters arrived at 5:55 p.m. Saturday at 7 Cedars’ parking lot off U.S. Highway 101 to combat a fire in a 35-foot trailer from Arizona. One of its owners told fire crews he had been having difficulties with the electrical system, Orr said.
It was unoccupied, but was deemed a loss at an estimated $50,000 value, fire officials report.
• Late Sunday night, fire crews arrived at 10:51 p.m. to the 3000 block of Woodcock Road to help a man trapped inside his home by the blaze.
Orr reported that the unidentified, middle-aged man told a 9-1-1 Peninsula Communications dispatcher he smelled smoke and saw his porch on fire.
The fire had blocked his exit, Orr said, so the man retreated to his bedroom and closed the door.
A prior injury prevented him from escaping through the window but he communicated to the dispatcher his location, fire officials reported.
“The smoke was so thick that he told dispatch he was going to lay on the ground until rescuers could get to him,” Orr said.
“This information was invaluable to arriving firefighters who found the front porch and door fully involved.”
Orr said firefighters aggressively fought the porch flames with the VES (vent, enter, search) maneuver that allowed them to break the bedroom window, and pull the man out to a captain and a Clallam County Sheriff’s deputy.
He was pulled from his home within 90 seconds of the first unit’s arrival, Orr said.
“It is a rarity that a firefighter gets to make ‘The Grab,’” Orr said. “It usually only occurs once or twice, if really lucky.”
The man suffered from smoke inhalation and was transported to Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles with minor injuries, fire officials report.
The cause of the fire is unknown, fire officials reported, with investigation continuing.
Orr estimated the fire damage at about $100,000.
Firefighters involved in pulling the man from the house included firefighters Mark Mullvane and Joel McKeen and Capt. Kjel Skov.
• With some officials still en route back to their stations from the Woodcock Road fire, another fire report came in to emergency dispatchers from a neighbor on the 100 block of House Road off Old Olympic Highway.
They arrived about 90 seconds after the call to quickly stop the fire, limit damage and salvage belongings beyond the living room, Orr said.
Occupants told fire officials they awoke to smoke inside the home and flames around the front door.
The homeowner evacuated his family and began to fight the fire with a garden hose, Orr said.
An investigation continued on Tuesday. Fire officials suspect it was caused by discarded smoking material.
No criminal investigation has been prompted for any of the fires, Orr said.
He said the home in Diamond Point and House Road, and the fifth wheel at the casino were insured but he’s unsure if the Woodcock Road home was insured.
All occupants found lodging or were provided lodging on the night of their incidents, Orr said.
For the Sunday night and early Monday morning fires, seven vehicles and nearly 30 career and volunteer personnel responded from Dungeness, Sequim, Carlsborg and Blyn with volunteers at R-Corner ready to respond, too. Clallam County Sheriff’s Office and Clallam Public Utility District personnel also responded to the fires.
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Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. Reach him at mnash@sequimgazette.com.
