Firefighters went inside of the smoke-filled house to find the resident just inside the front door carrying two dogs

Shortly after 2 p.m. Sunday (June 2) afternoon, the Vancouver Fire Department was dispatched to the reports of a structure fire with residents still trapped inside at the 4600 block of NE 47^th Street in Vancouver. 

First-arriving units arrived within just two minutes and found smoke coming from the garage and the attic of the house and stretched hose lines to put out the fire. Firefighters contacted the homeowner who stated that only one resident was still inside, so they immediately went inside of the smoke-filled house to find the resident just inside the front door carrying two dogs. They were escorted outside where American Medical Response evaluated them for smoke inhalation and transported them to a local area emergency room with non-life-threatening injuries.  

Once more crews arrived on scene, firefighters connected to a fire hydrant and extended the hose line inside of the garage to extinguish the fire, which took approximately 10 minutes. A total of six dogs were rescued from the house. 

Seventeen firefighters and two battalion chiefs were on the fire scene and no firefighters were injured. The American Red Cross was on scene to assist the two displaced residents.  

The Vancouver Fire Department would like to urge residents to evacuate their home immediately if they experience a fire and not to return inside the house to search for family pets. Fires produce carbon monoxide and other deadly toxic gasses that can be devastating to your health. 

The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Vancouver Fire Marshal’s Office.

Information provided by the Vancouver Fire Department.