Update
Sequim Gazette staff
A home south of Palo Alto Road that was destroyed by a fire on April 8 was ruled accidental, Fire District 3 officials said.
Dan Orr, assistant chief with Clallam County Fire District 3, said because the structure was a total loss, investigators had to rely substantially on witness statements to conclude the investigation.
Clallam County Sheriff’s Office and Fire District 3 were investigating the fire at 455 Don Schmith Road through last week.
Fire crews arrived on scene at 8:51 p.m. on April 8 to discover most of the home in flames.
Orr said occupants discovered the fire quickly and evacuated unharmed from the 1,776-square-foot home built in 1956.
Damage estimates came to $80,000 for the home and $20,000 in contents, fire officials reported.
Clallam County Fire District 2 and Jefferson County Fire District 5 assisted with the incident.
Original story
by Arwyn Rice
Olympic Peninsula News Group
Clallam County Fire District No. 3 and the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the cause of a fire that destroyed a home south of Sequim on Friday, April 8.
The home at 455 Don Schmith Road was destroyed Friday night, despite the efforts of several fire districts.
Fire district firefighters were dispatched to a report of a structure fire at 8:51 p.m. Friday and found three-quarters of the house burning heavily, the fire district said in a news release Sunday.
Two water tenders, from Clallam County Fire District No. 2 and Jefferson County Fire District No. 5, assisted with water supply.
Employees from Clallam County Public Utility District shut down power to the structure.
All of the occupants had escaped the fire and there were no injuries.
Initial damage estimates were $80,000 for the house and $20,000 in contents, according to the news release.
According to Clallam County records, the property is owned by Donald Cobb.
The 1,776-square-foot house was built in 1956.
Crews cleared the scene at 1:52 a.m. Saturday.
Members of the American Red Cross assisted in providing shelter to the occupants of the house.
Arwyn Rice is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. She can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
