Fire in downtown Sumner burns in ‘multiple’ businesses, closes nearby roads

A fire broke out early Friday at a two-story building in downtown Sumner that involved multiple businesses, according to East Pierce Fire and Rescue. The blaze prompted a large fire response to the city’s historic Main Street.

The fire was first reported just before 3 a.m. at 909 Main St. Several roads were closed downtown to give firefighters and other crews room to work, the City of Sumner tweeted. Main Street was closed from Traffic Avenue to Wood Avenue, and a few side streets around the building were closed.

One person was evacuated from an apartment in the building, assistant chief Jeff Moore said. No injuries were reported. What caused the fire or where it originated in the building was not immediately known.

“It didn’t spread to the rest of the strip mall and Main Street, thank God,” Moore said.

The blaze caused significant fire and smoke damage throughout the building, Moore said. He said the structure was equipped with fire alarms but no sprinklers. According to Pierce County property records, it is a 5,400-square-foot building built in 1913. Records show new construction or improvements were made in 1978.

The first crews to arrive found that fire had already spread throughout the building, Moore said. Crews started to bring a hose inside, but he said they quickly moved to a defensive fire attack. Moore said that’s when the incident was declared a three-alarm fire, and a ladder truck was called in to blast water on the building from outside.

Thirty units from East Pierce Fire & Rescue and surrounding agencies were working on the scene at about 5 a.m., according to a tweet from the fire department. Moore said the building itself and the size of the fire created some difficulties for firefighters trying to put out the flames.

“I mean we’re still here, we’re still blowing water on it,” Moore said at about 8:10 a.m. “The building is a little bit questionable just because it’s made of old brick.”

The fire was no longer spreading by about 5:15 a.m. According to East Pierce Fire, Puget Sound Energy crews also had to deal with a gas-fed fire behind the building. The fire appeared to cause some power outages downtown, with 58 customers affected, according to PSE’s outage map. Power was estimated to be restored by 11 a.m.

Moore said he expected crews to be in downtown for some time. According to the fire department, Sumner’s public works and police departments were also doing work related to the fire.