(INDIANOLA, Kitsap County) -- Despite the efforts of over thirty firefighters from four fire departments, a garage was destoyed and the adjacent home suffered significant damage in a fire that apparently got a big head start here this afternoon

North Kitsap Fire & Rescue and Poulsbo Fire Department crews were dispatched to 20880 Nachant Avenue at 12:59pm. According to reports from Kitsap County Central Communications (the community's 911 dispatch center), a 911 call had been placed from the residence up to five minutes earlier. But the caller had left the phone off the hook, and call-receivers, were unable to determine the nature of the emergency to dispatch appropriate resources. The home's owner later told firefighters that he'd been taking a nap when a sound awakened him. He investigated and found flames coming from the garage which was attached to the main structure by a breezeway. The man placed the first 911 call, and left the phone line open while he attempted to battle the flames with a garden hose. Upon discovering that the fire was beyond his ability to control, he returned to the house and placed a second call which at last provided call-receivers with enough information to dispatch fire units. The man suffered second degree burns to his head, and received treatment from medics at the scene.

The first crews to arrive at the scene found the garage and breezeway fully involved in flames, and called for additional firefighters from Poulsbo and Bainbridge Island Fire Department as well as an air supply unit (to replenish firefighter's breathing apparatus bottles) from Port Ludlow Fire & Rescue.

An investigator from the Kitsap County Fire Marshal's Office was called to the scene. Given witness statements and evidence at the home, investigators believe the fire may have started in a vehicle parked in the garage and spread quickly through an open garage door. The 2500 square foot home was roofed with highly-combustible cedar shakes and sided with cedar planks -- providing additional fuel for the fire's rapid spread.

Although the house and garage are considered to be a total loss, firefighters were able to salvage many of the home’s contents. The owners were insured.