Vancouver firefighters responding to a fire Monday night were driving on Northeast Padden Parkway when they spotted a home with its entire back side in flames.
“They knew it would be something significant before even getting there,” firefighter-paramedic Darrin Deming said.
Responders were dispatched to 11221 N.E. 84th Circle at 10:27 p.m. and arrived on the scene about six minutes later.
Due to high winds and the fast spread of the blaze, firefighters opted for an immediate defensive attack, said Deming. The initial fire engine’s crew was unable to see the home from the street because of thick smoke, he said.
The conditions made it unsafe for the crew to go inside, but the occupants of the home had made it out.
About 30 firefighters spent the next half-hour extinguishing the fire. The windy conditions fed the fire and threatened two nearby homes, which were doused with water throughout the response to ensure they weren’t also damaged.
At times, flames billowing from the home were 30 to 40 feet high, Deming said.
Rotating shifts of firefighters stayed on the scene through the night to ensure the fire wasn’t rekindled by the winds.
Red Cross responded to help the home’s occupants.
Deputy Clark County Fire Marshal Dan Young said what caused the fire isn’t clear yet, but it didn’t appear to be anything sinister. The fire appeared to have started outside the split-level house, he said.
The blaze displaced four people and a dog.
“It was very windy,” Young said. “It started on the deck, but because of the wind direction, it blew it right through and into the house.”
The fire did about $200,000 in property damage, he said.
“Once the fire got inside, and the wind last night, it just went throughout the whole house. It’s a total loss,” Young said.
