A fire destroyed a motorhome and damaged an apartment garage door Wednesday night on North Barr Road but damage could have been worse if it weren't for a couple of good Samaritans.

Patrick Young, public information officer with Clallam County Fire District 3, said a 54-year-old man drove an older model RV he borrowed from a friend to the 1200 block of North Barr Road around 8 p.m. when he shut it off and a fire broke out.

The RV was full of band equipment the man was going to unload at his new apartment, Young said.

The man reported when he shut off the RV he heard a "pop" and a fire emerged. Soon several callers reported a "huge fire" next to the garage of the apartment, Young said.

"Two good Samaritans driving in the area made a decision to use their pickup truck to pull the RV away from the apartment," Young said in a news release. "Risking their lives, they hooked a tow strap to the rear of the RV and pulled it to the middle of the driveway. Their actions reduced the amount of damage that occurred to the apartment."

The first arriving fire units found 30- to 40-foot flames shooting from the RV and the apartment’s garage smoldering, he said. Firefighters made a quick attack to knock down the flames and cool down the apartment garage, which suffered fire damage to the door and minor smoke damage to the inside, he said.

The American Red Cross was requested to assist the renter and his wife with overnight accommodations. It was not clear if the motorhome had insurance but the apartment has insurance coverage, Young said. A guitar worth approximately $1,000 was reported to be inside the RV.

The cause of the fire is under investigation and no injuries were reported.

Fire District 3 had approximately 20 firefighters and six pieces of equipment on scene. Olympic Ambulance, the Clallam Public Utility District and the Red Cross were also on scene.

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