A South Whidbey resident lost everything, including his cell phone, in a devastating fire late Saturday night.

South Whidbey Fire/EMS was alerted to the blaze at the Quade Road address around 10:47 p.m. by a neighbor, who thought they were seeing a brush fire through the trees from a far distance, according to Assistant Chief Terry Ney. Firefighters arrived on scene 10 minutes later and discovered flames engulfing an approximately 1,000-square-foot home and detached garage.

Because they had been expecting a brush fire, not a structure fire, they were initially unprepared to deal with the scale of the fire.

“Ultimately we had two pumpers, three tenders, a brush truck, two chief officers and three support vehicles on scene,” Ney said.

The cause, Ney said, was the open flame of a candle that came too close to bedding, igniting it. The home’s occupants were asleep at the time of the fire. No smoke detectors were present, according to South Whidbey Fire/EMS.

The occupants safely escaped with one dog, and two cats were later found. Miraculously, no one was hurt, including the firefighters. One of the inhabitants was checked for injuries but did not require transportation to the hospital for further medical attention.

WhidbeyHealth EMS provided assistance and Puget Sound Energy arrived to shut off power to the house. The Red Cross was called to help the occupants.

A total of 15 personnel responded to the call. Firefighters remained on scene until nearly 3 a.m. Sunday.

Ney said the estimated loss was $50,000 for the buildings and $10,000 for the contents. According to the Island County Assessor’s website, the property’s value is $376,000.

Gregg Fergel lost his entire home to the blaze. In the hours following the catastrophic fire, South Whidbey community members united to donate food, clothing and a new cell phone to Fergel.

Photo by Heather Mayhugh Gregg Fergel stands before the charred remains of his home in Clinton.