Clallam County Fire District #3

2012-05-14 Firefighters extinguish two brush fires

fschmeling — Tue, 15 May 2012 16:42:37 +0000

Clallam County Fire District 3 responded to two brush fires May 14, the largest of which covered close to two acres.
Firefighters received a call for a logging processor fire spreading to brush and logging debris at 6:40 p.m. in the area of 1300 S. Bagley Creek Road. Heavy black smoke was reported to 9-1-1 in an active logging area and the first arriving units found an excavator fully consumed by fire and a brush fire slowly moving up a steep hill, said Public Information Officer Patrick Young.
A light breeze pushed the fire southeast toward Bagley Creek Road and with the help of another excavator and a bulldozer on scene, a fire line was cut to control the fire, he said.
No homes or other structures were threatened by the remote fire.
Fire crews extinguished the excavator fire and began the slow process of climbing the hill and extinguishing the brush fire, using water shuttled to the remote area by water tenders, he said.
With 10 pieces of equipment and 16 personnel on scene, the fire was contained to fewer than two acres of logging debris, Young said.
No injuries were reported and the fire was turned over to Washington Department of Natural Resources firefighters for final control of hot-spots.
Earlier in the day, at 10:13 a.m., Fire District 3 responded to a small brush fire in the county campground at the Dungeness Recreation Area caused by a portable generator, Young said.
Park staff and bystanders were able to extinguish the 4-by-6 fire and keep it from spreading. One engine with four firefighters was assigned to mop up this fire.

2012-3-22 Propane heater explodes in SunLand

fschmeling — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 15:34:20 +0000

A 57-year-old man is being treated for burns to his face and hands after the propane heater he was working on exploded at a home on Horizon View Drive in SunLand.

Patrick Young, public information officer with Clallam County Fire District 3, said the man did something to the heater that made it explode.

The force of the explosion blew a door off its frame inside the garage area of the home and caused one of the exterior house walls to bow outward, Young said.

A small portion of insulation smoldered from the flash fire following the explosion and was extinguished on scene, he said.

No other injuries were reported.

by AMANDA WINTERS Sequim Gazette

2012-3-17 Burning up the box

fschmeling — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 17:14:33 +0000

Sequim Gazette staff
with Patrick Young, Clallam County Fire District 3 public information officer

Fourteen men and women in the Clallam County Fire District 3 Volunteer Recruit Academy participated in a St. Patrick Day live fire training exercise at the former Fairview School site east of Port Angeles.

Students of the Clallam County Fire District 3 Volunteer Recruit Academy participate in a live fire drill March 17. Photo by Patrick Young

Each student took turns leading a team into a specially constructed training device to fight a real fire, said Patrick Young, public information officer with District 3.

Young said the Live Fire Training Simulator, also called a burn box, uses wooden pallets that are burned to create the kind of flames, temperature and smoke that the students would face in a real structural fire.

The Volunteer Recruit Academy is a training program that takes ordinary citizens from inside the fire district and trains them to become active volunteer firefighters, he said.

The 14 students took turns leading a team into a burn box to fight a live fire. Photo by Patrick Young

Students learn all aspects of fire fighting from fire science to fire fighting tactics and the drill March 17 allowed them to put what they learned to the test.

Temperatures in the burn box can range from 100 degrees at floor level to more than 1,000 degrees at the ceiling level, Young said. The wood smoke, while not as dark or toxic as a real structure fire, provides a simulation of how claustrophobic and confusing a fire can be.

Current volunteers will conduct the same live fire training on March 24.

The 2012 Recruit Academy students are poised to graduate this month and be assigned to a station near their residence, Young said.

Interest cards for becoming a volunteer firefighter are available at District Headquarters, 323 N. Fifth Ave., in Sequim.

Link to Video by CCFD3 Public Information Officer Patrick Young.

2012-03-9 Mobile Home Fire in Diamond Point fire

fschmeling — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 21:28:47 +0000

DIAMOND POINT — Firefighters are bringing in equipment to remove the collapsed roof and search for the body of a 2-year-old boy after a morning fire destroyed a double-wide mobile home today.

The father of the boy was airlifted from Diamond Point Airport to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for treatment of substantial burns and smoke inhalation, said Patrick Young, Sequim Fire Department spokesman.

The mother of the child, her 4-year-old son and a grandmother safely escaped the fire at the Diamond Point home, he said.

Fire investigators are at the site of the fire to look into the cause of the 11 a.m. blaze that destroyed the structure.

Clallam County sheriff’s deputies are on site.

2012-02-11 Seven injured in wreck near Palo Alto Road

fschmeling — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 16:24:25 +0000

SSeven people were injured in a three vehicle collision at 7:46 p.m. Saturday night on U.S. Highway 101.
Clallam County Fire District 3 and Washington State Patrol responded to Highway 101 near Palo Alto Road for a head-on collision involving a total of nine people and three vehicles, said Patrick Young, public information officer for the fire district.

Washington State Patrol reports Raymond Arndt Jr., 34, of Port Angeles, was traveling east in a 1998 Saturn on the highway and crossed the double lines and struck a 2000 Toyota Camry, driven by Randall Gregg, 61, of Port Angeles, head-on in the westbound lane.

Arndt Jr. continued driving and struck a 1999 GMC Safari driven by Christopher Sherwood, 40, of Victoria, B.C., also in the westbound lane.

The Camry had one passenger and the mini-van five passengers, but their names and extent of their injuries is unknown at this time.

District 3 and Olympic Ambulance transported seven of the nine people involved to Olympic Memorial Hospital in Port Angeles with a variety of injuries from major to those considered to be non-life threatening, Young said.

Arndt Jr. was driving under the influence of alcohol and charged with vehicular assault. He was transported to Olympic Medical Center for injuries and later booked into Clallam County Jail.

Young said Arndt Jr. and those in the minivan were trapped.

The wreck closed the highway in both directions until 1:35 a.m.

An air ambulance was initially requested but later canceled.

2012-1-27 Fire takes Agnew home

fschmeling — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:43:00 +0000

Clallam County Fire Department fought an Agnew house fire for more than two hours Friday night.

A homeowner at 84 Hunters Gate Lane, near Finn Hall Road, came home and discovered heavy smoke and soon thereafter flames going through the roof.

Clallam County Fire Department dispatched at 6:50 p.m. following a 9-1-1 call.

Patrick Young, public information officer, told the Gazette the fire began in the center portion of the single-story home before spreading.

The closest water source was at least two miles away, so water was shuttled in, Young said.

No injuries were reported. Cause of the fire is under investigation.

Young said crews will remain on hand through Friday night and most of Saturday to contain the home.

Fire crews also responded to an external wall fire in Gardiner and a few medical calls Friday evening.

photo by Matthew Nash

2012-1-7 Saturday morning fire takes Sequim home

fschmeling — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 16:03:29 +0000

Saturday morning, Clallam County Fire District 3 responded to structure fire at 93 W Stephens Place off of South 3rd Avenue.

Neighbors reported smoke coming from the roof area of the home at 9:41 a.m.

Fire crews found the home full of smoke and flames, which they controlled in 30 minutes.

No one was home or injured but a cat remains missing.

The home sustained heavy smoke and heat damage. It cannot be occupied at this time.

Olympic Ambulance, PUD and the American Red Cross provided assistance.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Photos and information courtesy of Patrick Young

2011-12-20 Fire District 3 responded to a structure fire

fschmeling — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 20:00:01 +0000

Clallam County Fire District 3 responded to a structure fire Tuesday morning.

Patrick Young, public information officer, said crews reported at 9:09 a.m. to a home at 871 Belfield Ave. Sequim.

The firefighters quickly extinguish the fire in a bedroom and evacuate smoke out of the house. A half burned mattress was removed from the house.

The bedroom sustained heavy fire, smoke and water damage while the rest of the house suffered some smoke damage. Two adult males were at the residence at the time of the fire and were able to escape.

They were examined on scene for possible smoke inhalation and released.

The residence is home to the two adult males and two juveniles ages 12 and 13 that rent the home.

The American Red Cross Olympic Peninsula Chapters was called to the scene to provide assistance to the renters. The owner of the home stated that he would make another of his vacant rentals available for the victims of the fire.

The home is valued at about $170,000, and the owner has insurance.

Fire District officials encourage home owners, renters and vacationers to test smoke alarms on a regular basis and to develop and practice a fire escape plan.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Sequim Gazette photos by Jay Cline

2012-12-12 Fire burns home near Old Olympic Highway

fschmeling — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 21:44:52 +0000

Account and donation sites established to help family

Updated 4:45 p.m. Monday, Dec. 12.

Clallam County Fire District 3 personnel responded to a house fire Monday afternoon at 124 Fitzgerald Road, off House Road near Old Olympic Highway.

Neighbors reported smoke coming out of the home around 12:17 p.m.

Assistant chief Roger Moeder said the house was unoccupied but sustained heavy heat and smoke damage. The cause of the fire appears to be a light-duty extension cord with items on top of it inside the home’s garage.

Fire crews extinguished the fire about 30 minutes later.

Moeder advises people be careful when using extension cords, especially with their heavy use during the holidays.

An account was established for the home’s residents, Brent and Lacey Lovell, at all First Federal branches.

Monetary donations and clothing for their son, in size eight-12 months, can be donated at the Sequim or Carlsborg fire stations or Olympic Ambulance, 550 W. Hendrickson Road.

Brent Lovell is a volunteer firefighter and recent graduate of the firefighter academy with Clallam County Fire District 3. Contact Clallam County Fire District 3, 323 N. Fifth Ave., Sequim, at 683-4242.

Photos from Sequim Gazette

2011-12-2 Garage and RV destroyed in fire

fschmeling — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 16:42:04 +0000

A garage and RV are a total loss after a fire last night on Woodcock Road.

Clallam County Fire District 3 responded to the 3900 block of Woodcock Road for a fully involved garage fire at 10:33 p.m. The first units on scene found fire coming from all openings of the two-car detached garage, Public Information Officer Patrick Young said.

The fire was so intense it began to damage the home located within 30 feet, he said.

The initial fire crews set up fire hoses to protect the home while attacking the flames in the garage, which was extinguished within half an hour, he said.

No injuries were reported and Clallam County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to the scene as well.

Young said the garage, its contents and an RV parked next to the garage were a total loss. The rental home received minor damage to the rear exterior siding and windows, but the occupants are able to remain living in the home.

Fire crews remained on scene throughout the night to mop up hot spots and an investigation team was on scene at 9 a.m. today to begin searching for a possible cause, Young said.

A final report on the fire will be issued at a later date.

by Sequim Gazette Staff