PORT ANGELES — An 80-year-old man was evaluated for smoke inhalation following an early morning fire Wednesday at the Mount Angeles View Villa Apartments on West Fifth Street in Port Angeles.
“What contained it was the fire sprinkler system. The building is concrete, which aided in preventing the spread of the fire,” said Michael Sanders, assistant fire chief.
“The sprinkler system extinguished the fire. Once the sprinklers went off, that set off the alarm and we got en route and confirmed the fire was out,” he said.
“I wholeheartedly believe in fire prevention,” Sanders added.
“The sprinkler system was the saving grace.”
Sanders had no damage estimate. He said firefighters had no definitive cause but said the fire seems to have started on the counter next to the stove.
The call was received at 7:52 a.m. and firefighters had cleared the scene by 9:38 a.m. A portion of Fifth Street was shut down during the response because there was no safe place to park there, Sanders said.
Because of the concrete walls and floor and 90 percent of the water having been vacuumed up, most of the damage is water damage and wet contents.
“The actual fire damage is very little,” he said.
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Reporter Brian Gawley can be reached at brian.gawley@sound publishing.com.
