Neighbors assisted an elderly woman from a house fire in the 900 block of Wheeler Avenue in Hoquiam Sunday afternoon.

“She was not aware her house was on fire,” said Hoquiam Police Sgt. Jeff Salstrom.

The fire was reported at 4:41 p.m. Personnel from the Hoquiam Fire Department were dispatched and found the front porch area fully engulfed, said Salstrom.

”The fire also caused a live power line to fall to the ground creating an additional hazard for responders,” said Salstrom. “Hoquiam Fire Captain Larissa Rohr was the Incident Commander and requested a second alarm, bringing additional personnel from Aberdeen as well as calling in off-duty Hoquiam firefighters.”

The fire was extinguished in less than an hour despite the challenge of the arcing live power line, significant combustible material in the house, and other hazards, said Salstrom

“Due to the excellent work of the members of the Hoquiam and Aberdeen fire departments the fire was contained to the front of the house and much of the contents were saved,” said Salstrom. There were no injuries, but there was significant damage to the home. Salstrom said the fire is under investigation.

Approximately 15 firefighters from both departments as well as Chief Hubbard and Assistant Chief Malizia from the Aberdeen Fire Department responded to the scene. A crew from Grays Harbor PUD and a representative of Cascade Natural Gas also responded.