By Judy Halone-The Courier-Herald
A late-morning fire destroyed a home Thursday in the 8400 block of 182nd Ave. E. in Bonney Lake. There were no injuries reported and no one was home at the time of the incident.
Emergency dispatchers received the first call at 10:50 a.m., said East Pierce Fire and Rescue Assistant Chief Russ McCallion. Dark smoke from the fire could be seen across the Sumner Valley and the South Plateau.
“The first firefighters to arrive on the scene found dark smoke coming out of three sides of the second-story structure,” McCallion said. “The back of the second story was fully involved. We had a total of four fire engines, two medic units and 25 fire fighters and personnel on the scene to combat the blaze.”
East Pierce Fire and Rescue Deputy Fire Marshall Paul Brockwell said the resident, who is a Puyallup firefighter, left the house at approximately 7 a.m. Thursday and locked it up. The fire started after that and stayed contained in the residence until the heat blew out large picture windows on the west side of the view home.
“Once it got air, it was burning everywhere,” Brockwell said.
Linda Wahl, who lives next door, said a passerby alerted her to the blaze.
“She banged on my windows and told me the house was on fire and to call 911,” she said.
Instead, Wahl handed the phone to the woman. Wahl ran to the residence to rescue the family's dog, which was outside at the time. She safely kept it in her home.
Wahl said she then grabbed the neighbor's house keys and ran back to the home to rescue a cat.
“A man was standing in the yard and he yelled, ‘Don't go in it!'” she said. “The dispatcher said to not open the door.” The cat did not survive.
McCallion said fire personnel stayed on the scene for three hours to provide clean-up.
After a second day of investigation Friday, the cause and origin of the fire had not been determined. Brockwell said he estimated the loss of the structure and its contents at approximately $300,000. The investigation continues and the cause has not been determined.
Judy Halone can be reached at jhalone@courierherald.com.
