Smoke detectors likely saved the lives of two people and their cats after a South Whidbey home caught fire in the early hours of Tuesday morning, according to South Whidbey Fire/EMS Chief Nick Walsh.
A total of 20 firefighters from South Whidbey Fire/EMS and Central Whidbey Island Fire and Rescue responded to the 3:06 a.m. call for a structure fire at a Hilltop Drive residence in the Clinton area. Personnel from WhidbeyHealth also provided assistance, though no one was injured by the blaze.
The entire back of the house was on fire by the time it was discovered by the home’s occupants. Walsh said the investigation into the cause is still ongoing, but it may have started from a barbecue on the deck. Burning material dropped down and caught the lower part of the house on fire, spreading across the grass.
Neighbor Marsha Engel was asleep on her deck, where she had been watching a meteor shower, when she woke up just before 3 a.m. and faintly smelled the smoke of the nearby conflagration.
“I remember looking at the sky and thinking, ‘It’s perfectly clear. Maybe it’s hazy from nearby wildfire smoke,’” she recalled.
She reported hearing a boom, like a gun shot. She immediately called her neighbors and 911 to report the blaze.
The fire had traveled up the eaves and into the attic by the time firefighters arrived. There was extensive smoke damage, and the ceiling had to be removed. The home is not currently habitable and will need to be rebuilt, according to Walsh. The residents declined assistance from the Red Cross and he had heard they were going to stay in their trailer.
Two cats were rescued and appeared to be feeling fine. Flames were knocked down within the first half hour, and personnel were on scene until 7 a.m. mopping up lingering hotspots and investigating the cause.
Even though the fire started on the exterior of the home, smoke detectors inside were triggered and alerted the occupants of the danger.
“The smoke alone is what kills a lot of people, so that was a good deal, demonstrating the importance of smoke detectors,” Walsh said.
(Photo by South Whidbey Fire/EMS) Firefighter Carson Wrightson rescued a cat from a house fire in Clinton early Tuesday morning.
