Fire Causes More Than $250,000 Damage to Edmonds Home

A fire caused more than $250,000 damage to an Edmonds home early Sunday morning.

Neighbors called 911 at 4:32 a.m. to report the fire at a single-story house with a daylight basement in the 1000 block of Ninth Avenue South, said Leslie Hynes, public information officer for Snohomish County Fire District 1, which provides fire and emergency medical service in the City of Edmonds.

No one was inside the house at the time of the fire and there were no injuries. Neighbors told firefighters renters had moved out of the house sometime within the past few weeks.

Firefighters could see the fire as they responded.

“The flames were through the roof and coming out all the windows,” Hynes said. “When firefighters arrived, the structure was already so heavily damaged that it was unsafe to send crews inside. Instead, they attacked the fire from outside.”

About 30 firefighters from Fire District 1, Shoreline and Lynnwood responded and had the bulk of the fire under control within about 40 minutes. “After that, firefighters remained on the scene to deal with hot spots that flared up in the attic and wall,” Hynes said.

The homeowners were fixing up the house so they could move in. “They’ve been working inside the house and in the yard this week. They learned about the fire when they showed up to work there this morning,” Hynes said.

Investigators have not yet determined how the fire started. This is the second fire at this house in less than a month. On Sept. 18, firefighters responded at 6:51 a.m. for a small fire in an exterior wall on the back of the house. A neighbor and the tenant extinguished that fire before firefighters arrived. Damage was minimal. Investigators were unable to determine how that fire started.

“It’s too early for investigators to say if today’s fire is suspicious or if it is somehow related to the previous fire. Investigators are still on the scene and are looking at all possibilities,” Hynes said.