The old Mark Reed Hospital building in McCleary caught fire early on Monday, Oct. 23. Fire crews extinguished the blaze in less than three hours.

A possible structure fire was reported at 5:46 a.m. The McCleary Fire Department responded and Fire District 12 and Fire District 5 both were dispatched for mutual aid.

McCleary Fire Department Chief Paul Nott said the fire was initially started on the back porch. He declined to speculate how the fire was created saying they were awaiting a report from a fire investigation officer with the Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office.

The fire was located at the east end of the structure. Though the building is vacant, it currently has a working and active sprinkler system, so the fire did little damage to the inside of the building.

“You can see where the fire started entering the building from the roof and where the sprinklers stopped the spread of it,” Chief Nott said.

Fire units cleared the scene at 8:23 a.m.

“The guys made a good save,” Nott said of the fire fighters. “The sprinkler system really helped us. It prevented a lot of damage that could have happened.”

In 2013, The mark Reed Hospital building was vacated by the hospital when Summit Pacific Medical Center opened in Elma. The building housed the McCleary clinic until spring 2016 when a new clinic was opened at downtown McCleary. The building has remained vacant since.

Currently, Hospital District 1 (which still owns the building) is planning to lease the facility to the Great Rivers Behavioral Health Organization for a residential treatment facility.