SEQUIM — Fire investigators were still trying Tuesday to determine the cause of a fast-moving blaze that tore through the front of a Port Williams Road home Sunday, killing a 90-year-old man and his 88-year old sister.
The fire, which broke out in the living room but did little damage elsewhere, killed Irvine and Agatha Schuman, who were unable to escape because of disabilities. They had lived in the house for more than a half-century.
Investigation began Monday and will continue through today, said Clallam County Fire District No. 3 Assistant Chief Tony Hudson.
“We don’t know the cause yet,” Hudson said, “other than it was fast-moving and appears to be accidental.
“It gutted the living room. The rest of the house only had smoke damage.”
Irvine Schuman, a retired Rayonier Inc. worker, called 9-1-1 from a chair in his living room at 8:04 a.m. Sunday.
“Ordinarily, they would have been able to get out of there but they were both using walkers,” said their brother, Winfred Schuman, of Port Angeles.
“My guess is there was something smoldering,” he said. “He wasn’t alarmed when he called for help. It must have flashed up in a hurry, and I think he couldn’t get out of his chair.”
This full report appears in today’s Clallam County edition of the Peninsula Daily News. Click on “Subscribe” to get the PDN delivered to your home or office.
