A spectacular fire, possibly started by fireworks, destroyed the old Oakville hardware store built in the 1800s and two other buildings Tuesday night as Independence Day celebrations were coming to an end.
All three buildings were vacant and no injuries were reported.
Grays Harbor Fire District 1 Chief Bill Rodocker said a structure fire call was received at about 10 p.m. When firefighters arrived they found that the hardware store was fully in flames, as was the single residence to the east of the hardware store and the old Oakville liquor store to the west.
The hardware store at 105 E. Pine St. was built in the 1800s and the other two structures were aged as well.
“All three buildings were very old and tinder-dry,” Rodocker said.
Responders were just getting back from the scene on Wednesday morning, with two trucks remaining at the fire’s location to address hot spots.
“We probably had a wrap on it at about 7:30 or 7:45 this morning,” Rodocker said Wednesday.
With nothing else to go on other than an eye witness testimony, Rodocker said that as of now it appears fireworks are to blame for the fire.
“I had a witness come up to me this morning and say they were watching fireworks and that someone had shot a bottle rocket onto the roof of one of the buildings,” he said.
The blaze is believed to have started at the hardware store. Rodocker said the bottle rocket ignited the roof and the blaze then spread to the buildings directly to the east and west.
“They were doing a lot of fireworks right behind them (the buildings) in the alley,” said Nanette Mihalik, who witnessed the fire.
Mihalik, a retired firefighter whose family used to own the property, made her way to the fire after her son called her and brought her up to speed.
“They were the highest flames I’ve ever seen,” she said.
Familiar with the building, which was built around 1889, Mihalik said local loggers have always noted the potential fire danger.
“They always said that if a spark ever hits the roof, it’s going to take out the whole block,” she said.
The blaze didn’t take out the entire block, but was substantial enough for bystanders to see the flames and feel the heat from a distance.
“You could feel the heat from a half block away, and could see the flames from my house three and a half blocks away,” said bystander Roger Smith.
The old Oakville hardware store has changed hands multiple times over the years, but for the most part has remained a hardware store, as it was when its first owner H. W. Paul opened for business. However, former Oakville fire chief Buck Graham said the store shuttered at least 10 years ago.
Current owner of the old Oakville hardware store property, Zachary Carsten, is out of town and said he woke to numerous texts and calls about the fire.
“I started getting calls at around 3 a.m. with people saying ‘Hey, your building is on fire,’” he said.
Carsten has been the owner of the property for about 8 years. He had recently remodeled the upstairs into an apartment.
“I’m kind of at a loss, I was not expecting this at all,” Carsten said.
Fire districts 1 and 5, Riverside Fire Authority of Centralia and the West Thurston County Fire Department all assisted in putting out the fire.
(Travis Rains | The Vidette) The old Oakville hardware store, and two neighboring properties, burned down after catching fire late July 4. None were inured.
(Travis Rains | The Vidette) The old Oakville hardware store, and two neighboring properties, burned down after catching fire late July 4. None were inured.
