A residential fire caused by a yard work mishap Thursday evening temporarily displaced one North Whidbey man but resulted in no injuries.

North Whidbey Fire and Rescue responded to a residential fire on Deer Park Lane around 6:30 p.m. May 25. According to Battalion Chief Steve Lacy, the house’s occupant had been burning some small branches while cleaning up his yard, and some nearby bushes caught fire. The blaze then spread to the vinyl siding of the house and up into the soffits.

The resident attempted to extinguish the fire with a garden hose before calling in the department, Lacy said.

North Whidbey Fire responded with three engines, a tender, an engine company, a command vehicle and a brush truck from Central Whidbey Island Fire and Rescue. The first engine arrived within eight minutes, Lacy said, and reported heavy smoke showing from the side of the house, the attic area and the crawl space.

The crew extinguished the fire on the side and cut the holes in the roof to ventilate the attic space. Lacy said the fire was contained to the outer wall and soffit areas on the east side.

Fire crews were on the scene for around three hours. No one was hurt, and the house was not destroyed, but Lacy said the roof will need to be repaired and two bedrooms will need wall and ceiling repair after suffering some smoke damage.

The occupant of the house went to stay with friends, Lacy said.

A North Whidbey Fire and Rescue firefighter works to extinguish a residential fire on Deer Park Lane May 25. (Photo by John Fisken)