NEWCASTLE, Wash. — Flames shot from the roof of a large home in Newcastle as a huge plume of smoke shrouded the neighborhood.
Lieutenant Troy Donlin with the Bellevue Fire Department said firefighters were called to the home in the 14300 block of Southeast 77th Street around 10 a.m. Friday.
Crews arrived to find flames and smoke coming from the attic of the two-story home.
Firefighters from used a ladder truck to get onto the home's roof, which was burned through in some spots.
Chopper 7 video showed a firefighter cutting vents in the roof with a chainsaw.
Cedar shake roofing material and the roof's configuration made putting out the fire difficult, fire officials said. It took crews from Bellevue and Eastside Fire and Rescue 53 minutes to control the fire.
Chris Bailey, who was doing some landscaping two houses away from the home, told KIRO 7 Eyewitness News reporter Michelle Millman that he saw the smoke and ran into the house to make sure no one was inside. He said he had a fire at his own home two years ago.
Bailey said he saw the fire burning at the back of the home near a lawnmower and a garbage can.
The couple and their two children who live in the house were not there when the fire erupted. The family has asked for help from the Red Cross.
The home's roof was destroyed and there is smoke damage throughout the house and possible fire damage to second floor. Damage to the four-bedroom home is estimated at $300,000
Fire officials said the home is equipped with automatic fire sprinklers throughout the living areas but not in the attic or crawl spaces. Investigators determined the fire started outside the home and worked its way into the attic.
KIRO
