BRIEF: Oyster Bay home destroyed in fire

Nov. 20--BREMERTON -- A 79-year-old Bremerton woman escaped serious injury Saturday when fire destroyed her Oyster Bay home.

Police and firefighters responded to the 1100 block of Lower Marine Drive shortly after 11 a.m. and found flames spreading rapidly through a one-story house tucked at the end of a long hillside driveway. The homeowner was the only person inside the residence and got out of the home safely, according to the Bremerton Fire Department. Fire crews knocked down the flames and spent several hours extinguishing hot spots at the scene.

Bremerton Fire Marshal Mike Six said a cigarette apparently started the blaze. He said the resident used supplemental oxygen for a medical condition, and the oxygen-rich atmosphere inside the house allowed the fire to rush through the structure in a matter of minutes.

The resident had insurance and was staying with friends, according to firefighters.

The Oyster Bay fire was the first of at least two residential fires in Bremerton Saturday. At about 4 p.m., firefighters extinguished a blaze smoldering inside an exterior wall of a Lafayette Avenue home. Six said the fire likely started when exhaust from a pressure washer scorched the siding of the house.

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