PORT LUDLOW — An improperly installed steel heat deflection plate ignited a wooden sauna wall, causing the March 15 fire in Ludlow Beach Club, fire investigators said Tuesday.
“We’ve determined the cause of the fire,” said Wayne Kier, Jefferson County Fire District No. 3 (Port Ludlow) chief.
“It was the hot object too close to combustibles.”
Fire investigators ruled out three other fire scenarios, Kier said.
The club installed deflection plates in the saunas of both locker rooms about two months ago, Kier said.
Investigators discovered signs of a potential fire in men’s sauna, which wasn’t used as much as the women’s, Kier said.
Both saunas were built about 15 years ago.
The blaze charred the women’s locker room in the clubhouse complex, and shut down operations for at least a week.
