No one was seriously injured in a house fire on the 200 block of Bayside Road Sunday, March 12, but it destroyed a family home.
Neighbors reported hearing several explosions before seeing flames high above the treeline around 10:30 p.m. Sunday night.
The house was fully engulfed when Bellingham Fire Department crews arrived, Fire Captain Dustin Michaelis said Monday.
Two residents — a husband and wife — were inside the home and were able to get out safely prior to the arrival of fire crews. Neither needed to be transported to the hospital, Michaelis said.
The fire blazed for a few hours before the fire crews extinguished it around 2 a.m., according to neighbors.
“It was like a wall of fire,” said Cathy Angell, who lives next door. “We were very scared for [the residents] but they yelled from the backyard that they were safe.”
At this point, fire officials and investigators have not released the cause of the fire, and Michaelis said it could be a day or two until the cause is found.
The house is a total loss and several cars in the carport also caught fire. The structure is too unstable to go inside and conduct an investigation, Michaelis said.
Neighbors said they suspect a gas leak is involved.
“Preliminary reports that we have gotten is that a fire caused a portion of the structure to fall and damage [Cascade Natural Gas] facilities, causing a natural gas leak,” said Mark Hanson, a spokesperson for Cascade Natural Gas. “Cascade personnel did respond and secure our facilities. No reports of any explosion to my knowledge.”
Michaelis said the gas line and meter at the front of the building became severed at one point and let off a lot of gas, fueling the fire even more.
