Two-Alarm Fire Rips Through Unoccupied House in Westbridge Estates Neighborhood

Officials are still investigating the cause of the fire that ripped through an unoccupied home Tuesday in a wooded cul-de-sac neighborhood in Gig Harbor.

Portions of the home in the 1700 block of Firgrove Place Northwest, in the Westbridge Estates neighborhood, were gutted after flames roared through it.

According to Gig Harbor Fire & Medic One, the department got the call around 2 p.m., after a neighbor called 911 and reported heavy smoke coming from the house. They arrived to find fire coming from two sides of the house.

Crews quickly determined the house was unoccupied, but firefighters from the Tacoma, West Pierce, South Kitsap and Mason County were called to assist. They helped bring the two-alarm fire under control after about 45 minutes.

Patch user Nancy described the scene:

At last count there were 10 fire engines lined up to pump water onto it ... The Westbridge Estates water system supports the needs of the homes in the area, but there is no fire hydrant in the neighborhood, so all the fire trucks were pumpers to supply the water to fight the fire by linking to each other and pumping through the string of truck tanks up to the fire.

While no one was injured, the house sustained heavy smoke damage throughout and structural damage to the garage area, according to Gig Harbor Fire. Since the house was not occupied, there was no loss of contents.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Pierce County Fire Marshal’s office.