Several people are displaced and a family’s dog is missing after an early morning fire tore through a Mercer Island home on Wednesday, July 1.
Firefighters responded to a residence in the 8200 block of 82nd Street, near Lakeridge Elementary School, just after 1 a.m., according to Eastside Fire & Rescue.
Dispatchers received more than 30 calls reporting an explosion and flames coming from the home. Some callers also reported seeing fire spreading to nearby grass and fences.
Arriving crews found heavy fire conditions at the multi-story residence and were forced to take a defensive position to protect neighboring homes from the flames, according to Eastside Fire & Rescue Battalion Chief Jon Wiseman.
“The house does look like it’s destroyed. We’re still assessing to what level, but that’s what it looks like,” Wiseman said.
Officials said the home’s location on a hillside created access challenges for firefighters and contributed to the decision to upgrade the incident to a two-alarm response.
“The second alarm was struck to help protect surrounding structures and put out spot fires,” Eastside Fire & Rescue Public Information Officer Catherine Imboden said.
Firefighters remained in a defensive strategy for more than two hours before gaining control of the blaze around 4 a.m. Crews were expected to continue extinguishing hot spots well into the morning and possibly into the afternoon.
All five occupants escaped safely and no injuries were reported.
Two dogs were believed to be inside the home when the fire broke out. By about 8:30 a.m., one small dog had been found and reunited with the family, but a labradoodle remained missing.
Wiseman and the family asked Mercer Island residents to keep an eye out for the missing dog.
The American Red Cross has been contacted to assist the five displaced residents. The King County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the cause of the fire.
