Firefighters on Vashon battled heavy flames that engulfed a north-end residence on the afternoon of Friday, Nov. 25.

There were no injuries to firefighters or people in the home, but the home sustained very heavy damage, said Fire Chief Matt Vinci.

According to the home’s owner, Kim Cronin, the fire destroyed all the contents of her house, with nothing remaining salvageable.

Vashon Island Fire & Rescue (VIFR) crews responded to the blaze at 1:47 p.m. on Friday.

Four on-duty responders and one volunteer firefighter, joined by Vinci, arrived on the scene first, in a response that grew to a total of about 15 VIFR members in all.

Paramedics from King County Medic One were also on the scene to help in the initial response, which lasted until after dusk. Crews then returned to the scene later that night and continued their work until about 3:30 a.m., Vinci said.

“It was a very stubborn fire,” he said.

Vinci said he believed that the fire had been sparked by a generator. The generator had been located on a concrete pad, outside of the garage, said Cronin, and had been running at the time the blaze erupted because the power had gone out in the neighborhood.

“Flames traveled into the home quickly and were very destructive,” Vinci said.

The fire is now being investigated, as is always the case in large structure fires, he said.

In social media posts, and in messages exchanged with The Beachcomber, Cronin expressed her deep gratitude to her friends and neighbors who had rallied to help and support her, and also for the compassion and skill of the firefighters who had battled the blaze for hours, trying to save her home.

Out-of-town family members, she said, had also arrived on Vashon, to offer support and help.

Cronin said she had been at home alone when the fire broke out, and that she and her dog had been able to escape quickly as the fire began, but that she still hoped to find her pet cat.

In the coming days, Cronin said, she would begin the long process of putting her life back together — and in the aftermath of the fire, she would again look to her beloved community.

“I’m so grateful for my life and my community,” she wrote. “We are going to need you.”

Correction: A previous version of this story, posted on The Beachcomber’s Facebook page and now corrected, erred in describing the location of a generator on the property that caught fire. The generator was located on a concrete pad, outside the garage. We strive for accuracy and regret the error.