Kenmore residents near Simmonds Road and 81st Place Northeast were rocked by a blast from an alleged firework which caught a 1992 Ford pickup truck on fire around 10 p.m. on Wednesday, July 22.

“I didn’t think anything of [the explosion], but then about five minutes later, my wife was alerted by my neighbors who were running down the hill,” said Tom Stapp, owner of the vehicle. “Apparently, the explosion was related to the fire.”

Neighbors hopped into firefighting action quickly to try and put out the flames. Their action prevented a more dangerous situation as there are nearby houses and a row of season-dried vegetation.

“I wasn’t fearful of [the fire spreading] because it was taken care of so quickly; that’s a testament to my good neighbors,” Stapp said. “Three showed up with fire extinguishers and the other one with a five-gallon bucket of water that he had to carry a long distance down the street in order to get it here.”

There was about a half tank of gas in the truck’s fuel tank and another gallon in the bed of the truck.

“None of those ignited, so we were very fortunate,” Stapp said. “It could have been much worse. I think that we were fortunate in the broader view.”

According to Stapp, arson investigators were at the scene until well after midnight collecting evidence. The King County Fire/Arson Investigation Unit cannot comment on the case as it is currently under active investigation.

The Reporter will update this story as more information becomes available.