A basement fire with explosions displaced five people at a duplex Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 5, in the Sehome neighborhood of Bellingham.
A woman living in one of two upper floor apartments at 908 Key St. noticed smoke coming from the basement around 5:20 p.m. Her significant other went downstairs with a fire extinguisher to put out any flames, said Bellingham Assistant Fire Chief Bill Hewett.
The basement is a shared storage room, where a kerosene heater had been left on, Hewett said. Other flammable items – a gas can, propane tanks – were also stored in the room. Exactly how the basement erupted into flames remains under investigation, but the heater is suspected as a likely source.