Fire displaces Kingston family of three

KINGSTON – An older manufactured home sustained serious damage and its occupants were displaced, but firefighters were able to save many of the family’s possessions in an apparent accidental fire Thursday evening.

North Kitsap Fire & Rescue and Poulsbo Fire Department crews were called to the 800-square-foot home off of Miller Bay Road at 6:24 p.m. Thursday. A teenaged boy inside the home noticed flames visible through the living room window, evacuated and ran next door to his grandmother’s home to call 911 while she attempted to fight the fire with a garden hose.

The first team of firefighters arrived on the scene in less than four minutes from NKF&R’s nearby headquarters fire station, and reported smoke coming from the home’s roof. The fire proved difficult to fully extinguish as it was burning between the home’s vaulted ceilings and its roof. Within 30 minutes, crews were able to call it controlled after accessing the tough-to-reach spaces and applying water through holes cut in the roof as well as in the ceiling.

An investigator from the Kitsap County Fire Marshal’s Office responded to the scene and, based on evidence at the scene as well as interviews with the occupants, pinpointed the fire’s origin at an upholstered chair on the home’s open porch. From there, the flames apparently spread quickly up a vinyl-sided exterior wall to the home’s eaves where fire got into the ceiling spaces. While the cause is officially listed as undetermined, the investigator believes that it may have been sparked by smoking materials.

About half of the home’s roof was destroyed. Less than half of the interior spaces sustained heavy water and smoke damage. Firefighters were able to protect many of the family’s possessions, but the teenager and his parents have been displaced. The American Red Cross responded to assist the family.

Two dogs escaped the home but, as of Thursday evening, one of the canines is missing after apparently fleeing the scene.  The 70-pound tan and white shepherd mix is a male that answers to the name “Kingston.” Officials urge the public to watch for the frightened-but-friendly dog, and to call NKF&R at (360) 297-3619 if Kingston is sighted.

There were no injuries to firefighters or civilians; the home is insured.

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