The investigation continues to determine the cause of a fire early Tuesday evening, Nov. 24, that completely gutted the 4,200 square-foot steel building housing Cranberry Road Winery and Bog Water Brewing Company at the corner of SR105 and S. Forrest Street at the Grayland ‘T’ in rural Westport.
The building was already fully engulfed in flames when the fire call came in to Grays Harbor Emergency Dispatch center at 6:02 p.m. Already 80% to 90% involved when firefighters from all over the South Beach arrived, it took nearly four hours for the 27 volunteers to put out the fire, with a standby crew remaining through the night to hose down hot spots and relights.
The business was closed and no one was inside at the time of the fire, and there were no reported injuries to firefighters.
The property is owned and was operated by Westport residents Chris and Maria Tiffany since October of 2012.
Cause investigation
The owner’s insurance company hired Unified Investigations & Sciences Inc., to determine the cause of the fire. A company investigator was at the property on Nov. 30 with Westport Fire Chief Dennis Benn. Because of the fire’s intensity and the extensive damage to the building and its contents, the cause of the blaze has not yet been determined.
The investigator identified the area of origin as the kitchen area at the southeast corner of the building, but the structure was so badly damaged he could not get inside and dig any deeper at that time.
With demolition permits from Grays Harbor County and the Olympic Region Clean Air Agency (ORCAA) obtained early last week, large equipment was brought in to remove portions of the roof and walls that had fallen into the structure to clear the way for further investigation.
Electrical cause possibility
According to Chief Benn, there were a total of 13 investigators from various product purveyors and insurance companies on site on Tuesday and Wednesday, Dec. 15 and 16. They collected evidence, mostly large and small appliances that included but was not limited to refrigeration units, ovens and cooling tables, a television cable box and a computer router.
The evidence will now undergo extensive examination to determine if one of the appliances could have sparked an ignition sequence that resulted in the total devastation of the building and all its contents.
Due to the amount of material under examination, the results of tests that may lead to a determination of the cause of the blaze is not expected for months, rather than weeks.
Site released
It is expected that since the onsite investigation of the fire’s cause has now been completed, the property will be released so that cleanup can begin. The Tiffanys, who estimate their loss from the fire at $2 million, say they intend to rebuild their business in the same location as soon as possible.