SEQUIM — The residents of a duplex escaped a fire uninjured Wednesday, but two cats were not as fortunate.
The animals were killed in the blaze at 44 My Way west of Sequim.
Bob Rhodes, Clallam County Fire District No. 3 spokesman, said one cat and two dogs made it out alive.
The duplex is the third home to catch fire in the area west of Sequim this week. It’s also the sixth home to catch fire in Clallam County over the past two weeks.
Late Tuesday night, a fire damaged a vacant home on U.S. Highway 101 near Kirk Road.
On Sunday, a home in the Lost Mountain Road area was destroyed by a fire.
The cause of the three fires remain under investigation.
Wednesday’s duplex fire began at about 6 p.m. in the west half of the duplex.
Rhodes said the west half, home to three people, is heavily damaged by fire and smoke. The east half, home to four people, has possible smoke damage.
The Olympic Peninsula Chapter of the American Red Cross is assisting the residents, he said.
One person was home in the west half when the fire started but was not hurt.
Rhodes said the cause of the fire was unknown Wednesday.
The investigation of Tuesday’s fire near Kirk Road, which began at about 9:30 p.m., is being conducted by the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office.
Undersheriff Ron Peregrin said investigators will consider arson as a possible cause since the home was unoccupied and had no electricity.
“We don’t know if there was a transient camped in there that used a fire or what it could be,” he said.
“But since we have nobody living there, and no real plausible explanation, you have to treat it like it could be an arson.”
Peregrin said the Sheriff’s Office is taking the same approach in the investigation of a house fire that occurred on June 28 near Forks.
That home was a weekend retreat for its owners, who weren’t there at the time of the blaze.
Port Angeles Fire Marshall Ken Dubuc said a Port Angeles residential fire on July 8 remained under investigation by his department. He added arson is not being considered as a possible cause.
The other Clallam County residential fire that occurred in the last two weeks was in Eden Valley on June 28.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
