Fire sends person to the hospital

A house fire at the intersection of Drayton Harbor and Blaine roads sent one person to the hospital on February 20.

North Whatcom Fire and Rescue (NWFR) units from Blaine, Ferndale and Lynden responded to a 7:30 p.m. call of a house fire in the 4500 block of Drayton Harbor Road on February 20. Jon Ahrenholz, NWFR division chief of operations, said the NWFR station closest to the house, Station 63 on Birch Bay-Lynden Road, couldn’t respond because firefighters were busy on an EMS call.

At least two people were in the home when it caught on fire. Someone in the home had tried to smother a kitchen fire with a cloth and then threw the smoldering cloth into the laundry room, where it caught on fire, Ahrenholz said. A homeowner was taken to St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham for treatment of smoke inhalation.

Firefighters put out the fire in about 20 minutes. Fire damage was confined to the laundry room but smoke damaged other areas of the home. The home’s second floor and attic were without damage.

First responders closed nearby roads while on scene.