PORT ANGELES — Officials with Clallam County Fire District No. 2 will host a public meeting this evening to address any unanswered questions about a fire that struck a vacant home in Gales Addition in late May.
The meeting is set to start at 7 tonight at the Fraternal Order of the Eagles Aerie 483, 2843 E. Myrtle St. east of the city limit, Fire District No. 2 Chief Sam Phillips said.
Phillips said he and a handful of his chief officers will be on hand to discuss the district’s response to the May 23 fire that destroyed a vacant home in the 500 block of North Larch Avenue.
“A lot of times, people have questions unanswered,” Phillips said Tuesday.
No concerns from residents about the fire prompted the meeting, Phillips added.
“This was specifically [the district’s] idea,” he said.
District officers also will use the meeting as an opportunity to discuss how quickly fire can spread and provide survival and fire-prevention tips.
“We want to emphasis to folks that even though homes are vacant, fires can still happen,” Phillips said.
Timing
District No. 2 fire crews arrived at the scene of the Larch Avenue fire at about 11:23 a.m. May 23 after receiving a call at 11:10 a.m., Phillips said.
The house was nearly engulfed in flames, he said.
The time from receiving the call to arriving on scene included time spent by volunteer firefighters driving from their homes to the district’s two main fire stations, one on Power Plant Road and the other on Baker Street in Gales Addition, and then responding to the fire, Phillips said.
The fire did an estimated $250,000 in damage. No one was injured, Phillips added.
The official cause of the fire is “undetermined,” Phillips said, though it likely started in the ceiling area above the kitchen and appeared to have been caused by the home’s electrical system.
“[The cause] appears to be electrical in nature, but I can’t pin it to a specific appliance or outlet,” Phillips said.
The house had been vacant with electricity and water shut off for the past six months, Phillips said, but the home’s owners had turned on the electricity about two hours before fire personnel received the 9-1-1 call about the fire.
Phillips said 13 firefighters in two fire engines, two water tender trucks and an ambulance responded.
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Reporter Jeremy Schwartz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jschwartz@peninsuladailynews.com.
