KINGSTON — In the wake of a string of house fires that struck North Kitsap during the first week of March, officials from North Kitsap Fire & Rescue (NKF&R) and the Kitsap County Fire Marshal’s Office (KCFMO) are hoping to prevent future blazes by sharing information about the incidents that will help others avoid similar losses.

Two separate meetings – one for each of the larger fires – are set, and recognition is being planned for a police officer whose actions kept the third fire contained:

Marine View Drive Fire, 7 p.m., Tuesday, March 27 at Jefferson Beach Estates Clubhouse, Marine View Drive near Jefferson Beach Road.

Sandy Beach Lane Fire, 7 p.m., Thursday, March 29 at Village Green Community Center, 26159 Dulay Rd NE.

Fire officers will provide a brief overview of the incident’s operations and investigators will discuss the fire’s cause. A prevention specialist will share strategies for avoiding fire tragedies.

NKF&R responds to an average of 15-20 house fires per year and, though it’s increasingly common for the district to be responding to multiple medical calls at once, this is only the second time that the district has had simultaneous major events. The first such incidence occurred on the morning of April 8, 2012 when unrelated fires struck two structures in Indianola. For more information about the meetings, contact NKF&R at (360)297-3619.

Marine View Drive fire on March 1: Thought to have been sparked by an electrical problem in a clothes dryer, it was reported just after 12:30 p.m. Crews from NKF&R and Poulsbo Fire Department (PFD) responded. The homeowner (an elderly widow) and her caregiver were inside when the home’s smoke alarms activated and smoke was visible.

While investigating the source, the caregiver found sparks and flames between the washer and the dryer. The latter was in use at the time. The caregiver called 911 to report a dryer fire and opened the home’s doors and windows to clear the accumulating smoke from the structure before safely evacuating with the homeowner and her dog.

The first crew arrived in just under 10 minutes, responding from NKF&R’s South Kingston Road station. They reported the 1,405-square feet, single-story home to be fully-involved in flames. As firefighters sped to the rather remote location from across North Kitsap, the crews on scene worked to secure water supply from a nearby hydrant.

The flames were so powerful that the officer who first arrived could not complete his 360-degree survey of the structure. With the home where the fire started already seriously damaged and the occupants safe, crews focused their attention on preventing the flames from spreading to an adjacent structure. They were successful at containing the blaze.

Complete extinguishment of the fire proved far more difficult. The fierce flames emitted so much heat that portions of the structure collapsed early in the battle, burying hot spots beneath several layers of heavy building materials. The homeowner’s husband had been a history buff; a large volume of artifacts were stored inside the house’s attic, adding considerable fuel to the fire. Firefighters remained on scene into the evening in the effort to uncover and fully snuff any remaining fire. Though the homeowner is insured, the home and its contents – many irreplaceable – were total losses. She is now staying with her daughter.

Kitsap County Fire Marshal’s Office (KCFMO) investigators responded to the scene to determine the fire’s cause. Based on evidence at the scene and information provided by the occupants, investigators believe that an electrical problem in the older dryer sparked the blaze. Open doors and windows likely fanned the flames while the combustible items stored in the overhead provided fuel. There were no injuries to firefighters or civilians.

Ironwood Lane fire on March 1: Just twenty minutes into the incident on Marine View Drive, another house fire was dispatched at 12:56 p.m. in Little Boston on the Port Gamble S’Klallam Reservation. All NKF&R units were already engaged in fighting the tough fire on Marine View Drive.

The district’s operations chief left the Jefferson Beach incident to join the PFD crews dispatched to the second fire on Ironwood Lane. NKF&R’s medical/safety officer had been in a meeting in Poulsbo when the second fire was dispatched. He was the first firefighter on scene, arriving about 15 minutes after dispatch.

Knowing that the only available resources were coming from a long distance, and although he observed only light smoke coming from the small rental home, he requested the additional units of a second alarm in case the incident required more than those coming with the first alarm. Bainbridge Island Fire Department, Central Kitsap Fire and Rescue, Navy Region Northwest Fire Department and Port Ludlow Fire and Rescue units were added. Firefighters from PFD arrived shortly thereafter, made entry to the structure, quickly snuffed a small smoldering fire on the couch and found no one inside. The additional resources were returned to their stations.

Another KCFMO investigator responded to the scene. Apparently, an employee of the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe had noticed signs of a possible fire inside such as melting window blinds and darkened window glass. He called 911 to report the possible fire and headed to his nearby office for a key to the home. When he returned and opened the door, he found the house filled with smoke and a small fire on the couch. He quickly exited the building. A Port Gamble S’Klallam Police officer arrived and closed the door.

Firefighters say that the officer’s actions were especially vital given the simultaneous incidents and resulting extended response times; his closing of the door was likely key to containing the fire by starving it of air it needed to grow. Fire officials plan to thank the officer in front of an upcoming Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribal Council meeting.

Evidence suggests that a propane torch, used to ignite fires in the home’s woodstove, may have been left operating in close proximity to the couch. Damage was limited to the couch and light smoke affected most of the home. The occupant’s dog, crated in the home’s attached garage, was not harmed by the fire. There were no injuries to firefighters or civilians.

Sandy Beach Lane fire on March 4: Late in the evening of March 4, NKF&R firefighters were called to investigate an unknown fire.

Just after 10:30 p.m., a 911 caller reported flames from an unknown source on the higher ground above his Apple Tree Point location. As crews headed to the general location, they received word that sheriff’s deputies were investigating a burglar alarm at an address on the uphill side of Sandy Beach Lane. Upon the deputies’ arrival at the locations of the burglar alarm, they reported the home to be fully involved in fire.

The response was upgraded to that of a residential structure fire, bringing additional units from NKF&R as well as from PFD. Sandy Beach Lane, serving over twenty homes, curves along the side of a bluff and is challenging to negotiate. There aren’t turnarounds adequate for fire engines or tanker trucks. Furthermore, the home’s driveway was steep and narrow. The first firefighters to arrive found that fire engines could not negotiate it, so incoming units were directed to park at the end of Lindvog Road.

Crews were ferried in by smaller vehicles, and without their engines, firefighters were forced to carry hose by hand up the long access way. There were no fire hydrants in the area. Water for the firefight had to be supplied by large water tender trucks and pumped up the hill.

Officials made contact with the property owner, vacationing on the East Coast, and determined that there were no occupants inside at the time of the fire. Although the blaze was under control within 25 minutes of firefighters’ arrival, the flames had undermined the two-story, 3,200-square feet home so severely that crews couldn’t safely work in the house until daylight.

Crews worked into the next day to reach all remaining hot spots. Investigators from KCFMO responded to the scene. Physical evidence and interviews suggest that the fire began in the wall of a main floor bedroom, appearing to have started in the vicinity of electrical wiring.

The home was a total loss; the homeowners are insured. There were no injuries to firefighters or civilians. Officials say that, given the home’s isolated location and difficult access, residential fire sprinklers and/or a monitored fire alarm system would likely have prevented this loss from reaching catastrophic proportions.