Luckily for South Whidbey residents John Graham and Ann Medlock, a neighbor noticed a brush fire crawling its way toward their home before it got out of control.

While the small blaze was extinguished without any harm to property or people, the incident will likely lead to years of gentle teasing for a son-in-law who accidentally started the fire while trying to be helpful.

“We will never let him forget it,” Graham said.

Graham explained that family members gathered over the weekend at the home off Fiske Road. They had a fire for the children to roast marshmallows Saturday night. The fire was in a metal fire pit, which is legal and approved during a burning ban.

The problem was the next morning, Graham said, when his son-in-law was trying to be helpful and clean up the ash and burned embers from the pit. He shoveled them down the slope next to the home, not realizing that some pieces were still hot.

Graham explained that the neighbor knocked on the door about noon to alert them to a brush fire on the slope. He was alarmed to see flames shooting up 20 feet.

After calling 911, Graham and the neighbor coupled together two garden hoses and attacked the fire. He said it helped control the fire until the fire department arrived about 10 minutes later.

Terry Ney, assistant chief of South Whidbey Fire/EMS, said the fire was at the end of “a very long and winding private road,” which isn’t unusual on South Whidbey. Nevertheless, firefighters were able to get the fire under control quickly after arriving. They spent more time cutting brush and turning over logs to make sure the flames were out completely.

A total of seven members of the department responded with a brush rig, an engine, a tender and a command vehicle.

Ney said the fire didn’t spread quickly because the area was relatively green. In fact, he said the department has handled relatively few wildfires this year, which he said is likely because of humidity levels.

Graham said the fire came within 150 feet of his home and he suspects it would have been worse if the winds had been up.

“It was close enough to be worrisome,” he said.