KINGSTON — The quick actions of the homeowners and the response of the fire department kept a blaze in a small outbuilding on a property in Kingston from engulfing adjacent buildings last week.

A boiler’s compromised smokestack in a shed located on a property off Kingston View Courtcaused the structure to go up in smoke and flames on April 20. Family members used five fire extinguishers and a garden hose to keep the fire from spreading as crews from North Kitsap Fire & Rescue responded to the scene.

The NKF&R crew arrived in eight minutes and were able to quickly squelch the blaze.

After an investigation by the Kitsap County Fire Marshal’s Office, it is believed the fire was accidental and caused by a flaw in the boiler’s exhaust stack, which was inside the wooden shed and used to heat the water that supplies heat to the property’s main residence.

A small amount of smoke found its way into the main residence, but there was no significant damage.

In another fire incident on Sunday afternoon in Suquamish, a damaged battery that was charging threatened a home on Anheline Avenue, but a working smoke alarm, quick-thinking neighbors and a fast response saved it.

Along with NKF&R, the Poulsbo Fire Department and Bainbridge Island Fire Department were dispatched to the house just after 3 p.m. The first crew arrived in four minutes and found smoke coming from a single-car garage. The fire destroyed the shelves and some material in the southeast corner of the garage, but firefighters were able to stop the blaze quickly.

The resident was inside his home and called 911 after a neighbor heard the smoke alarm and knocked on his door. The homeowners explained that the battery had fallen into Puget Sound and he was attempting to restore the charge.

No firefighters or civilians were injured in either incident.