A blaze Sunday night on Stevens Road in South Kitsap tested Kitsap County’s interim fire investigation plan while the commissioners decide how best to remedy problems in the fire marshal’s office.
Sadly, the fire killed the home’s 98-year-old resident. But Cris Gears, Kitsap County administrator, told me Tuesday he and fire officials he’d talked with were pleased with the post-fire investigation.
The fire marshal’s office currently sits in limbo with only one county employee working. All others have quit or have been placed on administrative leave pending the county’s own internal investigation. From a lack of routine inspections to an inquiry of internal “fraud, waste and abuse,” there’s no way to say what the commissioners will do to the office in the coming months.
In the meantime, general fire investigation has been doled out to the county’s fire districts — Bainbridge, Poulsbo, Central Kitsap, Bremerton, and South Kitsap — and any arson investigations are being handled by the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office.
