A house fire Wednesday afternoon closed one block of Grand Boulevard in Fourth Plain Village while firefighters battled the blaze.
A passer-by called 911 around 3:30 p.m. to report smoke coming from the basement of a one-story home at 2901 Grand Blvd., Vancouver Fire Department spokesman Bryan Fredrickson said.
Nine units responded and put the fire out within 10 minutes. No one was injured, but a cat was believed to be missing.
Grand Boulevard between East 29th and East 30th streets was shut down as firefighters extinguished and investigated the blaze.
The fire affected the entire house, with the basement receiving the brunt of the damage. An exact cause has yet to be determined, Fredrickson said.
“It was, like, really bad, up in smoke,” said Saramay Fitze, who lives across the street. “You couldn’t even tell it was a house because of all the smoke.”
An occupant of the home said he was eating lunch in the basement when he heard a noise, looked up and saw sparks flying out of an electrical panel. He then used a fire extinguisher, he said, before running out of the house without shoes to escape the smoke.
The basement features two rooms with concrete walls. The occupant said he was hopeful that at least one of the rooms would be spared from the blaze.
“I’m not happy about losing all my stuff,” he said. “I’m just glad no one got hurt.”
