The Ocean Shores Fire Department and other public safety agencies responded to an oceanfront hotel fire on Tuesday evening.
No injuries were reported, but there was substantial damage done by fire, smoke and water, said OSFD Chief Brian Ritter.
“At 6:36 last night, we were dispatched to a commercial structure fire at the BayVue Hotel,” Ritter said. “The fire was initially reported in a room on the second floor.”
Called in by an employee, smoke was evident on multiple floors, Ritter said.
“OSFD responded with two engines, a medic and a medic unit with a total of 10 firefighters from Ocean Shores and two from District 7,” Ritter said.
Elements of the Ocean Shores Police Department, Grays Harbor Auxiliary Volunteer Emergency Response Team and Grays Harbor Public Utility District also assisted.
“Crews made entry to find smoke conditions on floors two and three and floor one in the laundry room,” Ritter said. “We ended up finding the fire inside a wall on the first floor laundry room that extended up three floors inside the wall.”
Guests were evacuated from the structure to another hotel, Ritter said.
“It’s what we call a large commercial structure,” Ritter said. “Obviously the concern is occupancy. We made sure the building was cleared right away. Everybody was out, no injuries, everybody was safe.”
The fire, snarled in the wall as it was, was laborious to completely knock out, Ritter said. A major concern with fires in the walls is it getting into the attic spaces and spreading rapidly, Ritter said.
“The fire was really stubborn with the second floor structural components compromised by flame impingement. Crews remained on scene for four hours,” Ritter said. “It’s really labor intensive. We had to move a bunch of stuff away from the walls on floors one and two. We had to pull ceilings and walls down.”
The department’s ladder truck is also currently mechanically downchecked, Ritter said, complicating the response.
The cause of the fire is unknown but being investigated, Ritter said; it does not appear to be criminal in nature. The estimated damage is approximately $400,000, Ritter said.
“It’s under investigation. We think it started in the laundry room,” Ritter said. “We have our fire investigator looking at it.”
Contact Senior Reporter Michael S. Lockett at 757-621-1197 or michael.lockett@thedailyworld.com.
