PORT ANGELES — A fast-moving house fire left a family of six homeless late this afternoon, but the entire family — Bill Boston, his wife, Joanna, and their four children, ages 4 though 16 — escaped without injury.
The fire began about 5 p.m. in the two-story rental home at 1614 W. Eighth St.
Bill Boston said that the fire started on his couch, where one of his children was playing.
“In 20 seconds, it was everywhere,” he said of the blaze.
He was able to get his family out of the house.
“Everybody’s safe,” he said.
After the fire was knocked down by the Port Angeles Fire department, a firefighter carried an apparently healthy gray kitten out of the house and handed it to Boston.
Boston said that he hadn’t yet seen the damage inside but believed that most of the upstairs living area had been destroyed.
“All my kids’ stuff was upstairs; the kitchen is finished; all of our living room furniture gone,” he said.
Capt. Duke Moroz of the Port Angeles Fire Department said the Red Cross had been called to assist the family with emergency shelter.
Boston said the family immediately needs storage for belongings that survived the blaze and to get them settled so that he can return to his work at Port Angeles Hardwoods.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
