Smoke alarms awakened two teens after a fire broke out in their home late Saturday night.

Though the pair and two of the household’s three pets escaped, a cat died, and the family has been displaced.

It appears that the fire was accidental, but the cause remains under investigation, Kitsap County fire marshal’s office reported.

North Kitsap Fire & Rescue, along with the Poulsbo and Bainbridge fire departments, were dispatched to the 1,860 square foot, two-story home on Apollo Drive at 10:26 p.m. The first crews — from NKF&R’s Miller Bay Road and South Kingston Road stations — got to the scene in less than seven minutes and reported flames visible on one side of the house.

Despite a lack of hydrants, firefighters used water in the first two engines’ tanks (about 1,000 gallons) to attack the flames quickly, stopping the fire’s spread within five minutes. Still, the home’s first floor sustained significant fire damage; heat and smoke affected the second floor.

Crews kept working until 1:30 a.m. Sunday, extinguishing any remaining hot spots and salvaging the family’s possessions.

One teen told officials that he woke up to alarms sounding and smoke in his second-floor bedroom. He shouted, “Fire,” which awakened his brother. They found flames in the home’s first-floor laundry room and, after brief attempts to snuff the blaze, the teens evacuated with the family’s dog and called 9-1-1. Their mother was at a friend’s place and returned after her sons told her about the fire.

“Working smoke alarms are key to preventing far more tragic outcomes when home fires strike,” NKF&R Battalion Chief Alex Hickey said.

NKF&R spokeswoman Michèle Laboda said, “We know that smoke alarms save lives so we urge the community to test theirs monthly, change batteries when/if recommended and replace the units every ten years.”

Learn more at www.tinyurl.com/NKFRSmokeAlarms.