A burning pot of beans nearly destroyed a home on West Beach Road Tuesday.

According to Mike Brown, assistant chief of North Whidbey Fire and Rescue, a 911-caller reported a fire at a home just south of the intersection at Fort Nugent Road just after 6:30 p.m.

Firefighters were on the scene within minutes and were able to snuff out the flames before they could cause any major damage. The fire could have been much worse, however, as it had begun to spread into the vent above the stove.

“There was some significance to it. … It was on its way,” Brown said.

According to Brown, one person was inside at the time but it’s not clear why she was unable to extinguish the fire before it got out of control. It was a vigilant neighbor, Steve Warren, who called 911.

“I heard what I thought was a strange bird,” said Warren, referring to the building’s chirping smoke alarms.

He went outside and sure enough, smoke was coming out of the building. He helped the female occupant out of her house and into his own, where she waited while firefighters tackled the fire next door.

Brown said the woman was attended to by an ambulance crew but she declined to go to the hospital.

Although it was Warren who reported the fire, he gave the credit to firefighters by complimenting them with a lighting-fast response time.

“I always wondered what would happen in an emergency,” he said. “It’s nice to see it was so fast.”