Bellingham Fire Department had a busy Thursday night and early Friday morning responding to two vehicle fires in Bellingham and a small stairwell fire on Western Washington University’s campus.
Shortly before midnight Thursday, the fire department received a report that a 25-foot motor home was fully engulfed on Kentucky and Woburn streets, according to fire department spokesperson Dustin Michaelis.
While en route to the scene, Bellingham Police Department told fire crews to pause while law enforcement dealt with a hostile individual, Michaelis said. No injuries were reported and all of the motor home’s occupants and their pets were out of the vehicle.
The fire department was on the scene for about two hours, and the motor home was considered a total loss. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, Michaelis said.
Around 4:55 a.m. Friday morning, the fire department responded to a second vehicle fire on the 1600 block of Lincoln Street. The vehicle was fully engulfed with a shed nearby and a downed powerline, Michaelis said.
No injuries were reported. The owner of the vehicle was trespassing on the property, and police arrested the individual, Bellingham Police Lt. Claudia Murphy said.
Fire crews were on site for a little more than an hour.
The fire department also responded to a small outdoor stairwell fire at Buchanan Towers on Western’s campus around 7 p.m. Thursday that resulted in the evacuation of residents. The fire appeared to be intentional, Michaelis said.
Fire crews were able to quickly extinguish the fire, then worked to ventilate the building before students were allowed to return to their units. Western police are investigating who started the fire.
This story was updated with additional information from Bellingham Police Department.
