PORT ANGELES — Three firemen and two residents were treated and discharged from Olympic Medical Center after a fire destroyed a home on South Laurel Street early in the morning of the day after Christmas,.
Joan Schott, 75, had lived at the home on the 2800 block of South Laurel for more than 40 years, her daughter Debbie Sanford said.
“All four of us siblings went to school in Port Angeles and grew up in that house,” said Sanford.
Joan Schott and her son Mark Schott, who cares for his mother and lives with her, were treated for smoke inhalation and discharged from Olympic Medical Center after the Saturday blaze.
The fire began at 2 a.m. in the basement of the three-story home, said Port Angeles Fire Captain James Mason.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, Mason said.
All three firefighters who were injured, including Chief Dan McKeen, were treated and discharged on Saturday.
They were in the backyard of the home, and smoke wafting from the home obscured large boulders that were part of an artificial stream, Mason said, and each tripped and had minor injuries.
The other injured firefighters were Kelly Ziegler and Fire Training Officer Keith Bogues.
Joan and Mark Schott escaped the blaze when they heard the smoke detectors go off, Mason said.
Both are staying at the home of Winfred Schuman, Joan’s brother, said Sanford
“The frame of the house is standing, but everything inside is gone,” she said.
An ashy Christmas tree and charred tables and chairs are visible through the broken windows of the home. A skeleton of scorched boards outline where the walls of the home once were. Silhouettes of metal create the shapes of couches, a stove, a lawn mower.
“It is so devastating for her to have lost everything,” said Sanford of her mother.
A family friend had already offered a rental home for Joan Schott to stay in until something can be figured out and once the insurance company makes an assessment, Sanford said on Sunday.
“This is a great community and I’m sure that they will help her and my brother get through it,” Sanford said.
Schott’s son Jeff also lives in the area, and Sanford and her other sibling, Ron, live in the Seattle area.
Joan Schott’s husband, Ronald, died several years ago, Sanford said.
Ironically, and sadly, two of Schott’s siblings — Irvin and Agatha Schuman — died in a house fire in Sequim in 2001, Sanford said.
Sanford said the fire appears to have started when something in the basement “combusted.”
“It was on the opposite side of the house from the furnace, though, so that wasn’t it,” she said.
Mason said Port Angeles Fire Marshal Ken Dubuc is investigating.
Clallam County Fire District No. 2 sent about eight firefighters to the blaze, Mason said.
Port Angeles had more than a dozen people on scene.
The firefighters worked for about 10 hours to extinguish the blaze, he said.
Anyone who would like to help the Schotts should phone Winfred Schuman at 360-457-4585.
“They need everything,” said Sanford on Sunday afternoon.
“Nothing survived.
“We are at Value Village right now trying to get some clothing for them to get through the first few days.”
__________
Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
