Incident Date: 1/7/2010
Issuing Officer: Dan Crotty, 253.255.4858
Incident Type: Residential Structure Fire
Incident Location:
Fire Cause: Suspicious
Damage Estimate: $146,800
Narrative: At 11:04 p.m. Thursday night, 27 Tacoma Firefighters responded with 5 Engines, 1 Ladder Company, 1 Medic Unit and 2 Command/Safety Units to a reported house fire. The first arriving Engine Company reported they had a 2-story home with fire showing from the rear of the building and heavy smoke showing from all four sides on both floors. They started an aggressive interior fire attack while other units started interior search and rescue operations. Additional interior attack lines were extended into the building as other units arrived. Firefighters managed to knock down most of the fire on the first floor and started advancing to the second floor where they found fire had already burned a large hole through the floor at the top of the stairs. Further signs of structural instability forced firefighters to withdraw from the building and continue their fire attack from defensive positions outside. Firefighters continued to hit hot spots through out the night.
Fire Investigators are not expected to be able to enter the build until morning and listed the cause as under investigation at this time. Although no damage estimate is available yet, the building appeares to be a total loss.
Update: 1/8/2010 @ 5:00 p.m.
Due to the instability of the structure, fire investigators were only able to complete a limited investigation of the fire scene and listed the fire as suspicious. The probable cause was listed as “Un-authorized person in residence with no accidental causes found.” The building and it’s contents were considered a total loss with an estimated value of $146,800.
