Three people were displaced after a large house fire Thursday morning in the Meadow Glade neighborhood south of Battle Ground.
Clark-Cowlitz Fire Rescue, Clark County Fire District 3 and the Vancouver Fire Department responded at 4:38 a.m. to 18612 N.E. 92nd Ave. for reports of flames coming out of the garage.
Crews arrived to find the garage of an approximately 3,000-square-foot, two-story house on fire with flames spreading to the second floor, the fire agency said. There were two cars in the garage.
One resident later told firefighters he was awakened by his dogs barking, alerting him to the smell of smoke, according to a Clark-Cowlitz Fire Rescue news release. The residents then called 911 and evacuated themselves and their pets.
Firefighters first extinguished the blaze in the garage, before also controlling the flames in the second story and the attic. Crews prevented the fire from spreading any further, the news release states.
Two adults and one child were displaced, along with their two dogs, who were uninjured, the agency said. Firefighters also retrieved a number of pet snakes from inside the house.
Officials attributed the fact there were no injuries from this fire to the residents’ quick evacuations and contact with 911.
“Clark-Cowlitz Fire Rescue would like to acknowledge the reporting party’s correct actions in identifying the hazard, activating 911, alerting all occupants, then evacuating all occupants from the structure,” the news release states. “The reporting party demonstrated a perfect example of ‘Get Out & Stay Out,’ thereby enabling our first-arriving crews to concentrate on fire attack and retrieval of the remaining pets inside the structure.”
Clark County Fire District 6 also responded to assist, along with AMR and the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.
A total of 36 personnel responded, including seven fire engines, one ladder truck, three water tenders, four chief officers, two fire investigators and one ambulance.
The Clark County Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause of the fire.
