PORT TOWNSEND — A pickup owned by a part-time Port Townsend resident burst into flames and was destroyed near the Spruce Goose restaurant at the Jefferson County International Airport earlier this week.
There were no injuries in connection with the Ford F-150 fire at 8:14 p.m. Tuesday, said Bill Beezley, spokesman for East Jefferson Fire-Rescue.
Firefighters extinguished the fire in about five minutes using a water and foam mixture, Beezley said.
The pickup was destroyed.
Fire officials believe the fire started in the wiring harness of the pickup.
Beezley gave this account of the fire:
The owner, Hall Baetz — who lives in Port Townsend and Seattle — was at the airport looking at planes with his 5-year-old grandson, when he noticed white smoke coming from under the hood of his red Ford pickup and thought it was from the radiator.
Once he realized it was from fire, he called 9-1-1 emergency dispatchers.
Meanwhile, B.J. Hallinan, owner of PT Aircraft Services, smelled smoke and ran out with a fire extinguisher while his wife, Jodi, also called for the fire department.
Hallinan emptied his fire extinguisher on the truck, which by then was partially engulfed in flames.
