[1]Josh Mischler, a friend of the resident, helps firefighters move some items out of the garage, while others continue to spray water and foam on the home.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – Firefighters responding to a call of a possible brush fire southwest of Chehalis this afternoon found a house fully engulfed in flames.
Nobody was home at the time, but a couple arrived while crews were still extinguishing the blaze to find their single-story home gutted.
Lewis County Fire District 5 was called about smoke by a passerby on Pleasant Valley and Brown Road East. When they arrived about 3:40 p.m. the the roof on the home on Larkspur Road had already collapsed, according to fire department member Megan Van Egdom
They fought the fire from the outside.
The closest next neighbors are fairly far away and said they only noticed some smoke, Chief Eric Linn said.
Lewis County Fire Districts 6 and 15 joined them, shuttling water tenders in. The area has no fire hydrants.
The 1700 square-foot home and its contents are a complete loss, according to District 5.
VanEgdom, assistant medical service officer for the department, said the cause is unknown.
“We don’t know, they’re gonna have to bring an investigator out,” she said.
Chief Linn said they were advised there were pets in the house, but they hadn’t found them yet..
Three children live there as well, according to VanEgdom.
The Red Cross was contacted and a volunteer chaplain responded to assist the residents.
[2]The roof collapsed before firefighters even arrived.