May 26--BELLINGHAM -- A smoldering cigarette sparked a condominium fire Sunday morning, May 26, displacing four Sehome neighborhood residents, according to the Bellingham Fire Department.
Fire engines lined the street outside 715 N. Garden St. when Dick McCollum, a retired U.S. Army colonel, came home from a morning service at St. Paul's Episcopal Church.
By the time firefighters allowed him to tour his second-floor condo, he found much of the bathroom had been blackened by smoke, and his footsteps squished on the wet carpet. Firefighters had ripped the toilet from the floor and hoisted it into the bathtub.
A condo below also was rendered uninhabitable by water damage, according to the fire department.
It appeared the fire started in a cabinet below the sink in McCollum's unit, possibly in a trash can.
McCollum had a few immediate guesses about the cause -- maybe an electrical problem, he said, "because our puppy (a Shih Tzu) doesn't smoke."
But Bellingham Fire Marshal Jason Napier placed the blame on careless cigarette smoking. He ruled the fire an accident. A damage estimate wasn't immediately available.
McCollum and his wife, Barbara, have lived in the condo for more than three decades. Their insurance should cover much of the bill, McCollum said.
The Mt. Baker Chapter of the American Red Cross has helped the couple to find temporary housing.
Reach Caleb Hutton at [email protected] or 360-715-2276. Read his Dispatcher blog at blogs.bellinghamherald.com/dispatcher or get updates on Twitter at @bhamcrime.
Copyright 2013 - The Bellingham Herald (Bellingham, Wash.)
