Department battles record number of fires, one home is destroyed

East Pierce Fire and Rescue firefighters spent the Fourth of July weekend running from one call to the next. Sunny days without rain preceding the holiday and clear, hot days over the weekend created dry conditions that – combined with fireworks – led to a record number of brush fires.

“We responded to approximately 35 emergency calls per day beginning Friday. That’s almost double the department’s typical daily call volume,” East Pierce Fire Chief Jerry Thorson said. “Approximately half of those calls were for fires, the other half were medical emergencies. Of the fires, most were grass or brush fires.”

In anticipation of increased fire calls, East Pierce staffed stations with extra crews of career and volunteer firefighters and deployed its Wildland Firefighting Team to tackle the worst of the brush fires.

“Quick action by specially-trained firefighters staffing brush units prevented any significant loss to structures or damage to property,” Thorson said.

After a busy day on Friday, East Pierce firefighters responded to their first brush fire at 1:25 a.m. Saturday. Seven more fires kept firefighters busy throughout the day. Most of the fires were caused by fireworks.

Fireworks may to blame for a fire that destroyed a house on 91st Street East in Bonney Lake Saturday night. The family of four was home at the time of the fire, that began at just after 10 p.m.

“Smoke alarms alerted the family, allowing them just enough time to escape the home with their dog,” East Pierce Battalion Chief Zane Gibson said. “The first crews arrived in less than four minutes after the first 911 call was made. When the first crews arrived, the house was already fully involved.”

The fire, which officials said began in the attached garage, destroyed the two-story, wood-framed home.

The family was assessed by paramedics at the scene and assisted by the Red Cross.

Firefighters from Buckley, Orting and Edgewood joined East Pierce, preventing the fire from spreading to neighboring homes.

“Even with the extra crews, there were so many fires throughout the district that we had to ask for mutual aid from nearby fire departments to help with the house fire,” Thorson said.

The fire was so intense that an East Pierce crew maintained a fire watch through the night and into the morning to put out hot spots.

Sunday afternoon, a brush fire in South Prairie burned approximately three acres of private land south of 120th Street East.

Because no water was readily available, fire tenders from Enumclaw and Orting were called in to haul water to supply the engines.