PORT ANGELES — A small fire on a stove in a fourth-floor apartment downtown on Wednesday created a downpour of water on neighbors and businesses below.
The fire in Lee Plaza, the former Lee Hotel at 112 W. First St., apparently started on a stove which had some papers and trash on it and set off the sprinkler system, Fire Chief Dan McKeen said.
No one was in the apartment at the time.
“We do not suspect arson, and at this time it appears to be an accidental fire,” McKeen said.
The sprinklers doused the fire quickly, leaving only a small amount of smoke damage on the wall adjacent to the stove.
But because no one was home at the time of the fire, the sprinklers continued to go off until alarms downstairs began to go off — and water began to flow down.
The water rained into ground floor Northwest Fudge and Confections, 110 W. First St., drenching much of the candy, fudge and gift items in the store’s inventory.
Owner Bob Lumens said it wasn’t the first time he has dealt with water pouring in from sprinklers upstairs.
He said two other minor fires caused drenchings at his previous storefront — now Raven’s World — in the Lee a few doors west.
“This is the third time we’ve had this happen to us,” he said.
“It’s been this bad and worse before.”
“Someone upstairs does something and thousands of gallons of water have nowhere to go — except for me.”
