Whatcom County house fire ‘just a painful fire’ from start to finish
Nothing was easy about a fire that Whatcom County Fire Districts 1 and 14 were called to Friday morning on East Badger Road — not locating it and certainly not fighting it.
“It was just a painful fire,” District 14 Chief Jerry Debruin told The Bellingham Herald.
Two people were home at the time of the fire, but both escaped without injury, Debruin said.
The fire was reported at approximately 11:23 a.m. March 12 along East Badger Road, which is the dividing line between the two fire districts, Debruin said. At first, the fire was reported on the north side of the road, which would be in District 14’s coverage area, but later reports had it on the south side, so District 1 also was sent.
First reports also had the fire located closer to Nooksack Valley High School, Debruin said, but it ended up being closer to Trapline Road, nearly two miles west of the school.
The fire ended up being in an older home with a wood stove that had a crack in the chimney, Debruin said, which allowed flames to get into the walls and spread up into the attic.
“We had to chase the fire a bit,” Debruin said, “and we had to tear into the walls. It was a tough one to chase down and get all the way out, because when fire gets into the attic in those older homes, you end up chasing it for a bit.”
Though crews were able to knock flames down relatively quickly, Debruin said the fire did cause some structural damage to the home, and the Red Cross was attempting to help the residents.
