PORT ANGELES — A fire in a Dumpster behind a Port Angeles business damaged an electrical transformer and a fiber internet line, causing a service disruption in the city.
The Port Angeles Fire Department responded about 6:14 p.m. Sunday to a fire in the 700 block of East First Street, and firefighters found tires burning inside a Dumpster, which was located about 5 feet from a nearby building. Flames had begun to impinge on the exterior of the building, the fire department stated in a news release.
Fire crews extinguished the fire and prevented it from extending inside the building, the fire department said.
A nearby power pole was exposed to the heat and flames, resulting in damage to a transformer and an Astound fiber line, the fire department said.
No injuries were reported. The case of the fire remained undetermined on Monday pending an investigation.
The city of Port Angeles stated Monday that the internet outage impacted the ability to accept credit card payments at city hall and the city’s transfer station.
Internet and telephone service to city hall was restored by 3:15 p.m. Monday, according to a news flash on the city’s website.
All internet access and phones at city facilities were impacted by the outage. The city stated that 911 services were not affected.
Mark Peterson, representing Astound Broadband, said the outage affected several hundred customers or about 10 percent of Astound’s customers in the community.
“The fire has severely damaged fiber optic assets and due to the scope and nature of the event, our crews need significant time to complete repairs,” Peterson wrote in an email Monday afternoon. “They arrived on-scene shortly after the fire was extinguished and had to wait until the area was deemed safe by the Fire Department, as well as for the power company to restore damaged infrastructure before initiating fiber repair work today.
“Our crews are now working as rapidly and carefully as possible. Services should begin restoration momentarily, with full restoration expected by tonight. Astound will be issuing a credit to customers impacted, which will be applied automatically and appear on customers’ next billing statement.
“While this fire-caused outage is not widespread, we recognize that is significant for those affected and very much appreciate our customers’ patience during this restoration process.”
At the fire scene, nine personnel responded from the Port Angeles Fire Department while two personnel and a chief officer responded from Clallam County Fire District 2. Olympic Ambulance, Port Angeles City Light and the Port Angeles Police Department also were on the scene, the fire department stated.
