Three people and one cat treated after two-alarm Bellingham apartment fire
Three people were evaluated and a cat was treated for smoke inhalation at the scene of a two-alarm apartment fire Sunday afternoon at the Pacific Rim Apartments in Bellingham near Cordata Park. Three units were damaged in the fire.
Bellingham Fire Department crews were called to a report of structure fire shortly after 2:30 p.m. April 19, and while they were in transit, a second alarm was sounded, Captain Dave Pethick told The Bellingham Herald.
“It was upgraded while they were in route because there were reports that there were multiple people in the building,” Pethick said, adding that they were initially believed to be children.
When firefighters arrived, they saw flames venting from a second-story window and heavy smoke coming from an open slider door in the back.
“Fortunately, nobody was inside,” Pethick said.
Three patients were evaluated, but none were transported, Pethick said. Two cats and a dog were believed to be inside at the time of the fire, but only one cat has been accounted for, and it also was treated for smoke inhalation.
The fire spread into the attic, but a firewall kept it from spreading further, Pethick said. The primary apartment has heavily damaged, while two attached units received secondary damage from smoke and water.
Fire investigators found later Sunday that the fire appeared to start in a child’s bedroom, Pethick said, and there was no estimate on damages.
