PORT TOWNSEND — The early discovery of a fire in a pool house prevented damage to a home located on the bluffs west of Port Townsend on Monday afternoon.
The owner of the house at 105 Rainshadow Drive was returning from town when he saw smoke rising from the adjacent building and immediately called 9-1-1, according to a news release from East Jefferson Fire-Rescue.
By the time firefighters arrived about seven minutes later, flames were spreading across the roof of the building, and firefighters immediately attacked the fire and brought it under control within a few minutes.
The approximately 400-square-foot building, which housed a small heated swimming pool, was severely damaged in the process.
The fire could have easily spread to the house’s deck, which was about 10 feet from the pool house.
“It was good that he came home at this time and caught it,” said East Jefferson Fire-Rescue spokesman Bill Beezley.
“If he had stayed in town a little longer, it would have burned all the way across and would have caught the deck. We would have had something very big here.”
The fire investigation task force was investigating the cause of the blaze, but initial reports indicate the fire may have originated with an external propane water heater at one corner of the building, Beezley said.
Ten firefighters from East Jefferson Fire-Rescue were assisted by an engine company from Naval Magazine Indian Island.
Firefighters ran a hose several hundred feet from the end of North Jacob Miller Road to the fire scene as the road was too narrow to accommodate the larger engines.
