BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Tuesday, September 13th, about 2pm first responders were dispatched to the 2700 block of Alvarado Drive due to reports of black smoke coming from a residence.

Bellingham Fire Department (BFD) officials said their crews arrived to find heavy fire on the backside of a 2-story house.
According to BFD, civilian workers nearby had made entry into the house to ensure there was nobody inside and were able to free a dog.
According to a press release from Barron Heating AC Electrical & Plumbing, 3 employees, Brett Haley, Josh Smith and Chris Foster, had been working in the same block when the fire broke out.
Haley was quoted in the press release as saying they heard a fire alarm and went into the street to investigate. They noticed smoke coming from a nearby residence, called 911 and rang the doorbell. “Nobody answered, but I could hear a dog barking and then saw it through a window. Since the door was unlocked, we went in to see if there were any people there.”
They determined no one was home and were able to catch the scared dog.
BFD crews arrived, quickly found the origin of the fire and extinguished it.

A cat was also found by BFD firefighters and both animals were left in the care of the Whatcom Humane Society. BFD officials said nobody was home at the time of the fire and there were no injuries to firefighters.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.