Fire gutted the garage in a rural house south of Woodland Thursday night.
A woman was sleeping when she was awoken by her dogs barking and discovered a fire in the first-floor garage. She called 911, reporting the fire at 35707 N.W. Fairchild Drive at 11:29 p.m. Battalion Chief Tim Dawdy, spokesman for Clark County Fire & Rescue said the batteries were taken out of a smoke alarm on the first story, so the alarm didn’t go off.
When firefighters arrived, they found fire and lots of smoke coming from one of three garages on the first floor. Fire District 10 brought in an additional water supply, as there were no hydrants nearby. Firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze, which was contained to the one garage storing furniture and mattresses.
“They stopped that fire dead,” Dawdy said.
The house is at the end of a long, steep driveway on a hillside, so firefighters were relieved that the previous icy roadways had thawed out. Otherwise, they might not have been able to get down the driveway.
Dawdy said that the homeowner serves in the U.S. Air Force and is currently stationed in Kabul. His sister is living in the house and trying to get a hold of him. County property records list Glenn Nakamura as the owner.
The Clark County Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause of the fire.
