PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – A man was injured in a Vancouver house fire after an explosion in his detached garage, according to the Vancouver Fire Department.
Although firefighters kept the fire from spreading to the house at 3114 P Street, they say they found one man inside the garage who suffered serious injuries.
Crews arrived at the house after receiving several calls from neighbors that said there was a fire in the area around 2:08 p.m. With a total of 28 fire personnel responding, the garage fire was extinguished and the man was taken to a Portland area burn center for treatment.
Although no cause has been confirmed by authorities, neighbors tell KOIN 6 News they heard explosions they thought were fireworks, but now believe it was ammunition going off.
“I was just sitting there on a meeting for work because I work from home and the whole house started shaking. I didn’t know what was going on, but it sounded like an explosion and then it just kept happening,” said Carissa Cook. “I looked outside and I saw smoke and flame. My nanny was home, and I said, ‘Grab the baby, we’re leaving.'”
The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Vancouver Fire Marshal’s office, the Vancouver Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
“Kind of for a year, I’ve been saying that house is going to catch itself on fire one day or those people are going to catch their house on fire,” Cook said. “Unfortunately, I was right.”
Stay with KOIN 6 as we receive more information.