By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
The cause of a house fire this afternoon off state Route 508 south of Chehalis is not yet determined but appears to have started next to a fireplace.
Lewis County Fire District 5 was joined by firefighters from District 6, District 1 and the Chehalis Fire Department to answer a call about 3:30 p.m. near Guerrier Road, according to District 5 Lt. Laura Hanson.
Hanson said nobody was home at the time but a passerby saw smoke and called 911.
Three pet cats were found safe, she said.
Firefighter Brad Bozarth said the man who lives there arrived and let them know he had cats. After the fire was knocked down, firefighters searched the house and found them hiding under a bed in a back bedroom, Bozarth said.
“They seemed fine, healthy, but scared,” he said.
The home is on the 700 block of state Route 508, about three miles east on Interstate 5.
Hanson said the damage was limited to roughly 20 percent of the house. She said both floors of the one and a half story home were affected with heavy damage to one side but not the other.
District 5 Chief Eric Linn attributed the “save” to the call from the passerby as well as the quick response from available units.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter