Community Police & Fire

Construction site fire is suspicious, fire marshal’s office says

Preliminary investigations indicate that the three fires that took place in Gig Harbor between Friday, July 15, and Sunday, July 17, are not related.

However, one of the fires has been deemed suspicious, according to Mike Halliday, public information specialist with Pierce County Emergency Management.

A preliminary investigation by the Pierce County Fire Marshal’s Office indicates that the fire at a construction site near the corner of Hunt Street and 38th Avenue is suspicious, Halliday said.

Two homes burned in that fire early Sunday. The homes are in a new neighborhood, known as The Cove, being developed by Gig Harbor-based Rush Construction.

Gig Harbor Fire & Medic One posted this photograph of a fire at a home being built near the corner of Hunt Street and 38th Avenue.

Fire marshals were planning to make a referral to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office about the fire.

Preliminary information indicates that the other two fires — on a boat tied up at a dock on North Harborview Drive and at a house on Vernhardson Place — were not suspicious.

The Vernhardson fire appears to have started in a vehicle parked near the house.

The 80-foot yacht must be salvaged before investigators make a final determination. At this point, however, investigators do not consider it suspicious.