[1]Smoke alarm melts, but keeps operating through Pe Ell fire. / Courtesy photo by Derrick Paul
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – A Pe Ell couple is without a home after a fire that appears to have been related to an electrical issue.
Fire investigator Derrick Paul said he won’t know the cause for sure until after the insurance company runs some tests.
The occupants pulled into the driveway at the 300 block of West Fourth Avenue late Monday night after two days at the beach, and noticed the fire, Paul said.
Crews from Lewis County Fire District 11 arrived and extinguished the flames beneath the double wide mobile home and then entered and put out fire in the living room, according to Paul.
It had apparently been burning for quite a long time, but because the house was closed up, didn’t have a lot of oxygen, Paul said. The interior temperature was about 700 degrees and there was major heat damage inside, he said.
“The light fixtures throughout the house were melted,” he said.
However, Paul said, there was one working smoke detector and despite having partially melted, it was still beeping and flashing when he got there.