Though there were no injuries, a house fire in Admiral’s Cove displaced three adults early Wednesday morning.
One of the residents, Michael Geygan, said he suspects the fire was started by two battery chargers in the garage.
“I went out to the garage when I heard my garage door open in the middle of the night,” Geygan said. “I walked through the door and there was wire burning in front of my face, and flames licking up the wall.”
Geygan said he ran around the front of his garage to grab a hose, but the fire “was electrical so it didn’t do any good.”
He said he also tried to use a fire extinguisher, but it jammed.
Geygan and his wife, Catherine, and her son were able to safely make it out of the house. Their three cats were also saved.
Central Whidbey Island Fire and Rescue Chief Ed Hartin said the department received a call about a residential fire on Halsey Drive about 20 minutes past midnight Wednesday.
“The fire was fairly substantial,” Hartin said, adding that the roof collapsed shortly after crews arrived.
The fire appeared to start in the garage and made its way up into the attic of the house, Hartin said.
The first floor was also damaged, but both Geygan and Hartin said they thought some things on the lower floor and the basement may be salvageable. Investigators are working to determine the cause of the fire, according to Hartin.
The two-alarm fire drew crews from North Whidbey Fire and Rescue, Oak Harbor Fire Department and South Whidbey Fire/EMS.
Geygan, who has lived in Admiral’s Cove for about 25 years, said his family is staying at a hotel but is looking for either a hotel room or apartment on the ground floor because his wife has bad knees.
Neighbors have offered to help the family, which Geygan said is appreciated.
Geygan said he also wanted to thank the firefighters who responded to the blaze.
“They’re a good crew,” he said. “All the Whidbey fire departments showed up. I’d never seen fire work, considering the obstacles they had.
“Thank you to the fire departments for getting there when they did.”
