Wash. Firefighters Battle Smoky Boat Factory Fire

March 14--BREMERTON -- The manager of a company that makes fiberglass pleasure crafts is thankful that the sprinkler system controlled a smoldering fire Thursday until firefighters could finish the job. It could have been much worse.

The fire was reported about 5:10 p.m. at Defiance Boats on the 7100 block of Nixon Loop Road in the South Kitsap Industrial Area.

South Kitsap Fire and Rescue first responded. Crews with the initial unit from Gorst saw heavy black smoke pouring out of the 12,000-square-foot building and, for safety reasons, waited for a second unit to arrive before entering the building, said Battalion Chief Mike Wernet.

The toxic smoke caused by burning resin in the fiberglass used to manufacture the boats was so thick that crews, using ventilators, could see no farther than 2 feet ahead, and they had to use a thermal imaging camera to locate the fire's source, Wernet said.

No one was in the building when the fire took hold. Employees had gone home around 3:30 p.m.

The source of the fire was a garbage can that someone had deposited some resin, according to Bo Palmer, who manages the business for his father and business owner Stan Palmer. The resin, when it cures or sets up, generates heat. Nearby were several 150-gallon barrels of resin and more in an adjacent storage building. Had they ignited, Wernet said, they could have caused an inferno or explosion.

"These are very fast, hot, quick-burning fires when things get going because of all that flammable liquid," Wernet said.

The building sustained smoke and water damage in the corner where the fire occurred, but the structure and its contents are in good shape, Palmer said.

"These types of fires are fairly common," he said. "It's really just an employee being careless."

The building contained 10 boats in various stages of production and is one of three buildings on the property. The fire struck at the height of the company's production season, Palmer said.

"The difficult part is we're really, really busy right now," he said. "This is going to put a kink in our distribution."

The company has orders booked out until June, now maybe longer. It employs 45 workers and produces 120 boats a year.

Fire crews from Bremerton, Central Kitsap and North Mason also responded. Bremerton Fire Department will conduct the investigation, Wernet said.

Copyright 2014 - Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, Wash.