GALES ADDITION — Fire crews with Clallam County Fire District No. 2 tamped down a second-story fire in a single-family home off McCarver Road east of Port Angeles on Tuesday.
Three people who were in the home when the fire started at about 2:19 p.m. got out safely, said Chief Sam Phillips with Fire District No. 2.
The fire appeared to have started behind a computer in an office/bedroom area on the second floor of the home, Phillips said.
“It appears to have been electrical in nature,” he added.
The fire was contained to the second floor and did not damage the house’s frame, though Phillips estimated that about $10,000 worth of house contents — such as carpet and personal belongings — was damaged or destroyed.
“It [was] all contents,” Phillips said. “Nothing structural; the structure itself is intact.”
Fire crews responded to the call for help at about 2:25 p.m. to find the home’s owner, Terry Caldwell, attempting to put the fire out with a garden hose, Phillips said.
“[Caldwell] held it in check until [we] got there with a [fire] hose line,” he said.
Caldwell was home with his two children. He took them to his father’s business across the street while the second floor burned, Phillips said.
Fire crews had the fire under control by about 2:35 p.m., Phillips said, and cleared the scene at 3:37 p.m.
In addition to the two fire engines, a Fire District No. 2 water tender, ambulance and chief’s car responded to the fire, Phillips said, with a total of 13 Fire District No. 2 firefighters.
