PORT ANGELES — A Port Angeles barbershop was damaged Monday night and four residents of an upstairs apartment complex were evacuated in a small fire at 412 S. Lincoln St.
“Everybody got out and no one was hurt,” said Tom Neudorfer, owner of the complex.
“It could have been worse.”
At least one resident is being housed by the Olympic Peninsula Chapter of the American Red Cross until electricity is restored to the apartments, Neudorfer said.
An official investigation is under way, but the cause is considered to be an electrical short.
“It appeared to start in an electrical outlet,” said Fire Marshal Ken Dubuc of the Port Angeles Fire Department.
The fire department was dispatched to the two-story, wood frame commercial structure at 11:04 p.m.
The fire was extinguished in about 20 minutes.
A passer-by noticed smoke coming from the building and called to the residents upstairs, alerting two.
One occupant, who is also an employee of the Olympic Barber Shop, tried to quell the fire with an extinguisher, but the smoke was too heavy, Dubuc said.
Electrical outlet glowing
One of the electrical outlets in the barbershop was so hot it was glowing, Dubuc said.
Upon their arrival, firefighters evacuated two other residents and combed the building before extinguishing the fire.
“There were four people present at the time of the fire,” Dubuc said.
Fire crews had to cut walls and part of the ceiling to reach the fire.
The initial damage estimate was $10,000.
“It was a fairly small fire, but it was within the walls,” Dubuc said.
Neudorfer said he is meeting with an adjuster today to access the damage.
“The barber shop sustained smoke damage, and the walls in the back had to be torn out,” he said.
One of the apartment units sustained smoke damage, but the extent of the damage was unclear on Tuesday.
Neudorfer said he would have a better idea of when power will be restored to the apartments today.
Fourteen emergency personnel from two fire engines, two medical units and two chief vehicles responded to the blaze.
________
Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
