The Port Angeles Fire Department is investigating the cause of a fire Wednesday night that destroyed a house, killed several pets and left a couple without a home.
“It was rolling, heaving fire conditions out the front door and the front two windows,” said Capt. Jamie Mason. “We started a defensive attack from the outside, transitioned inside and did a primary and secondary search where we found several deceased animals but no humans.”
He said no people were injured during the fire at 409 S. Valley St. He said when the fire was first reported at about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday two of the five firefighters on shift were already on another call.
Only three firefighters were able to respond initially, making battling the blaze tougher, he said.
“There was three of us and that made it really challenging just to get water on the fire,” he said, adding that once they got inside it was still difficult to maneuver. “It took quite awhile to knock it down. Just getting access to the correct angles to get water on the fire was a challenge.”