Tony Overman/The Olympian
Olympia firefighter Jerry Miller pulls hose to a house fire on Bell Court in Tumwater on Tuesday afternoon.

Teen rescues pets as blaze destroys Tumwater house

JIM CARLILE THE OLYMPIAN

TUMWATER -- A fire that started at 3 p.m. Tuesday had gutted a Tumwater home an hour later.

There were no injuries at the house at 625 Bell Court, which is just off T Street, said Tumwater Fire Chief Richard Ridgeway. The home belongs to Steven and Marene Kenney.

"I think a good way to put it is there was major destruction," he said. "There are still some rooms intact, but there was major structural damage."

There was no damage to other homes in the neighborhood, Ridgeway said.

The only person home at the time was Bryton Kenney, 14. Kenney walked his dog through the tangle of fire hoses snaking through the court as the outside of the light-green home was blackening.

"I have no idea how it started," Kenney said.

Kenney said one of the firefighters told him it might have been a spark from the furnace.

Kenney was inside the home when he heard one of his friends pounding on the door. He told him to go away, and his friend shouted that the house was on fire.

Kenney ran outside, saw the smoke and realized pets were inside -- a dog in the back yard and at least one cat upstairs.

He ran inside and upstairs, found one of the cats, ran to the back yard, grabbed the dog and got away from the house through a gate.

Kenney said he couldn't find Scooters, one of the cats, and it probably didn't make it out.

Pieces of the garage caved in as firefighters continued to struggle with flames in the upper floor. Whenever it looked like they had it under control, a new spurt of flame would appear and, with it, more white smoke.

"It's pretty amazing what fire can do," said Matt Terrell, a neighbor.

Ridgeway said the fire brought out about 20 firefighters and three engines. One ladder engine from the Olympia Fire Department also responded to the fire.

The Olympian Copyright 2002

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