Photos: Humboldt Bay Fire.

Press release from Humboldt Bay Fire:

Early on the morning of Monday, May 6 at approximately 2:30am Humboldt Bay Fire responded to a reported house on fire in the 3300 block of Park Street in Eureka. HBF responded with three engines, one ladder truck, and one Chief Officer. The fourth engine that would normally respond as part of a first alarm was on another emergency response. Additionally, one volunteer Fire Support personnel responded and provided traffic control.

The first arriving unit arrived on scene and reported heavy fire burning in a large two- story single-family residence. As additional units arrived crews quickly went to work to search for trapped occupants, extinguish the fire, and remove smoke from the residence. All six occupants were out of the home upon arrival, but it was reported that several dogs may be trapped in the house.

Due to the size of the fire and the complexity of the home’s design a second alarm was requested, bringing in one additional HBF Chief Officer and fire engines from neighboring departments to help stabilize the incident. The fire was controlled in about 35 minutes and took approximately 3 hours to completely mitigate. After the fire was extinguished HBF investigators began to determine the cause of the fire, which is still under investigation at this time. PG&E responded and removed the utility hazards.

The total estimated property value of the structure saved is $375,000, with fire and smoke damage estimated to be $125,000. There were no civilian or firefighter injuries, but tragically six puppies perished in the fire.

Humboldt Bay Fire would like to thank City Ambulance, Eureka PD, Samoa, Loleta and Arcata Fire for their assistance on this incident, and in providing station coverage. Humboldt Bay Fire would like to remind everyone that smoke alarms can provide early notification of smoke in the residences and should be installed in all living spaces and regularly checked. Additionally, portable space heaters should be monitored as they can be dangerous and should be used in accordance with manufacturer’s specifications.