Explosion, fire rock Ferndale neighborhood

BELLINGHAM — An explosion at a home in Ferndale on Sunday blew the garage doors off the hinges, but no injuries were reported.

A crew from Fire District No. 7 arrived on the scene minutes after receiving a call about the incident at 11:41 a.m. Sunday. When crews arrived, they found the garage door in the driveway and the garage on fire. With the garage door gone, crews had easy access to the fire and had it extinguished by 11:52 a.m., Assistant Fire Chief Ben Boyko said.

Boyko said it’s difficult at this time to identify if the explosion caused the fire or if the fire caused the explosion. However, he said it is more likely the fire started first, although this is not confirmed. The cause of the explosion and the fire are currently being investigated.

The fire did not spread to the home, and all damage was in the garage. The incident occurred along the 6100 block of Apollo Drive in Ferndale.

The residents were not home at the time of the incident, although a dog and cat were removed from the home and reunited with the residents.

Though there was limited if any damage to the home itself, it is not livable at this time, and the residents have been in touch with the Red Cross to find temporary housing.