Village Green residents evacuated after vape pen sparked fire
KINGSTON – Residents of a senior living apartment complex in Kingston were evacuated after a fire ignited in a room Thursday.
It appears that the fire was sparked by a vape pen that was being charged, North Kitsap Fire and Rescue spokeswoman Michèle Laboda said. No injuries were reported in the incident, which occurred at the Village Green Senior Apartments off West Kingston Road.
Firefighters were dispatched to the scene at about 2 p.m. by the building's alarm system. At about the same time, Toffee, a dog belonging to a resident of the apartment building, became agitated and alerted her owner that something was wrong, Laboda said. When she investigated, she smelled smoke in the hallway and heard an alarm sounding in one of the apartments and called 911.
Firefighters found a "small but smoky" fire in an apartment on the first floor, which they extinguished.
Most residents evacuated and were accommodated at the nearby Village Green Community Center, while others sheltered in place in their apartments, Laboda said, noting that residents were never in any danger.
The sprinkler system in the facility was not working at the time of the fire.
"We're certain that had it been charged, the extent of the damage to the room where the fire started and smoke damage to the rest of the building would have been lesser," Laboda said. "Like so many sprinkler systems, it had suffered a break during the cold snap, and they were waiting for repairs."
A company was on-scene working to fix the sprinkler issue, Laboda said Friday morning.
The occupant of the apartment where the fire occurred was displaced and was staying with family. There was some water damage to another unit and smoke damage in the common areas near where the fire broke out.
Nathan Pilling is a reporter covering Bainbridge Island, North Kitsap and Washington State Ferries for the Kitsap Sun. He can be reached at 360-792-5242, nathan.pilling@kitsapsun.com or on Twitter at @KSNatePilling.
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This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Village Green residents evacuated after vape pen sparked fire
