Residents evacuate homes after Thurston County garage fire threatened duplex
Tumwater firefighters extinguished a garage fire that threatened a duplex Wednesday afternoon.
The fire started before 2:30 p.m. at a duplex in the 6900 block of Lively Street Southwest, Tumwater Fire Department Deputy Fire Chief Shawn Crimmins told The Olympian. A 911 caller reported smoke coming from the garage area of one of the duplexes, Crimmins said. When fire crews arrived, they found light smoke and heat emanating from the garage.
“Crews did a quick attack on it and were able to get the fire knocked down within a few minutes, honestly,” Crimmins said. “It was pretty isolated to the garage area.”
All occupants exited the home by the time fire crews arrived, and no one, including firefighters, was hurt, Crimmins said.
“They did the right thing, calling 911 and evacuating,” Crimmins said. “Our crews didn’t have to do any searching for anybody or anything else in there.”
The fire damaged the garage, and smoke damaged the connected home, Crimmins said. No cars were in the garage, he said. The adjacent home in the duplex was not affected, he added.
The cause of the fire remained under investigation as of Thursday morning, Crimmins said.
McLane Black Lake Fire Department, East Olympia Fire District 6 and West Thurston Regional Fire Authority assisted the Tumwater Fire Department with the duplex fire Wednesday.
The Tumwater Fire Department only has two stations in the city, Crimmins said, so they rely on mutual aid partners for help with structure fires.
“Any structure fire, whether it’s residential or commercial, we have our (partner) agencies that come into the city to help out,” Crimmins said.
