Nobody was injured in a residential fire in Oak Harbor this week.
Keith Glass, an occupant of the home located on Northwest Anchor Drive, said he thought he heard his 46-year-old son yelling from his bedroom Thursday morning. When he investigated, he smelled smoke coming from the bedroom and opened the door to find his son’s bed ablaze.
Glass realized his son had already vacated the home and was “walking the street,” he said. Glass called 911 around 11 a.m.
Josh Fiske, a lieutenant with the Oak Harbor Fire Department, said he observed smoke emanating from the front of the home when he arrived on scene. He confirmed that his department, Navy Fire and North Whidbey Fire and Rescue got the fire under control within minutes.
“The first-in engine company made a rapid interior attack, quickly locating and extinguishing the fire,” a release from the Oak Harbor Fire Department details. “Due to the swift actions of firefighters, the majority of the damage was contained to one bedroom, preventing further spread throughout the home.”
Glass said the home is normally occupied by four people — him, his wife, his son and his wife’s brother — as well as his dog. Only three of those occupants were home at the time of the fire, according to the release. Glass helped get his wife’s brother out and reentered the home to grab his dog; his wife was not home.
The cause of the first is still under investigation as of Thursday evening, according to the release.
“This incident was a great example of our fire and EMS partners working together and executing when lives and property are on the line,” Fire Chief Travis Anderson said in the release. “We truly appreciate the strong collaboration and rapid response from all agencies involved.”
Glass has resided at his Anchor Drive home since the ‘90s. He has never experienced a fire before.
