Two cats die in a residential fire in Bellingham’s York neighborhood Wednesday evening
Two cats died in a residential fire Wednesday night, but a quick response by neighbors and firefighters limited the amount of damage to a multi-unit home in Bellingham’s York neighborhood.
The Bellingham Fire Department was called to the report of a residential fire at 9:09 p.m. Feb. 16 in the 1500 block of Grant Street, according to the PulsePoint app.
Nobody was home at the time in the unit where the fire started, fire department spokesperson Dustin Michaelis told The Bellingham Herald, but occupants were home in another unit.
“Fortunately, there was a working fire alarm that alerted the occupants in the other unit, and they reacted immediately and called 911,” Michaelis said.
That allowed firefighters to arrive quickly and extinguish the fire before it spread to more than one room, Michaelis said.
The fire did not destroy the room where it started, as it didn’t spread to combustibles on the other side of the room, Michaelis said.
Michaelis reported the fire did kill two cats within the unit, though.
Though there were reports of fireworks being set off in the area, Michaelis said police found they were too far away to have played a role in the fire, and the cause will likely be listed as electrical.
Five or six people were displaced by the fire and there was smoke and water damage throughout, but Michaelis said the building will not be a total loss.
