Firefighters respond to blaze on Quartermaster Drive, field additional calls | Updated

Vashon firefighters have responded to two residential fires taking place less than a week apart on Vashon.

The call to the first of these fires came in the early morning hours of Wednesday, June 21, with Vashon Island Fire & Rescue (VIFR) responding to a residential fire at 8414 Quartermaster Drive.

Crews on the scene worked from 1:30 to 7:30 a.m. to contain and extinguish the blaze.

The home, according to property records, was purchased in 2021 by Prudencio Aguilo.

Aguilo, a resident of Los Angeles who was in the process of remodeling the residence, was not injured in the fire, nor were any animals lost or injured in the fire, said Fire Chief Matt Vinci.

Although the home sustained major damage, firefighters were able to save its structure, according to Vinci.

Responders included Vinci, VIFR Division Chief Ben Davidson, four career firefighters and five volunteer firefighters, one of whom left the scene to be evaluated after sustaining an injury. An additional five volunteers supported water tender operations.

Conditions for fighting the fire were tough, Vinci said, including not enough firefighters, a steep driveway to the home that prevented the fire engine from close access to the blaze, and a limited water supply.

Two units arrived on the scene 12 minutes after getting the call, Vinci said. Firefighters had to lay in water from a hydrant in Portage, he said, as well fight the blaze with water from the district’s two tenders.

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, but reached by phone at his home in Los Angeles, Aguilo said he believed it had been caused by a faulty electrical outlet to the refrigerator in his house.

Aguilo, an aircraft technician for United Airlines, said that he had purchased the house to renovate it as a retirement home and that he still planned to return to Vashon to rebuild it for that purpose. He had grown up on a small island, he said, and wanted that lifestyle again in his retirement.

He said his experience on the morning of the fire — the kindness he had been shown by a neighbor who arrived with a cup of tea, extra clothing and shoes for him, as well as the diligence of Chief Vinci and the firefighters on the scene — had made him want to live on Vashon more than ever.

Aguio described how he had been awakened by popping and cracking sounds at 1 a.m. on June 21.

“When I got up I saw a glow towards the back of the house. I immediately ran out to see the back side of the house about 50 percent engulfed,” he said. “My first reaction was to grab a bucket and start putting the fire out, but after an attempt to fill a bucket with water from the shower, I realized it was time to call 911.”

Aguilo described the district’s response to the fire as heroic.

“When they arrived, I saw the fire truck make an attempt to go up my steep driveway, but the back bumper was getting snagged by the road,” he said, going on to detail how the crew brought in water from tenders and the hydrant in Portage to battle the blaze. “The fact that they put the fire out in a challenging environment and with limited resources deserves recognition and I owe them a ton of gratitude for their efforts.”

Landers Road

On the morning of Monday, June 26, local firefighters battled another blaze, this time in a new newly constructed additional dwelling unit (ADU) in the 23000 block of Landers Road.

Chief Vinci said the call to fire came at 7:19 a.m. Responders included VIFR’s on-duty career firefighting crew, volunteers, division chiefs Scot McDonald and Ben Davidson, and Vinci.

Vinci said the fire in the small dwelling was fully involved at the time crews arrived, so a decision was made to fight the fire defensively, from the outside. There were no injuries to firefighters or civilians, and no pets lost or missing from the blaze.

The cause of the fire was unknown at press time.

Calls keep coming

Sandwiched between the two residential fires, VIFR has also responded to numerous other calls and safety issues on Vashon, Vinci said.

On Thursday, June 22, VIFR received numerous calls regarding an odor of propane at the AmeriGas facility at Vashon Highway and 204th Street. Working with AmeriGas representatives, VIFR determined the odor was coming from a leaking tank, used by an AmeriGas customer, that had been brought back to the facility. By Friday morning, Vinci said, the situation had been resolved.

In the early morning hours of Saturday, June 24, VIFR also responded after an accident that landed a mid-sized Volkswagen sedan on a beach near Portage.

The car was towed from the beach off of Highland Road and Dockton Ave on Saturday morning, as the tide was coming in.

According to sources, the driver of the car had left the scene of the accident.

Two passengers who were injured in the accident were treated at Vashon Island Fire & Rescue’s Station 55 on Bank Road, after arriving in person at the station at around 5 a.m., said Fire Chief Matt Vinci. First responders then transported both patients to Harborview Hospital, in Seattle.

The Beachcomber reached out to King County Sheriff’s Office for further details on the accident but received scant information in response. Sgt. Eric White, a communications officer, confirmed the single-vehicle accident had occurred, but said the collision report did not detail if the driver was being sought by law enforcement.

Response to the injured passengers was one of many duties during the busy weekend for VIFR, said Vinci.

VIFR received 28 calls for assistance within a 72-hour time span starting Friday, he said. On Saturday alone, he added, eight patients had walked into the VIFR’s station 55, seeking medical assistance.

VIFR Photo An accident that took place in the early morning hours of June 24 landed a mid-sized Volkswagen sedan on a beach near Portage. VIFR treated and transported two passengers in the car to Harborview Hospital, in Seattle.