Fire causes $400,000 in damage at Gig Harbor house

A two-alarm fire caused an estimated $400,000 in damages at a Gig Harbor house late Tuesday, according to the Fire Department.

Crews were called about 7:45 p.m. to the home in the 9600 block of Kopachuck Drive Northwest by a neighbor who spotted smoke coming from the wall and ceiling of the front porch.

The neighbor also reported smelling burning plastic.

Firefighters were able to get inside the basement despite heavy smoke but had trouble figuring out where the fire was coming from.

Flames broke out windows in the corner of the house and traveled through the walls onto the second floor and through the floor joists into a daylight basement.

The blaze eventually was upgraded to a two-alarm fire, and additional crews were summoned from Gig Harbor and Tacoma.

By 9 p.m., the fire was under control and mostly out.

No one was hurt in the blaze.

As firefighters worked to douse flames, a man who lived there showed up and said he had soldered some plumbing and left afterward.

The Pierce County Fire Marshal’s Office estimated damages at $350,000 to the structure and $50,000 in contents.

This story was originally published January 18, 2017 at 9:28 AM with the headline "Fire causes $400,000 in damage at Gig Harbor house."