Vancouver firefighters saved a house after quickly extinguishing an attic fire Friday evening in the Five Corners area.
Crews were dispatched shortly before 6:30 p.m. to 8401 N.E. 108th Ave., for a structure fire.
A total of five fire engines, a ladder truck, a chaplain, a rehab bus and two battalion chiefs responded. The first crew arrived within four minutes and discovered a single-story, ranch-style house with heavy gray smoke coming from the eaves, according to a news release from the Vancouver Fire Department.
Firefighters entered the residence and began pulling down ceiling using hand tools to attack flames in the attic, the news release says.
“This task was made difficult due to the fact that the home had ceiling heat. Ceiling heat warms up a room using radiant heat from wires that are in the ceiling panels,” the fire department said. “It can be dangerous to firefighters as it is heavy and unpredictable when it comes down and it is full of wires which can entangle a firefighter.”
The first engine on scene had just been at another fire and was operating with a half-full water tank, about 250 gallons. Firefighters attached a 400-foot hose to a nearby fire hydrant, the news release says.
No one was injured in the blaze. The homeowners declined assistance from the Red Cross.
The Clark County Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause.
