Woman dies in Ocean Shores fire

Call came while Fire Department was responding to two aid calls

By Angelo Bruscas • October 10, 2017 7:00 pm
(Courtesy of the Ocean Shores Fire Department) A firefighter goes through the aftermath of a fire on Victoria Loop in Ocean Shores.
(Courtesy of the Ocean Shores Fire Department) A firefighter goes through the aftermath of a fire on Victoria Loop in Ocean Shores.

A 70-year-old woman was killed in an Ocean Shores house fire early Saturday morning in the 100 block of Victoria Loop.

The fire occurred at 12;45 a.m. while the Ocean Shores Fire Department also was handling two simultaneous medical aid calls, which left only one firefighter to initially respond to the blaze in the northeastern neighborhood of the city.

A Fire Department report on the fire said the initial response was to a call of an explosion with multiple houses involved. At the time, two Fire Department crews were taking aid patients to Grays Harbor Community Hospital.

“With crews and ambulances already committed to those aid calls, OSFD responded with one structural engine staffed with one firefighter,” said a news release from Lt. Corey Kuhl. “Engine 71 arrived on scene to find a fifth wheel, nearby shed, and RV heavily involved in fire.”

Staffed by a Fire Department captain, Engine 71 was joined by an engine and one firefighter from Grays Harbor Fire District No. 7 in Ocean City “within several minutes of OSFD’s arrival on scene,” the news release said.

Also responding were two Ocean Shores Police officers, a Grays Harbor Sheriff’s deputy and the State Patrol, as efforts were made to “establish water supply, start putting water on the fire and begin evacuating neighboring homes.”

Kuhl noted the fire was under control and contained within 23 minutes of the first engine arriving, but then search crews found the victim inside. She is believed to have been the only occupant of the house.

Light damage was sustained to a neighboring mobile home on the east side of the fire, and an RV on the west side of the fire. The fire is still under investigation by the Ocean Shores Fire Inspector and local law enforcement.

“Ocean Shores Fire department would like to thank Ocean Shores Police, Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office, Washington State Patrol, GH Fire Dist. 7, and GH Fire Dist. 8 for their response and cooperation, also Hoquiam Fire helped by responding to a third EMS call during the fire,” Kuhl said.