KINGSTON — A large travel trailer, just ten feet from another structure, was destroyed and a cat was killed in a fire between Kingston and Poulsbo this morning, according to a North Kitsap Fire & Rescue news release. Firefighters were able to protect the adjacent home from significant damage.

North Kitsap Fire & Rescue and Poulsbo Fire Department crews were dispatched to a residence off of Port Gamble Road shortly before 10 a.m. on Dec. 29 after one of the home’s occupants found the 34-foot trailer on fire with flames shooting into the air. She called 911, gathered her pets and evacuated the house. The first unit to arrive at the scene got there in about ten minutes.

The side of the house closest to the blaze was on the verge of catching fire; crews first focused their efforts on preventing the blaze’s extension to the home by cooling it with water.  With no hydrants in the area, crews relied on water tenders to bring water to the scene.  The trailer fire was under control in less than ten minutes after crews’ arrival. The couple is insured.

An investigator from the Kitsap County Fire Marshal’s Office responded to the scene to determine the fire’s origin and cause. After talking with the homeowners and examining the physical evidence, the investigator believes that combustibles came into contact with an operating radiator-type heater inside the trailer to spark the blaze. The heater was there to provide heat for the cat that was the trailer’s only occupant. The trailer is a total loss, but damage to the home was limited to a cracked window.  Port Gamble-Suquamish Road was partially blocked for about 30 minutes during the fire operations.