POULSBO — Frank Olivo Jr. died in September, but his tenacity during his life saved his house Wednesday.

More than 20 years ago, after Highway 3 was developed, the state wanted him to get rid of the gate on the Finn Hill Road side of his property, his daughter, Terri Kesteren, said. But he fought to keep the gate, saying it was needed for safety. Without it, the only way out in case of emergency was the single forested lane that winds past other homes en route to Rasmussen Court.

Olivo was right.

Wednesday morning, firefighters went to the area in response to a report of smoke. The location was vague: Finn Hill Road near Highway 3. Turned out, it was Frank Olivo’s house. And without that gate, firefighters would have had to cut the fence or backtrack to Rasmussen Court.

“We lucked out that the gate was there,” Poulsbo Fire Battalion Chief Chris Morrison said.

When firefighters arrived between 6:30 and 6:45 a.m., smoke was rolling out of the eaves and basement of the 71-year-old house, Morrison said.

It’s believed that old wiring in the house caused the fire; the fire marshal is investigating. The house is not occupied.

The house is a single-story house with a basement and an attic. The fire is believed to have begun in the ceiling of the basement and climbed up one wall. When firefighters were finished, there was moderate smoke damage on the main level and minor structural damage.

Morrison said 15 firefighters went to the scene with two engines, a water tender and a salvage trailer. Central Kitsap Fire assisted, he said.

Firefighters began wrapping up by 8:40 a.m.

The property was once six acres, Kesteren said, but the state acquired part of the property when Highway 3 was developed. Her father moved there in the mid-1970s, shortly before he retired as a shipfitter supervisor at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.