This morning, December 2, at 11:11 fire crews were dispatched to a seven-story attached garage at the Clearwater Casino. North Kitsap Fire and Rescue spokesperson Michelle Laboda reported that, while crews were en route, casino employees upgraded the fire to a commercial structure fire, as the flames were spreading from car to car.
Laboda said that when crews from the Poulsbo Fire Department arrived on scene they found fire and smoke coming from one side of the structure. The entire casino was evacuated, and throngs of people huddled in the cold outside watching the fire crews do their work. Smoked billowed from the garage located to the northwest of the casino.
Firefighters from Poulsbo, NKFR, the Bainbridge Island Fire Department, and Puget Sound Federal Firefighters from Bangor were able to knock down the fire in about 20 minutes.
One employee who tried to extinguish the flames sustained a minor injury and is being treated on site by medical personnel. Four cars were damaged or destroyed in the blaze.
Laboda said crews are working now to clear smoke out of the main building so customers can reenter.
She said there is no cause yet determined for the fire.
The fire was preceded by an incident in the parking lot this morning around 8:30 involving Suquamish Police. It is unknown whether the incidents are related.
Photos by Julie Hall.