AGNEW — Firefighters fought the flames for four hours before they contained a blaze that destroyed a home and left a family homeless.
No one was injured, but the home at 84 Hunters Gate Lane in Agnew is uninhabitable, said Patrick Young, spokesman for Clallam County Fire District No. 3, based in Sequim.
Firefighters were at the home all night after the blaze was reported at 6:56 p.m. Friday.
After ensuring the fire would not spread, firefighters finished mopping it up at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Young said.
Wife out of town
The unidentified homeowner said he and his dog would stay with friends. The man’s wife was out of town at the time of the fire, Young said.
Investigators were to enter the home after it cooled, Young said Saturday, and attempt to determine the cause and origin of the fire.
Firefighters fought heavy smoke and flames to retrieve some items from the house.
“We were able to salvage some things for the homeowner,” Young said.
“Unfortunately, the fire took most of the home.”
The fire in the isolated home, which Young estimated to be about 3,000 square feet, may have been smoldering for some time before bursting into flames.
The 58-year-old owner returned home after being away most of the day to find heavy smoke coming out of the roof eaves and called 9-1-1, Young said.
The first arriving fire units found flames licking out from the roof.
The crews attacked the fire in the large home but found it difficult to contain because of its heavy timber construction and the design of the ceiling and attic spaces, Young said.
Adding to the difficulty was the fact that the closest fire hydrant was nearly miles away at the intersection of Shore and Heuslein roads.
Water was shuttled by water tender the two miles.
Twice, firefighters had to slow their attack on the blaze while they waited for water, Young said.
Twelve pieces of fire apparatus and 26 firefighters answered the call for the two-alarm fire.
One crew remained Saturday to watch for hot spots, Young said.
Assisting the Sequim Fire Department was Clallam County Fire District No. 2, the Port Angeles Fire Department, Olympic Ambulance and the Clallam County Public Utility District.
The home is insured, Young said.
Small Gardner fire
While firefighters fought the Agnew blaze, another fire was reported in the fire district in Gardner.
At 8:40 p.m. Friday, a resident at 276784 U.S. Highway 101 reported a fire on the outside wall of a home.
Firefighters from the Sequim department and from Jefferson County Fire District No. 5 out of Discovery Bay found the fire already extinguished when they arrived.
Damage was contained to an exterior wall and the residents of the home were not displaced, Young said.
