01-07-01

Quick 911 call gives firefighters the chance to stop the blaze before it caused more serious damage

(EGLON, Kitsap County) - A spark that apparently flew from the partly-open door of a woodstove is thought to have touched off a fire in a home here this afternoon, but the occupants' quick evacuation and 911 call is credited with preventing the blaze from growing to dangerous proportions.

North Kitsap Fire & Rescue crews were called to the Sunrise Beach home at 3:02pm. Arriving at the scene, firefighters found the house's two occupants safely outside and smoke coming from the residence. Crews made quick work of the fire which, upon their entry into the house, was burning in walls and ceiling around the woodstove and making its way down a hallway.

According to personnel at the scene, the occupants were upstairs when they smelled smoke coming from the downstairs living room. Upon investigation, they found the area around the woodstove ablaze. The man and the woman told firefighters that they'd considered attempting to fight the fire, but remembered reading a recent story in the North Kitsap Herald about a similar incident. Last week, a Hansville man perished while trying to extinguish a fire in his home. Recalling the tragic consequences of that fire, this couple elected to evacuate and alert the fire department.

According to officials, firewood and newspapers kept adjacent to the woodstove likely provided fuel for the fire's spread once the spark left the firebox. The room where the fire originated was built of tongue-and-groove rough sawn cedar, and fire had extended through that combustible material into the home's walls and ceiling. Still, fire damage was limited to the living room area with smoke damage throughout the house.

The Kitsap County Fire Marshal's Office investigated the cause of the fire.