Two Whatcom County homes destroyed in separate fires within 24 hours
Two homes in Sumas are destroyed after separate residential fires in the same 24-hour period.
One occurred around 5 a.m. Monday morning when a family of seven woke up to the sound of smoke alarms going off. They were all able to evacuate their home without any injuries, according to Whatcom County Fire District 14 Chief Jerry DeBruin.
The fire was likely caused by an electric space heater in the living room, DeBruin said. DeBruin believes the space heater was off at the time, but that it may have malfunctioned and started a fire.
The fire was reported just before 5 a.m., according to PulsePoint.
The building was fully engulfed by the time firefighters arrived at the scene, with flames going from the living room up into the attic, DeBruin told The Bellingham Herald.
“Between fire damage, smoke damage, heat damage and then water damage, the house is just a total loss,” Debruin said.
Crews were able to extinguish most of the fire within ten minutes, but much of the house had to be deconstructed over the next couple of hours to make sure the fire was completely extinguished, according to DeBruin.
The American Red Cross was contacted and is currently assisting the family, DeBruin said.
“It’s that time of year, where, it’s always sad anytime, but when you get around holidays, it’s always really sad,” he said. “We have seen so much devastation out here with the flooding and now you get a fire… everyone just needs to be careful and I’m not saying there was anyone here that was not being careful, but it’s just that time of year when people have a lot of extra things plugged in … and that can put a strain on your electrical system so everyone needs to be cognizant of that and cautious.”
The other fire was on Saturday around 4 p.m. off Reese Hill Road, according to DeBruin. The owner of the house was not home when the fire started, and when he did come home, the residence was fully engulfed.
The two-story residence was off the road about two miles into the mountains on a muddy road, which made it difficult to get the fire engines to the fire, DeBruin said. The engines did eventually make it to the residence and got the fire under control in about an hour.
No injuries were reported.
The cause of the fire off Reese Hill Road is unknown, and the owner had another way to support himself, so the Red Cross was not needed to assist.
“It’s really sad, just the loss of everything,” DeBruin said. “I always think it’s sad that these things happen anytime of the year, but it seems like, over the years, they seem to happen over the holidays and it always feels like it’s worse.”
.jpg)