By Dennis Box - The Courier-Herald

East Pierce Fire and Rescue firefighters and emergency personnel were busy during the weekend with fires and accidents.

Firefighters responded to a house fire Friday morning near Lake Tapps.

The call came in at 7:30 a.m. and firefighters were on the scene in six minutes.

According to Chief Dan Packer, the house was “fully involved” in flames when the crews arrived.

East Pierce had the flames under control by 8:15 a.m.

“No one was home at the time,” Packer said. “The couple had left for work. There were no injuries and the cause is still under investigation.”

Packer said the firefighters were able to “knock down” the fire on the outside of the house using water.

“It was a fairly new home and it was pretty straightforward,” the chief said.

Packer said he thought the home would probably be considered a total loss.

In other East Pierce news:

€ A man and his grandson were injured Saturday when their all-terrain vehicle rolled while in the Sunset Lake area near Wilkeson.

Family members shuttled the injured pair from the accident site to a dirt road where they were met by crews from East Pierce Fire and Rescue and transported to area hospitals.

€ Firefighters received a call at 2:20 p.m. Sunday about a structure fire in the Washington State University Demonstration Forest.

East Pierce Fire and Rescue firefighters arrived to find a smoldering fire in an abandoned double-wide mobile home that had served as offices before the forest was closed to the public. The fire was quickly extinguished and is being investigated.

It is unknown at this time if it was accidental or arson.

A March 9 fire destroyed an abandoned A-frame building in the forest in the forest.

WSU officials had met with city staff following the first fire and agreed to remove the structures on the property.

Dennis Box can be reached at dbox@courierherald.com.

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