KIRKLAND, Wash. – Fire inspectors plan to return to a Kirkland house to determine what caused it to burn down Wednesday night.
The fire started around 9:30 p.m. at a vacant home on the 12800 block of NE 70th Place in Kirkland. Flames about 20-ft. high shot from the roof and a thick black cloud of smoke could be seen as far away as Seattle. More than a dozen fire engines from four different fire agencies responded to the fire.
When Carmen Coralline saw the bright red flames shooting from the house next door, she yelled to her husband Kurt to call 911 and then grabbed her two dogs and ran outside. Next, Carmen pounded on her neighbor's door to get out while she had a chance.
"It was within two seconds - I mean I could barely widen my eyes - the house was engulfed over there," said Caroline Coralline. "And then it spread out to the trees and the trees are very close to our house. So I knew we were going to get hit."
According to Kirkland Fire Department Public Information Officer Robin Paster, the fire started at the vacant home and quickly spread to a fence and trees nearby. The flames then jumped onto the Coralline home.
The Corallines made it out safely and no one was hurt. Kurt was not able to find the family's 11-year-old cat Zooey. Fortunately, firefighters found the cat several hours later.
Paster says the week before the fire, Kirkland police kicked squatters out of the vacant home. The night before that, Paster says Kirkland police responded to the same house for a loud house party. After the squatters were evicted, Paster says power was cut to the vacant house.
According to Kurt Coralline, the house has been vacant for six years after it was sold to a real estate trust.
Firefighters said the attic of the Corralines home was damaged by the fire, but the bottom half of the home is ok. Still, the Corralines will not be able to return to their home for a while. Until then, the Corallines and their pets will be staying at a neighbor's home.
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