NWFR extinguishes attic fire on 9th Street in downtown Blaine

A house fire in downtown Blaine was extinguished by North Whatcom Fire and Rescue (NWFR) on Sunday evening.

The emergency call came in around 6:20 p.m., said NWFR division chief Herschel Rostov, who was the first to arrive on scene. The fire occurred in the 400 block of 9th Street. Rostov arrived in a response vehicle to manage the incident, and was followed by Ladder 63 from Birch Bay and numerous other emergency vehicles.

“When I arrived, what I saw was heavy smoke in the neighborhood and very heavy smoke from the roof part of the building,” said Rostov. “When I walked around the building, there was no fire or smoke inside the building itself. All the smoke was coming out of the attic space. So it was fairly obvious that we had an attic fire.”

The homeowner had reported seeing a fire in the attic space above a bathroom fan. The homeowner had initially tried to put out the fire using two fire extinguishers, but was unsuccessful. By the time firefighters arrived, flames were visible from outside the building.

Nobody was injured in the fire, but the damage was so extensive that the exact cause of the fire could not be determined. “There was so much damage, you couldn’t easily tell by looking at what was left to know exactly what started it,” said Rostov.

In order to extinguish the attic fire, NWFR firefighters entered the building through the front door with their hose line, and used special tools to pull down the ceiling. They sprayed water into the attic space of the one-story house, while many onlookers watched from a distance. The water was sourced from fire hydrants, and two tenders – used for transporting large amounts of water – were not needed after arriving on scene.

The response to the fire included assistance from neighboring fire departments, including an engine car and an aid car from Ferndale, as well as a fire engine from Lynden. “We had wonderful help,” said Rostov.