Two dogs died in a fire that heavily damaged a floating house Friday morning in the McCuddy’s Ridgefield Marina.
Clark County Fire & Rescue responded to the fire at the marina, 5 N. Mill St., which was reported just before 11:30 a.m. Friday. Crews knocked down the flames within a half-hour, Battalion Chief Tim Dawdy said.
No one was reportedly home, Dawdy said, but crews were able to save one cat from the flames. Crews found two dogs inside that had died in the fire.
The response was complicated, Dawdy said, because a train was traveling at walking pace, blocking the crew’s access to the marina from Ridgefield.
Firefighters were delayed five minutes while they called BNSF Railway to get the train to speed up.
“That’s a darn long time when there’s a fire,” Dawdy said.
Rescue boats also assisted at the scene, as did firefighters from Woodland Fire Department.
The fire was caused by an electrical failure in a wall outlet, according to the Clark County Fire Marshal’s Office. Damage to the structure, which was built in 1992, is estimated at $48,232 and loss of property at $60,290.
The fire marshal’s office reminds homeowners to have working smoke detectors.
Emily Gillespie: http://twitter.com/col_cops; emily.gillespie@columbian.com.
