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Fire guts vacant Aberdeen house
Tuesday, May 6, 2008 11:12 AM PDT
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| JACOB JONES | The Daily World A group of Aberdeen firefighters huddle in front of a vacant, two-story house that caught fire Monday evening on the 200 block of F Street. The Union Gospel Mission once used the home for temporary housing, but it was unoccupied and no one was injured. |
Battalion Chief Bill Mayne with the Aberdeen Fire Department said firefighters from Aberdeen and Hoquiam responded to the 200 block of F Street at about 5:30 p.m. to find visible flames and smoke coming from almost every seam in the house.
No one was injured, but the house received significant fire and smoke damage, Mayne said. Firefighters initially worried squatters could still be in the house, though multiple searches determined the house was unoccupied.
“They didn’t find anybody,” Mayne said.
The house’s “balloon construction,” which lacks fire stops between floors, allowed the fire to rapidly travel up through the walls to the attic. Firefighters had to chase hidden flames running behind the wood framing and flaring out through the siding.
“It was pretty common in the ’20s,” Mayne said of the construction.
The house belonged to the Union Gospel Mission of Grays Harbor and was intended to be used for temporary housing, he said. The inside was bare and graffiti marred the exterior. It was valued at about $42,000 with plans for renovation.
Mission director Gary Rowell said the house was donated a couple years ago, but never livable. They locked it up until they could get the money for repairs.
“We really don’t have time to do anything with (the house),” he said.
A crowd collected along the streets as many returned from work. Boys on bikes cruised between emergency vehicles. People took pictures of the firefighters as they rolled out hoses and started up chainsaws.
“It seemed like it had a pretty good start before we got there,” Mayne said.
Swirling clouds of smoke danced behind the glass before firefighters smashed out the windows with pry bars. Fire climbed up the front of the house, destroying a deck before moving upstairs and into the attic.
About 17 firefighters where involved in extinguishing the blaze, spending about three hours at the scene, Mayne said. Crews also responded to two medical calls during the fire, while a third was reassigned.
Mayne said investigators are now looking at the heavily damaged front portion of the house for clues as to what caused the fire. They have collected several samples for testing and ruled out a few possibilities.
“They’re down to just a few other choices,” he said.
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