No injuries, but crematory unit destroyed in a fire in Whatcom County
A malfunction in the crematory unit at a Ferndale funeral home caused fire to burn out of control late Friday morning, July 17.
No injuries were reported and the crematorium building wasn’t damaged, said John Moles, owner of Moles Farewell Tributes at Greenacres Memorial Park.
“It overheated and the smoke coming out of the smokestack was not normal,” Moles told The Bellingham Herald. “We wanted (firefighters) to come check it out.”
Employees called 911 and disconnected the natural gas supply to the crematory furnace, which was more than 20 years old, Moles said.
Division Chief Ben Boyko of Fire District 7 said flames had spread outside the crematory furnace, but damage was limited to the unit and a single room in the building at the back of the cemetery at Northwest Drive and West Axton Road.
“We were able to knock it down, it didn’t get into the structure,” Boyko said. “We just cooled the building down and ventilated.”
Boyko said that because the fire was reported in a commercial building, more than a dozen fire engines, ambulance and command units were dispatched.
Two engine companies stayed for about 90 minutes, using water to slowly cool the malfunctioning furnace.
Cost of damage was unknown immediately, but Moles said the crematory unit will be replaced.
“There’s no structural damage,” he said.
Moles said the fire won’t interrupt business, because he has agreements with other funeral homes in the area to handle cremation services temporarily.
