Fire destroys Oakville house
May 14—A Sunday afternoon fire tore through an Oakville residence, leaving only charred remains of the structure.
The initial call came in at 1:57 p.m. for a structure fire, said Chief Carlton Rhoades of the Grays Harbor Fire District 1, while the department's first-out engine was already assisting East Grays Harbor Fire and Rescue with a call.
The structure, located on the 300 block of South 2nd Street, was completely ablaze when the initial fire crews arrived on scene, Rhoades said.
"Everybody was out. As far as we know there was only one occupant and he was out with law enforcement when we got there," Rhoades said in an interview. "They immediately went to structure protection because the house was a loss."
Invoking mutual aid agreements with West Thurston Regional Fire Authority and Riverside Fire Authority, crews worked to suppress the spread of the fire as it threatened neighboring structures and vehicles, Rhoades said.
"We held it to the residence of origin," Rhoades said. "We spent a significant amount of time in overhaul. There was a tremendous amount of fire load in the house."
The fire entered overhaul at 2:47 p.m. and crews cleared the scene at 4:42 p.m., Rhoades said. The thoroughness of the devastation made discerning the origin of the fire impossible, Rhoades said; the interior of the house was totally destroyed, with only a few charred remnants of the wall and roof still standing.
The fire comes at a busy time for the department, Rhoades said.
"Lately, we've had a lot of structure fires," Rhoades said. "We've been busy."
Contact Senior Reporter Michael S. Lockett at 757-621-1197 or michael.lockett@thedailyworld.com.
