Greenbank house fire with fireworks injures residents, two firefighters
About 700 pounds of fireworks inside a Greenbank home turned a house fire into a multi-agency emergency, injuring residents and firefighters on Smugglers Cove Road.
An estimated 700 pounds of fireworks inside a Greenbank home turned a Wednesday afternoon house fire into a regional emergency, injuring residents and firefighters and sending flames into a neighboring house on Smugglers Cove Road. Crews were still dealing with explosions after they arrived, and the scene was still smoldering by early evening.
The first 911 call came in about 2:45 p.m. on June 24, and crews from Central Whidbey Island Fire and Rescue, North Whidbey Fire and Rescue, Navy Fire, South Whidbey Fire/EMS, the Langley Police Department and the Island County Sheriff’s Office responded. Firefighter Kolton Kellison said a large blast shortly after crews reached the property threw one firefighter into a truck and knocked another to the ground.
Three firefighters were injured, including two fire chiefs and one firefighter. One was taken to Island Hospital and two were transported to Providence Regional Medical Center Everett, and all three were in stable condition. Officials did not immediately say how many residents were hurt or how serious those injuries were.
Three homes were affected. Repeated booms, heavy smoke and a house fully involved marked the fire as it spread beyond the original structure. The blaze was still under overhaul by early evening, with crews working through the debris and hot spots left behind by the detonations.
The cause was not determined Wednesday evening, and the Region 3 Arson Task Force and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives handled the investigation.
Island County already bans several kinds of fireworks, including firecrackers, rockets, M-80s, dynamite and all homemade fireworks, and limits mortar fireworks to specific permitted situations. County commissioners also approved an advisory vote for November 2026 on banning consumer fireworks in unincorporated areas. Island County is preparing a Type 1 burn ban effective July 1 because of reduced moisture and low humidity.
It also follows a deadly North Whidbey explosion in June 2025 that killed Mark Fakkema while he was building explosive devices for a fireworks show.
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