Early morning fire engulfs array of structures near Port Townsend

Published 12:01 am Thursday, November 17, 2011

Peninsula Daily News

PORT TOWNSEND — No one was hurt in an early morning fire that engulfed several small structures on Reynolds Road on Wednesday.

East Jefferson Fire-Rescue was alerted to the blaze in the 200 block of Reynolds Road, just outside the Port Townsend city limit, at 4:10 a.m.

There were no injuries, said Bill Beezley, spokesman for the fire department.

Assistant Chief Bob Low began a formal investigation into the cause of the fire after daylight. No results were announced Wednesday.

East Jefferson Fire-Rescue Chief Gordon Pomeroy was first on the scene, Beezley said.

“The darkness made it difficult at first to tell what I was seeing,” Pomeroy said.

“There was a pole tent burning, a metal shed burning, and the front of a semitrailer was on fire.”

Firefighters conducted two thorough searches of a nearby mobile home threatened by the fire but were unable to find any occupants, Beezley said.

“In fact, there were no occupants anywhere on the property even though a nearby fire pit still contained burning coals,” he said.

After firefighters knocked back the fire, an examination of the property revealed a badly damaged 8-foot-by-20-foot semi-trailer that appeared to have been inhabited, a destroyed metal shed permanently attached to the front of the semi-trailer and a large, badly damaged metal-poled tent adjacent to the metal shed that contained a number of bicycles and other items, Beezley said.

Firefighters sprayed foam on the scene and set up a fire watch.