A house fire in Aberdeen resulted in the deaths of two cats Tuesday night, while the three occupants of the house were uninjured.

At approximately 5:30 p.m., the Aberdeen Fire Department was dispatched to a report of an elderly man yelling that his house was on fire in the 900 Block of East First Street in Aberdeen. Upon the firefighters’ arrival in the area, it was initially not known which residence was burning because there was no visible smoke or flames, according to an Aberdeen Fire Department press release.

An elderly man was found by an Aberdeen police officer at the bottom of some stairs in front of the residence. The man stated he heard a “crackling” sound inside and that there was smoke in the residence. As the fire battalion chief approached the residence, smoke began to vent out of the front door and conditions quickly worsened when the fire self-vented out of a bedroom window and down the side of the house.

Firefighters performed an interior fire attack, which brought the fire under control in approximately 15 minutes. The majority of fire damage was limited to one bedroom, but the entire residence sustained smoke and water damage. Initial damage estimates for the building are $40,000. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Three occupants of the home were displaced and the Red Cross was requested to assist. There were no injuries to firefighters or civilians, but two cats were lost in the fire.

A total of nine Aberdeen firefighters responded in one command vehicle, two fire engines, and a medic unit, as well as Aaberdeen’s fire chief and assistant chief. An automatic aid fire engine responded from the Hoquiam Fire Department with two firefighters and a mutual aid fire engine from Cosmopolis responded with six firefighters.