PORT ANGELES — Investigators are probing the cause of a fire that killed Patrick Leon Lewis, 63, inside his home at 218 E. Lopez Ave. early Friday.
Port Angeles police on Saturday identified Lewis as the man found dead in the burned wreckage.
Friends of his at the Front Street Alibi restaurant, however, said earlier they were sure he was the man they knew as Leo Lewis, who raised German shepherds. Twelve dogs died in the fire; one was rescued.
People who knew Lewis posted a message of mourning on the Alibi readerboard at 1605 E. Front St.
“It broke a lot of our hearts,” said Allie Johnson, an Alibi bartender who said Lewis was “not really a drinker” but “just came in, hung out” at the restaurant.
He was a favorite customer of its late-night employees, she said.
Valerie Bettger, another friend, said Lewis’ top interests were raising his dogs, restoring his two vintage vehicles and building and flying his model airplanes.
He sold the dogs that he raised, she said, but she declined to call it his business.
The rescued dog was taken to Olympic Veterinary Clinic in Port Angeles.
Its condition could not be immediately determined Saturday.
Smith said it could be claimed by relatives or turned over to the Olympic Peninsula Humane Society.
Deputy Police Chief Brian Smith said the cause of death will be determined in an autopsy.
The cause of the fire may not be determined until sometime this week, he said, adding that both fire and police officials are investigating it.
In a joint statement, Smith and Fire Chief Ken Dubuc said firefighters arriving at 5:28 a.m. found flames on multiple levels of the house, which was single-story but with a crawl space under the roof and an unfinished basement.
Smith said flames on different levels could indicate the fire had spread from one area to another.
For instance, “it could mean starting in the basement and spreading throughout the house,” he said.
Firefighters initially fought the fire from the outside, according to Dubuc.
The multiple fires “prohibited firefighters from making an interior attack.”
The PenCom dispatcher logged a call for a death investigation 16 minutes after the fire was reported, along with a request for mutual aid.
Firefighters search for occupants of a building as soon as they can enter it, Smith said.
“They’re going to try to get to people as soon as they can,” he said, calling the 16-minute span “a fairly normal course of events.
“Our [police] officers are on scene right away, as soon as there’s an apparent death, as soon as there’s a human loss of life.”
Dubuc said he did not know how long it was before firefighters could enter the house, although he said it “took awhile.”
Dubuc estimated it took about 90 minutes to bring the fire under control.
“It was a dangerous situation,” said Dubuc, as the fire was burning “from above and below.”
The single-story, two-bedroom, two-bathroom house was built in 1940, according to a sale listing on www.zillow.com. The 1,900-square-foot home had an unfinished daylight basement.
The fire was contained to the house, which police and fire officials say would likely be a total loss.
Lewis also owned a 1950 Chevrolet pickup truck and a two-tone 1950 Chevrolet sedan that he had restored, Bettger said.
And he was a student of aviation history.
“He never missed the air show that they have here,” she said, referring to the Wings of Freedom Tour’s World War II aircraft that visit William R. Fairchild International Airport every two years.
Lewis built flying replicas of the planes, she said.
Lewis lived alone, according to Bettger. She said he was not a smoker.
The Port Angeles Fire Department initially responded with Engine 11, Medic 11 and Ladder 11 — five personnel, according to the statement.
Three additional firefighters arrived on a second engine, and one Clallam County Fire District No. 2 volunteer responded.
Mutual aid was supplied by Clallam Fire District No. 3, which provided an engine and two personnel to staff the Port Angeles fire station.
Dubuc added that his department was in contact with the owner’s insurer.
Clallam County Assessor’s Office records show the building at the Lopez Avenue address is owned by Jessica Strauss.
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Reporter James Casey can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jcasey@peninsuladailynews.com.
Reporter Mark Swanson can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5050, or mswanson@peninsuladailynews.com.
