PORT ANGELES — Seven people left homeless after a late Monday house fire had found a new place to live by Tuesday.
“Our insurance has already found us a new place,” said resident Bret Roles, a U.S. Coast Guard retiree, who asked that the names of other residents not be used.
“We’re very private people,” Roles said.
At least four adults live in the rental home at 112 J Shea Way. Roles said that one is seven months pregnant.
No one was home at the time of the fire at the house between Port Angeles and Sequim. No injuries were reported.
The blaze, reported at 5:09 p.m., began in the garage of the home and moved into an addition before being stopped by a closed door and efforts by firefighters.
Initial investigations show the fire started in the garage, but the cause of the fire had not been determined by Tuesday, Chief Steve Vogel of Clallam County Fire District No. 3 said.
“It extended to the upper floor, in a house addition,” he said.
He said the residents had shut a door between the addition and the rest of the house, which helped keep the fire away from the main house.
The fire got into the rafters, Vogel said, and firefighters had to tear down sheetrock to access it.
“The house is uninhabitable. It’s going to take extensive work to make it habitable,” he said.
Residents have renters insurance that will help the family settle into a new home, Roles said.
The residents of the home were initially helped by the Olympic Peninsula Chapter of the American Red Cross after their garage and a house addition were destroyed in a fire and the rest of the house was heavily damaged by smoke, Vogel said.
Roles said he has received help from two area churches, and he is expecting insurance to cover most of the losses.
“I don’t want to double-dip,” he said.
Volunteers at the home Tuesday helped to salvage as many of the family’s belongings as possible and move them out of the damaged house.
Most of it is salvageable, except for goods that were in the garage, and a closet full of baby supplies stored in a closet close to the fire.
Those were damaged by heat and smoke.
Vogel said the owners of the home were insured.
According to the Clallam County Assessor’s Office, the house is owned by Hannah, Elizabeth, Susha and Weston Pratt.
Clallam County Fire District 3 responded to the fire with four engines, two tenders, and had 18 firefighters on the scene.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
