Fire gutted a family home in Bellevue early Saturday afternoon, taking the lives of two family pets.
A man was taken to a hospital with minor smoke inhalation.
What took firefighters about 10 minutes to extinguish, devastated a house and displaced a family of four.
A neighbor was quick to step into action.
"That was just my first extinct, if there's anybody in there to try and get them out if I could,” said Diane Monical. “At first it was just smoke. By the time I got to the porch, flames came out."
Monical lives next to where the home burned near 39th and Gertrude in Bellevue.
As soon as she realized there was a fire she went to check on two one-year-olds who lived inside.
When Monical couldn't get in the house, she grabbed a hose.
"I grabbed my hose and I had it over there trying to, skirting the house,” Monical said. “Especially on this side too so it wouldn't get mine."
Why was she so quick to step into action?
"That’s who I am I guess."
Fifteen firefighters from two departments quickly got the fire under control.
They said it was intense at first.
"Heavy flames coming out from the windows, the walls, the roof," said Bellevue Fire Officer Travis Nielsen.
Despite nice weather, and a quick response, Nielsen said fighting it had its challenges.
"The heat from the fire, smoke conditions, smoke was banked down to the floor,” Nielsen said. “You couldn't see."
Nielsen says it's hard to see families displaced, like the mother, father and two little ones were Saturday.
"Absolutely, you feel bad for the family. They're losing everything they had."
The Red Cross was called to help the family.
Two dogs were lost.
There is an active investigation from the state fire marshal’s office.
Nielsen says it was likely an accident.
Despite $70,000 in damage, the single-story home is not a complete loss.
A second home had some siding damaged.
