Fire displaces Nellita family

Central Kitsap Fire & Rescue firefighters work to extinguish a fire that erupted in a three-story home on Nellita Road on Mother’s Day.

Residents of a three-story home in the 1900 block of Nellita Road were preparing Mother’s Day dinner just before 6 p.m. May 11 when a fire erupted in their home.

The fire may have been burning for nearly one-and-a-half hours before the family realized the smoke they smelled was not coming from their woodstove boiler.

Central Kitsap Fire & Rescue crews arrived to find heavy fire on the roof and third floor of the home. Firefighters attacked the fire from the outside and attempted an interior attack to the roof. Upon entry to the home, crews noted there also was fire in the basement. The fire from above and below created a need for firefighters to back out of the home and reevaluate their attack strategy.

Fourteen units from CKFR responded to the fire, including four tenders needed to supply water to the isolated, non-hydranted location of the fire. Once the fire was knocked down and it was safe, crews assisted the residents in retrieving some family photos, wedding announcements and personal belongings.

Five of the six residents were home at the time of the fire. Everyone, including two young children, safely evacuated. There were working smoke alarms in the home. The American Red Cross and nearby family members are assisting the displaced family. The fire is under investigation by the Kitsap County Fire Marshal’s Office.

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