BRINNON — A Brinnon woman’s body was discovered inside the remains of a three-story house after a fire.
Rosali Schlaefli, 85, was found dead in the remains of her home after the house caught fire early Tuesday morning, Brinnon Fire Chief Tim Manly said.
Her cause of death is unknown, as the team is waiting on a toxicology report, Manly said.
Rosali’s husband Wayne Schlaefli was able to escape the house, which suffered “total devastation,” Manly said.
Five fire departments send firefighters to the house fire near U.S. Highway 101 at milepost 312 at about 1:15 a.m. Tuesday, Brinnon Fire Chief Tim Manly said.
More than 20 first responders from Brinnon, Mason County Fire District 17, Quilcene Fire Rescue, Port Ludlow Fire & Rescue and Discovery Bay Fire Rescue were dispatched, he said.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and Mason PUD No. 1 also were represented at the blaze.
Firefighters extinguished the fire after an hour, but were still managing hot spots into the evening, Manly said.
It took the team several hours to find Schlaefli, who was initially reported as missing.
The Brinnon Fire Department remained on the scene Tuesday. Fire investigators from the sheriff’s department, East Jefferson Fire-Rescue and Kitsap County assisted with the investigation, which was still ongoing as of Tuesday afternoon, Manly said.
The cause of the fire is unknown, Manly said.
This is the second residential fire in south Jefferson County in as many weeks. A family lost all of its possessions in a blaze in Coyle on Dec. 2.
“Our little community is in need of thoughts and prayers once again,” Manly said.
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Jefferson County reporter Zach Jablonski can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 5, or at zjablonski@peninsuladailynews.com.
