Birch Bay house fire sends person to hospital for smoke inhalation

A Birch Bay house fire sent one person to St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham to be treated for minor smoke inhalation after a fire started in a bedroom.

North Whatcom Fire and Rescue (NWFR) received a call at 5:12 p.m. Thursday, February 15 regarding a residential fire in the 7300 block of Clamdigger Drive in Birch Bay. Two NWFR engines arrived on scene at 5:20 p.m., NWFR acting battalion chief Jon Ahrenholz said.

Firefighters discovered a fire that started in the back bedroom. While the fire was contained to the bedroom, the bedroom door was open, causing smoke damage throughout the house and in the attic, Ahrenholz said.

“The house was unlivable when all said and done,” he said.

A man who was able to get out of the house during the fire was transported to the hospital for minor smoke inhalation. The fire was put out in about  half an hour, Ahrenholz said.

The Whatcom County Fire Marshal’s Office was assigned to investigate the cause of the fire.